have I been hoodwinked?

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I will keep this short and sweet. Was approached by a Scottish recruitment agency after applying for a tier 1 support-type role back in late November last.

Sent all my details through, waited a while. Called for an update, agency stated that delay was with the client (allegedly, a leading hardware company that rhymes with hell )

Days turned into weeks, xmas came and went, agency again said that the delay was with the client, interviews would happen soon etc etc. Eventually, email updates from them dried up, calls were not returned.

I last emailed my contact last week, no response. Left a voicemail message yesterday, no reply.

Rang today, and got fobbed off with no update. I got off the phone, and have just sent a terse ( but polite nontheless) email requesting that my details be removed from their system. Waste of time? Probably.

Was the role ever actually available? Probably not.

I feel like a numpty. This happen much in the cold, cold world of recruitment?

 

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Yup - all the time.
But don't feel bad, often these 'non-jobs' can be hard to spot.
Sometimes you see agencies advertising the same position week after week, and you begin to wonder what sort of recruitment agency they are if they can't fill it.
Othertimes, it's not so obvious.

Most agencies just like to have lists of punters on their books.
They use it to impress clients, and it makes their job easier when a vacany does come up - they just start dialling.

Having said that, it's also a sign of the times.

Many, many years ago (probably pre-web) I was with an agency in Bristol. When I signed up, they called me in, had a chat and appointed me a contact. She kept in touch after that and would send stuff through to me and arrange interviews etc. Tidy. A few months ago I signed up with the same agency again via their website. All automated, never heard back from them. Can't get anyone on the phone and even emails seem to vanish into the ether.

Meh.

 

As said some places do it to keep their numbers up after all a recruitment agency without anyone to recruite is just a building with some douchebags in it.

The job you saw was probably available at the time but was taken before you showed an interest in it. Some agencies expect you to do the work i.e apply for psitions through them and not to expect them to phone you when something comes up.

 

Once your CV's been out there a while you'll start getting calls from recruiters, saying things like

"Hiya, how you doing, just wanted to catch up, see what you're up to, see if everything's going OK."

Translation....

"Hi, I've got a job you might (but probably won't) be interested in, but I'm gonna greet you like we're old buddies, and try to make you think that I care and that you're my first choice of candidate, when all I really care about is getting you placed somewhere for long enough to qualify for my commission"

My translation may be a bit cynical, but you'll start to get a lot of that (especially if you ever go contracting), and you'll start to identify the BS from the good guys. A classic example of a bad agency, is they'll have a high turnover of staff, so you might get a call from an agency every 8 weeks or so, and the guy will say something like...

"Hi, you've dealt with my colleague <insert name> in the past and he's passed your name along to me, and I've got a great opportunity......"

Translation....

"Hi, my predecessor didn't perform and got fired, I've just been taken on to replace him and been handed his contact database.... but let's pretend that's not the case here"

There are good agencies out there and good recruiters, but in many cases, they're not.

Just bear in mind, that if you submit a CV for a position, it's a bonus if you get a call back, most won't bother unless you land an interview.

But in all cases, all UK agencies are regulated by the Data Protection Act, and will have to abide by it's rules, so if they annoy you, write them a quick email/letter telling them to remove all personal information related to you from their databases.

I treat recruiters like rush-hour drivers, I expect them all to be idiots and am pleasantly surprised form time to time

Good recruiters generally tend to stick to the same or similar verticals and/or market sectors, they know their subject, they'll be interested in projects you've completed, interested in your personality, etc. You won't find a good recruiter that specialises in Business Intelligence, suddenly hiring for helpdesk positions (unless there's a strong connection, like he's hiring for Helpdesk at SAP for instance).

just my 2 cents.

T.

 

Yes, this type of thing does happen.

It's happened to me twice in a year, one was with a recruitment agency and the other was with an actual company. They are friendly and promise you the job is going ahead, but there's a delay etc. A few months pass and you hear no more from them and they ignore any emails/phonecalls.

I just make sure I never deal with them ever again, and tell everyone to avoid them.

 

This has happened with every single agency I have ever dealt with.

I'm surprised this is a new experience for some.

What you have to remember is that most of these recruiters are all about targets.

Whenever I speak to them my 'BS meter' is usually set to high.

On to the next I say.