How Do I Deal With Agencies That Call Me With "Positions"
OK, I put "positions" in quotes because I doubt the existence of the position or if they even work with the company they supposedly represent. Last week I got a phone call from an agency who said that they represented a company who was looking for a grant manager. The company is a major company in my area and, in fact, is about five minutes from my house. The thing that made me question it was that the company this agency supposedly represents is in my home state, but the phone number from the agency was from out of state - like in North Carolina. The person who called said they saw my resume on Monster (that checks out), but they wanted me to send them an updated resume. I told the person on the phone that the resume on Monster is my most updated, so she had everything she needed.
So supposedly she wanted to know what my availability was that day and that she would call me back. She never called back, and I emailed her asking for a status on the position. She emailed me back and said they were expecting to hear something by Monday or Tuesday. Nothing on Monday, and on Tuesday I called the agency person back. She then said to me that the position was on HOLD and had just opened up! I said to her, "you told me last week that the company was one of your clients, and that the position was available". She THEN tells me that they had gotten word of the position by word of mouth, but it hadn't been placed on the wire (or whatever the clearing house/device is they use to get word positions are available). Now the position is supposedly looking at resumes now, and the agency will get back to me if there's any further news.
OK, here's what really chaps my behind: I am SO sick and tired of getting phone calls from these agencies who say they saw my resume on Monster and that they represent major companies in my area and that my skills are JUST what they're looking for, only to not have things materialize. Usually they are agencies who aren't in my state, and of course when I ask if they're not just calling me so that they can up their outreach numbers/number of people they've called, they say no. I don't give out any information like SS#, bank numbers, etc. (of course!), but I'm getting tired of playing Charlie Brown to their Lucy. Should I just start saying that if you're not an agency in this state, I'm not interested? I don't want to ignore any opportunities, but I don't want to keep getting my hopes up.
Suzette, Most, if not ALL of these Job Board's are one step above Scams. Monster, Ladders, Zip Recruiter and even this one post expired, old and even positions that local offices had no idea that jobs had been posted. I can't believe how many times I will find a post from 2009 or "oops looks like THAT position has been filled".. Then you get people posting they found your resume and you look like a good fit for the position they have.!?!? Seriously, my resume shows i'm qualified to be CFO of an insurance company that works 2 days a week in my pajamas from home?? I don't even own pajamas!!! I tell them, "have you even read my resume"?? Or better still are the companies with 4 page's of duties and responsibilities and then they tell you the compensation is 11.25/hr.. ??? Your kidding Right? You have people doing this type of work and your trying to get them to do it for WHAT AMOUNT???? I'd love to meet the person who accepts THAT job... (Sorry, I digress) Anyway, I know what you're saying and agree... Good luck..
Hi suzette: I get the same thing. Tell them you are not interested. One guy hounded me for months and I keep giving him the same answer. I wish you well in all your endeavors.
Ijust looked at it as another application. I have had the same thing happen to me.
Those agencies, usually, are legitimate. What they do is gather a bunch of qualifying resumes and gather additional information on the applicant and put it together as a sales packet for the interviewer or contact at the company. They are headhunters and get paid a commission by the company for applicants and a bonus if the company hires their applicant.
Just continue to call them back, but also apply directly with the company. It increases your odds.
Ask them several things - 1. where are they located?, Ask for a physical location and see if you can locate the building with google maps or google earth. 2. What is their business license number? with this you can look up the company and see if they are licensed to operate in your state and what their BBB rating is. If they ask why, tell them you want to verify the authenticity of the company and call them asking for the person's name you are currently on the phone with. Look up the phone number yourself, don't use one they give you. If they are a legit company they will have no problem with this. If not they may hang up and never call back. It works really well.
First off, you have learned something important: the disadvantage of publicly posting your resume on one of those job sites far outweighs the benefit of doing so, mainly because there is little-to-no benefit to publicly posting your resume. Once you do, all you'll get is a tidal wave of calls from so-called "agencies" and other crap employers with 100% commission "opportunities" and that's if you're lucky. You've probably already noticed you're also getting calls to sell you solar panels, to ask you to donate money to this or that, and a lot of other telemarketing BS. That's because when you post your resume openly, it is open to EVERYBODY willing to pay to see it. A LOT of those people who are willing to pay to see it don't have a job for you, they just want use your resume (and the contact information in it) for a sales lead or rip-off. Now you know so don't do that anymore.
Secondly, most agencies (even the legitimate ones) are FULL of it. The people who work there are required to bring in X amount of new applicants each month so they will tell you whatever they need to tell you in order to get you to sign up....DON'T DO IT. It's very true that some temp agencies can get you a really good position, but both the agencies and the positions are so few and far between it's absolutely not worth it. Unless you are looking for a two week assignment as a minimum wage file clerk, don't bother with those agencies.
I am a contract engineer so I deal with the agencies daily. Here is what you need to do.
Ignore any contact that says they are setting you up to be financial officer, to handle checks or invoices. That's an ongoing scam now.
Put only an email address as POC on your Monster resume- not your phone number. Control the communications,
Be aware ALL the agencies talk about "their clients". In fact clients typically accept resumes from multiple agencies. The problem is when 2 or more agencies both submit your resume, then your resume goes into the trash, and no one contacts you about that. Clients refuse to enter squabbles between agencies over who "owns" your resume.
So when you chat about a job demand the clients name. Keep notes to insure you avoid allowing a double submit. From your comments I am sure you have had this - unknowingly- happen.
Out of state is no biggie unless they are Indian. A recruiter remarked to me " They are now outsourcing sourcing". The Indians are typically paid to generate a stack of checked resumes. They are paid for the stack, not if one individual- you- gets a job.
That's why you hear nothing from them after the one call to check your availability, and why that call meant little.. But that's another reason to use an email alone as POC on your Monster resume- it avoids the infinite and sometimes early morning calls you get from them. It also allows you to control the communications by selecting which ONE recruiter to submit your resume.
If they are from outside your area from another state, just tell them you are not ready to relocate outside of your state yet.
If you post your resume you can expect to get calls from various agents claiming they have the job for you, Very few of the firms that use offshore staff to place first level contacts have staff that will actually get back to you. My experience I will get five to ten contacts from persons from the same company for the same open position. Many will offer more the previous contact person just so you will let that person represent you. These people don't get a darn about you beyond the chance to make money for them.
I work in the IT field and generally work with well established firms only. TekSystems is one of the best. Never had a bad experience.
I suggest going on Dice, Monster or LinkedIn which all have jobs and tend to have more professional positions and recruiters to work with.