Just Started My Week With A Call From An Extremely Rude A-hole Recruiter

[stopbush]

The good news is that I've got 3 decent prospects for work right now.

The bad news is that I got a call from a NY-based recruiter first thing this AM about a job here in Vegas. So check out his quick interview technique:

Recruiter: Hi. OK, I've got your resume in front of me. Do you have a car and a clean driving record?

Me: Yes.

R: You're currently working at Company XXX? Correct?

Me: Yes.

R: What's that company do?

Me: Direct marketing.

R: How big is the company?

Me: It's my company.

R: Oh. (Uncomfortable pause) Are you consulting? If so, who are you consulting for?

Me: Yes, I'm consulting. I have a couple of clients back in NYC who I still do work for.

R: Can you provide the last 3 -years worth of W2s that prove you have been working steadily for all 12 months each of those three years?

Me: Well, my W2s wouldn't show that...they don't show the exact days of employment, just what I earned from a given company in that calendar year.

R: That's not good enough. This employer is very specific about who they want.
CLICK!

Can you believe it?

On edit: oh, yeah...it was for a fucking commission-based sales job...the kind of job I've never taken and never will take.

[Ediacara]

1. Does he know how W2s work?

And does he really think anyone will be able to show work days from W2s? What an idiot.....

[On the Road]

2. This Person Was a Real Jerk --

That doesn't necessarily mean his client is.

The stupidest thing is that from your account, the W2s were HIS idea -- you were just mentioning that they didn't verify what he wanted to verify. If you can provide more detailed information on dates you were actually working, it might be worth pursuing. (If you can't, no point arguing with someone whose mind is made up.)

But he's offering something valuable, and it's worth overlooking the rudeness. He'll be out of your life soon one way or the other.

If you can show consistent employment, it may be worth biting the bullet and calling the recruiter back (if he left his number or you can get it from 411 or caller ID). Remind him that you talked, say that you enjoyed hearing from him about the opportunity in Las Vegas and that you have some additional information that would help your candidacy. At that point you can get a fax, email, or whatever to fax the W2 plus any other supporting information.

Just a suggestion. I worked for a small executive search firm years ago, but it was a retainer firm who was paid upfront for the search. Very different business. These animals who work on commission are unbelievable.

[stopbush]

5. This wasn't a retained (by me) firm. He's working on

commission paid by a firm that's retained him.

To me, it's not worth pursuing. I've made plenty of money in my day, and I've also had periods of great, intense work followed by periods of unemployment, both short- and longer-term. I just find it amazing that in this disastrous bush job market that any company's primary concern when hiring someone is that they're already gainfully employed.

I've run into this before from potential employers, but the recruiter has always been much more cordial and understanding in explaining the situation. This a-hole had the attitude of "I'm not spending another 3 seconds with you on this." So my question is: am I off the list for EVERY employer you represent? Surely there are a few who don't have "must be currently employed and not a consultant" as a select for interviewing. Does this guy think he's going to call me back in a week or a month with a different offer and find a cordial and enthusiastic respondent at the other end of the line?

Sorry, but no matter who the company is that was doing the hiring, their *representative* was this a-hole I dealt with today.

There's too many other fish to fry to give this guy the time of day in the future.

[On the Road]

11. Maybe It's a Sign That the Employer is Not Worth It

Clients don't always know how their vendors go about their business. but unless the recruiter invented the requirement, it's not a good reflection on the employer. Seems like an impersonal and bureaucratic way to hire.

I think it was Google who decided last year that there was so many talented people looking for work that they increased their payroll by 8%. Such an enlightened decision was possibly only because they are still a private company and don't have to answer to investors.

[NJ Blue Collar]

3. Commission Based Sales Job

On edit: oh, yeah...it was for a fucking commission-based sales job...the kind of job I've never taken and never will take.

Don't Blame you. I'd never work a 100% commission based sales job, esp. w/out a contract as so many companies want today.

[Redbear]

4. Extremely Rude A-hole Recruiter?

How much does being an extremely rude A-hole pay these days?

[liberalitch]

7. yea... I need to know that...

cuz that's something I could do part-time on the side.... easy.

[necso]

6. Not surprised at all.

Companies are getting more and more particular about what they want (much of which is ridiculous, bureaucratic BS as opposed to anything having to do with merit). Companies have also turned increasingly to recruiters who stand as doorkeepers to most decent jobs.

When you add in people who have given up on looking for work, people who work part-time, people who work at other than their qualified professions and people who have taken huge reductions in their pay, un/under/mis-employment is probably 4 or 5 times what the official figures say.

It is not surprising that employers and their proxies lord it over the job seeker in these circumstances.

Recruiters, in my experience, are generally know-nothing hacks anyway, just looking for the quickest buck, although most are more polite than this guy. I have had so many bad experiences that I could fill a book. (I had one recruiter have me travel on my own dime a great distance and stay overnight to interview for a job that he knew I had no chance of getting, so as to fill out the numbers of applicants --- he did this to like 20 others.) I avoid recruiters as much as possible, but it gets harder and harder.

You are lucky to have the opportunities that you do. Good luck.

[trumad]

8. My wife is a Sales Director

which allows me to stay at home and fuck with you folks... Her Inside Sales folks average between 80 to 150 thousand a year... Commission only. If it's a reputable firm and you can get past the first couple of weeks of no pay, it pays off...at least in her company...

[lendog]

10. 80K to 150K?

How can you handle a 70K shift? Or does she really make 34K a year and if she works hard get up to 56K?

I'll take the guarantee of 70K and I only work 4 days a week.

[trumad]

12. No her

the folks who she directs...

[gpandas]

9. another topic for the lounge?