I’m a staffing/recruiter.
I recruit mostly for warehouse positions and some clerical. I also had some permanent hires, too.
When I was younger and going to college for my nursing degree, I thought recruiters were just jerks who didn’t care. However, and this is a MASSIVE however, I was also a job hopper and was too young to understand what a work ethic SHOULD be.
I had my share of shit recruiters and also some great ones.
Now, as someone in the field of recruiting, I can see both sides-or multiple sides, if you factor in the clients in need of jobs.
The way our office is setup, anyone can walk in. Anyone. We don’t have a buzzer, only a bell. It’s an “open” concept.
We’ve also had our share of scares from people coming in and threatening violence. Actual, physical violence; all because our clients backed out and said they filled the position internally or they simply do not qualify. This is almost a weekly occurrence.
Or, they behaved very poorly.
Examples include:
- People coming in high. Marijuana is legal in the state I work and live. While it is legal, it blows my mind someone would walk into a place of employment smelling like they just hotboxed themselves. If I’m sending you to a warehouse with heavy machinery, why the hell would it be a good idea for me to place you? That’s a lawsuit and pending workplace accident waiting to happen.
- Massive job hoppers. Yeah, 2020 to even 2022 has sucked for every one. However, if you tell me the reason why you left your last three jobs is because you were “seeking a better opportunity” and the length of said jobs were less than 3 weeks, I’m going to pause on placing you anywhere. Especially if (see below)…
- You, the candidate(s) have the absolute worst attitude. I’ve had people sit at my desk playing on their phone, having a full blown conversation with someone on the phone (or even the person sitting next to you at another recruiter’s desk) or even leaning back in the chair and falling asleep DURING the interview. Yes, I’m serious.
- Leaving atrocious, ignorant and/or obscene emails, texts or voicemails. We have an automated system where it sends out texts or emails when we have new jobs or it simply asks if you are still looking for work. There is an option to be removed-a simple click of the button. The amount of people who don’t press a damn button and reply “fuck you” or “no bitch” is disturbingly high. These are the same people who call a few days later and ask what jobs we have. Yes, seriously. Also: I had someone leave me a one minute, forty-five seconds email calling me all sorts of names just because I didn’t return his message earlier that afternoon. There are periods of time where we get busy. I’m human and I forgot. I would have called and apologized, but after that? No.
- Finding out they are being let go and verbally assaulting (or physically) assaulting management at our client sites. This is why recruiters call you after you leave for the day, by the way-because some people can’t control themselves. On a rare occasion, people go back to the job site or find out when they are working and literally start throwing and/or hitting things. This happens a lot more than you think. It’s really scary.
- Speaking about the above, we also receive threats of violence directly at us. While this is rare, it’s still unnerving. For a few days after, we lock the doors and have to physically go to the door and let people in. Said people will call months later for work and we explain, politely, why we can’t work with them. Suddenly, they threaten lawsuits. Fun times.
On our side…
- While I get paid 38k a year and some bonuses, no, I do not get a massive salary. Sometimes we have direct hires, meaning they are no longer our employee and they are going directly to the client site. Most of that money goes to the company and some go to us. That could give you about 1.5-2k extra a month, but they are rare. All agencies have different salaries or just have straight commission.
- Clients don’t always tell us the complete truth about a position they have open and no, we had no idea and yes, it IS unfair. All recruiting companies have a vetting process when they go to potential client sites to tour-the safety program (OSHA), job duties, etc. Sometimes the client doesn’t care/have the time to mention ALL duties. While our sales reps and managers make sure it is within reason, some clients don’t have the common sense to realize the severity of this question. But believe me when I tell you when we reach out to the client to find out, it gets taken care of. Always let your recruiters know what’s going on.
- Clients can end assignments at any time. Sometimes they share the reasons why, and sometimes they don’t. In my life before recruiting, I’ve been a victim of this many times (same with other recruiters). While most have the common decency of understanding AND abiding by Title VII rules, some live about twenty to thirty years in the past. Or, they choose to ignore it because their “methods” always worked for them. Fun times had by all.
Ever had a bad experience with a recruiter? At a temp job?
The Phoenix & Grieving 