Regarding Recruiters

rtd

Hello, all I have a few questions concerning recruiters. I understand how they function; filling openings for employers but I'm a bit confused about some things that are happening.

I submitted my resume on CareerBuilder around a week ago and I have gotten a call from three different recruiters. I'm currently finishing my Associates degree at a technical school and I do have an unfinished bachelors degree which is about a year away from being finished. The fact that I got calls that quick made me cautious ; I find it odd to think my skills are highly desired by anyone at this point in my career LOL.

The first recruiter called me the day after I submitted my resume and informed me about a position in my area then two days later informed me that it had been filled. I'm okay with that ; it was just nice to see the fish biting if you will. Then a week after I began applying places ( and hearing back from him ) he said that the person who was to fill the position had failed the on-boarding process and they wanted me to fill it. I made it abundantly clear to him I had no enterprise experience and would switch to evening classes while I finished my degree.

He said that was okay and gave me the employer name and pay rate. He said they were looking for someone college age looking to begin their career. He asked me if I was a smoker ( because it is a hospital position in IT ) and apparently that was a dis-qualifier. I then spoke to the recruiter's boss later last night. They had told me that they would get back to me either last night or today regarding what's up.

My question , and I apologize for the book is that it's already evening here so should I assume they weren't interested? Only a day has passed but that's when they told me to expect a call and due to the other person "backing out" they were scrambling to fill that position because the employer was already behind.

Also, if I were to be offered a position it is a contract to-hire position ; is that a bad thing? I'm aware of what it is however it sounds like after a year or whenever I could be searching for employment again. Besides that it sounds like a good way to gain experience at a few places potentially.

Also, have any of you had issues with recruiters not being able to describe positions? I'm meeting with another recruiter tomorrow to talk in person and he obviously was a muggle and did not know the difference between an oboe and an elbow.

Thank you so much in advance!!

Verities

Based on my experience, it's a bad sign if a recruiter can't describe the work that you will be doing for a potential position. They should be able to tell you what to be expecting and normally they have a low down on the employer/team/hiring manager, that you'll be interviewing with. Also, I've heard employers say on multiple occasions that they're "desperate" to fill a position, then end the hiring process for said position because they couldn't find the "unicorn" they were looking for. I would say don't hold your breathe on this one because IT jobs come and go.

Bokeh

Its luck of the draw a lot of times on recruiters. To some its a numbers game - have to make X amount of calls per day, emails per day, etc. Some don't even have the job they are calling you about, but hope to get it once they have a candidate.

But its not just recruiters who can be flakey, HR can be just as bad. Had a company contact me recently about a position, asking if I could talk at such a such time. I emailed them back, said that would be great.

No call.

Emailed them back, asking to reschedule, no response. No response to VM left either.

Oh well, move on.

karl88

I responded to a job ad some days ago. In mere minutes, a recruiter called me back. Apparently they needed several positions filled. He gave me a phone interview with 20 technical questions. I passed 90%. Position only required A+. I haven't heard anything back yet...

Jon_Cisco

From the employers/recruiters side they get feedback on related activity from the online sites.

So when you update a resume they might have a employee search saved that includes (Everything IT). When someone updates their resume it gets pushed out to anyone that might have saved searches that relate to it. Recruiters see that activity and attempt to make contact as soon as possible to grow their client base.

Tremie24

That sounds pretty much a typical recruiters game, they get your hopes and then you don't hear from them again. I've dealt with so many recruiters when I was job hunting. The same ole story they would give me, is that they send your information the an employer, and then you never hear from that recruiter again. Or you meet up with them, talk about what you're looking for, the experience you have and education you have. They might tell about few places that they place send most their people. Again you never hear from them again, and they tell if you don't hear from me give me call. The other down fall with recruiters is a lot don't know what they're talking about or barely know the job description. My word of advice is to not put too much faith into recruiters, because like others have said its a numbers game with them. There are a few decent ones. I did get my first few small IT gigs through a recruiting place, but I got my first real IT job on my own.

rtd

Thanks for the advice everyone. Yeah I've heard about the games they play. I didn't get my hopes up too much I tend to expect them to do this. I have a meeting with the other recruiter today about the position he could barely describe. I notice sometimes when I mention working on the hardware end of things vs software development they tend to get confused and essentially say I wouldn't be building things. I'm like; I know I got that that's a waste of company time. I don't think they understand the difference.

The guy I'm meeting with today made it sound like a junior software development job , a help desk job, and a quality assurance job all in one. I have no idea what to expect because chances are he still won't understand it. My father is a chemical engineer and he said he's seen it too.

He made it sound like I wouldn't be programming but I would be making sure the stuff worked; like reviewing code almost. The company does have IT positions but they mostly work with electronics. I have no class today so I suppose it's more productive than anything else I would do!

Verities

On a separate note, I had a very good experience with Apex Systems Inc. They are one of the major IT staffing firms and are deep in bed with the DoD sector. Here's a link:

Join Our Talent Network | Apex Systems, Inc. - Careers