Robert Half Technology!!!!!!!!

Aquabat [banned]

just give up, they are only in it for themselves, same with teksys and all the other frauds, i'm about to write a nasty letter to both

petedude

garv221 wrote:

Like I have said before Robert Half is called Robert Half because they take half of your paycheck.

While I understand the sentiment about RHT, I did get a decent long-term job out of a contracting assignment once. That was with Kimco's tech group, and they didn't have fancy offices unlike many of their competitors-- and I got a good wage after I was hired on permanently, so I don't think the contracting company was paying very much in fees.

Toughest part about ignoring recruiters where I live is, it seems like they have about 30% of the jobs. Many HR departments in these parts are either too busy, too computer-illiterate or don't care-- and as such they would gladly hand off hiring/screening to an agency for a fee. In some cases IT groups bypass HR to go directly to recruiters, sometimes with HR approval!!

petedude

Aquabat wrote:

just give up, they are only in it for themselves, same with teksys and all the other frauds, i'm about to write a nasty letter to both

Write the nastygram and stash it for a few days. If you still feel that way after, fire it off. It's quite possibly deserved on their parts.

I think part of the problem is many industries/companies have gotten greedy and/or stingy, and are out to hoard as much as they can while providing as little as possible to those affected by their activities. I've seen a pronounced trend in this since the economy finally bounced back somewhat from the dot-com bust and other tragedies of 2001. Thankfully, it's not happening in every single corner of business, but it's enough to be noticeable in general. IMO, the recruiting industry is among the worst for this.

KGhaleon

I've interviewed at Teksystems and Robert half both recently...although I've been interviewed at Teksystems two-three times in the past and never got a job from them. Robot half I visited in Orlando last week and spoke with the gentleman there about a job they had available. When I showed up on time they made me fill out tons of paperwork and even take a PC hardware test which I aced in five or so minutes.

The whole time I had to keep going out to fill the parking meter, since I was there from 9AM to 12PM. They were suppose to call me on monday but it's now thursday and I never heard back.
I'm sending them an email.

Out of curiousity...should you fill out an application before the interview? Just seems silly if your not actually going to get the job. I've wasted time filling out tons of paperwork for jobs that I never got. So why should I do this...are they benefitting from it regardless of whether I get the job?

Not sure if it's wise to mention this to future interviewers.

KG

KGhaleon

What the...is tek-systems a banned word?

druid318

I wouldn't recomend Tek Systems for a job hunter or an employer seeking people.

They hired me on for a temp job and lied through their ears to get me to do it. They lied about the hours and the length of the job. I had to turn down the job once I got on site and they told me that I would basicly have to miss school for the next three weeks. I had to walk off and felt like an ass.

Do a google search for them and look at all the people yelling scam on them.

As for employers looking to work with them , they threw me into someones workplace without ever doing a proper interview!!!

Maybe I just had a bad "recruiter" , but I don't think so.

ilcram19

well i really recomend to stay away from recruter and organization like that they jsut care about making their profit and then they forget about you they promise you the job and this and that but thats just alot a crap..

My xperiance with burnett'; i took a job as a NOC Analyst for some companie here in the area, burnett had told me that i was gonna work for them for 3 months then i was gonna be hired, now i stared there last tuesday but after training some dude that been working there throu burnett told me that they didnt know if they were gonna keep him after 3 months and that they called burnett and they never answear u should ve seen the guy he looked really frusteted...so i said screw this and i came back to my job last thurday...i was gonna be getting pay 3 dlls less that im getting pay in my actual job but after the 3 months the promise me a 7 dlls raise which im pretty sure it was crap

in conclusion stay away!!!!!they just want their profit and notting else

mrj

I loathe most recruiters and their practices, that's about as deep as I'll go, though.

mastercorm

Personally, I've found them to be more annoying than anything else....as with all recruiters. They call about a position, never get back to you, or call you to come in for a week contract or something ridiculous, don't seem to pay much attention to what your resume actually says (as far as what you've specified on monster or another job-finding site, ie:full-time, specified job locations, etc) and i frankly find the whole recruiting thing to be a big scam....they're taking a good chunk of pay out of what you should be making, and it's not like there's any shortage of people looking for IT work.
The industry would make more sense if big companies would cut out recruiters entirely and work with people on a more personal level. Only a few of the many IT recruiters i've spoken with seem to even have any knowledge of IT...they're more salespeople than anything.

mrj

ilcram19 wrote:

well i really recomend to stay away from recruter and organization like that they jsut care about making their profit and then they forget about you they promise you the job and this and that but thats just alot a crap..

My xperiance with burnett'; i took a job as a NOC Analyst for some companie here in the area, burnett had told me that i was gonna work for them for 3 months then i was gonna be hired, now i stared there last tuesday but after training some dude that been working there throu burnett told me that they didnt know if they were gonna keep him after 3 months and that they called burnett and they never answear u should ve seen the guy he looked really frusteted...so i said screw this and i came back to my job last thurday...i was gonna be getting pay 3 dlls less that im getting pay in my actual job but after the 3 months the promise me a 7 dlls raise which im pretty sure it was crap

in conclusion stay away!!!!!they just want their profit and notting else

Not to be a dick, but, they made it 100% clear I guarantee that you were on a 3 month POSSIBILITY TO HIRE contract.

Those are the risks you take when you do contract work. That's why you never ask for just a $3 raise doing it, I typically expect 15-25/hr more for contract work. For instance, if I am accustomed to making $62k in the full-time sector, I would expect no less than ~80k to do the same job on a 1099. Taxes are even worse with 1099 work.

I still believe that recruiters are scum and stay far away from all but the 1-2 my colleagues have recommended.

SqrlGrl

Hey All -

I found this site by searching Robert Half Technology. I have been contracting through them for three weeks now - they did place me in an awesome job. However, I received my first full paycheck and WOW! Where did it all go? Anybody out there know how much they take out?

Making more an hour from previous job but taking home a lot less. Going to have to rethink this apporach.

Thanks
SqrlGrl

mrj

SqrlGrl wrote:

Hey All -

I found this site by searching Robert Half Technology. I have been contracting through them for three weeks now - they did place me in an awesome job. However, I received my first full paycheck and WOW! Where did it all go? Anybody out there know how much they take out?

Making more an hour from previous job but taking home a lot less. Going to have to rethink this apporach.

Thanks
SqrlGrl

I was under the impression the recruiting company told you exactly what you would make, say, $50k - but the company they send you to would be paying $65k, so you'd see a normal check and really never know what their part of the pie was. Could be wrong, though.

SqrlGrl

Long story short on my end - I was told what the job paid per hour and that was about it. Then when I received my paycheck I was totally shocked at the amount because I'm making more with this new job than the job I quit but you wouldn't be able tell that from the check; and I have moved to a state that has withholding (not used to that as I was living in Florida).

In my research to try and figure out what Robert Half takes out I found the website www.paycheckcity.com and input my check amount before taxes and choose the state of North Carolina. Paycheckcity calculated everything down to the penny, Social Security, Fed taxes and the State Withholding. The one number that was way off was the state withholding - the amount on my check is almost three times the amount that paycheckcity gave me - so I'm going on the assumption that is where Robert Half is taking their cut - which comes to about 13 - 14%.

Now in all fairness maybe they did tell me and I was so eager to get away from my current job I didn't pay any attention.

Sorry - I tried to keep it short

SqrlGrl

druid318

IF they are taking money out of your check it shouldn't be listed on the stub as state withholding. You might want to contact someone and have it sorted out or explained to you. Most of these companies take their cut long before you even see anything. If they didn't most people would quit. The withholding part of your stub is only for state taxes , and all of it should be itemized. State , Fed , Social Sec. ext...

angeloca

Negative experience in both cases:

- RHI - I had to drive (2 hours) to their office in Raleigh (NC), filled a bunch of forms, taking a test on PHP (never got the results). I called and emailed several times the guy, he never answered. After more than 4 months I never got a job proposal neither news from them. The only positive thing is that I have now access to Skillport for free, but unfortunately I subscribed just a few days before my RHI experience, that expensive knowledge instrument directly.

- Ettain - This is an almost unbelievable experience. I was contacted by a guy from the Charlotte (NC) office; a nice guy I must add. He really worked for me, unfortunately he "placed" me with the wrong company. They were searching for a Linux administrator. My skills are clearly explained on my resume, no lies, no "window" dressing etc. Got a phone interview with the big boss of this company (New Breed in Greensboro); he asks me to talk to another Linux admin of the company. He asks for my skills, I answer honestly (for example I never compiled all by myself the kernel and I told him). Both these guys liked me and my honesty (I am more at a Jr. level, because although I manage a Linux system, this is just part of what I do, but in the past I managed IBM mainframes and AS/400's). The guy at Ettain calls me in a matter of few hours with the great news about being hired for $27/hour. Great! Well, not really. They asked me to terminate all my previous engagements, because I was asked to start in a matter of a few days. When I finally started (3 weeks passed) I was registered at New Breed, put in an office, and the manager (a Sr. Unix admin) created for me an user id in order to "play" (his own words) with Solaris. In my interview I clearly stated that I never worked with Solaris (although I discovered it's very similar to any other Linux distribution). For 2 days I begged to have something to do. At the end of the second day, after I got home, I received the "nice" news that I was terminated because "I was not up to par". Well even if I am an idiot I would like to show my incompetence before being fired. I just hope I will be paid for those 2 days of "work".

One final word. These agencies probably can't care less about you and their contracts usually say that you have to give them 7-10 days notice, but they don't.

Well now I cannot up my par, because without a job I cannot pay the green fee.

famosbrown

We've used Robert half to find candidates for us and they have been great. We usually allow RHT to take the burden for about 3-6 months, and then decide if we will bring the contracotr on-board full-time. I've never wrked for them, but I've used them as a head hunter.

angeloca

For an employer I guess that the problem is different. An employer has usually a good number of candidates to choose from. As job searcher you feel to be like just another piece of meat. With another agency, once I tried an experiment. Since I own a small company, I searched for a candidate with my skills (I am not an idiot and I created a profile matching about 80% of my skills). Well, they made a couple of proposals. Guess what? They did not propose my resume at all. And believe me, I know how to conduct these tests, using the right people etc. The don't give a d..n to their candidates, their only concern is taking a cut from the pay. This should be obvious by the clause about the notice. They just want to please their customer, not the employee. Same old story. I accept credit card with my business. Ever wondered why credit cards companies give away all those "cash rewards" or "travel points"? The merchant pays 100% of those rewards (added to the usual discount rate). Do you believe the customer is aware of this? Of course not. By the way this is another story.

jamesp1983

I get a lot of calls from RHT and Tek Systems, but I haven't been too impressed with any jobs they've offered me. I'm a network systems admin at a company now full time, but always have my options open. I think I'm lacking experience for their good jobs. I have about 3.5 years.

JustAnotherGeek77

I think some of you have the very unreal expectation when you are getting involved into it. Now Im not going to bore you with credentials and certs and blah blah blah cause yeah I have nothing to prove to any one here

Here is the real. And I to was just like most. You go to tech school you graduate with some sort of 2 year what ever. Now while in school you had all these folks telling ya, yeah graduate and make 60 k blah blah blah.. Take cert and make more ..

WRONG

Experience is where its at in this game folks. I have been playing for 14 year professionally. Here is the scoop. The tek systems and the Robert Halfs are your gate ways into a company. Most companies HR department are to dumb to understand people like us so they look to the contracting firms for help. That's how it works. If by some miracle you land a job by your self when just stating out then congrats

To many of us think that It is a turn key solution to success. RIGHT. WAKE up!.. You have to put in your time and prove your worth. You have to keep thinking out side the box and not just slump around and say hey i have my cert I am an expert when you really are nothing. Take this from a guy that's been there. fresh out of college with windows nt certs, Dos and unix background. Yes DOS and unix for all you GUI mouse clicking mites. Thinking I was Hot s##t cause I knew more than most from OTHER activities . But then I got slapped with being the helper of a help desk tech making $8.50 an hour

Know what happened. I stuck it out.. work that job and surpass the help desk guy and made him my B, Worked up the ranks for 8 year to an glorious Sr. Engineer title.. making a whopping 70k a year.. woo hoo... Kept on working then turn back to these lovely head hunter and now I make well over 6 figures a year and have an enormous amount of flexibility.

At the end of the day my fellow geeks, all you have is bandwidth and a huge chunk of change for toys

Don't think for some second that you are safe with some corp full time time just to get out sourced cause your bosses have no idea about what you do. Pimp your selfs out and get what is truly yours. The world is nothing with out us

Experience and proof of ongoing education is the key. Get 10 years under your belt and your world will change with RH or tek or what ever

MCPWannabe

I agree with the sentiments above. Recruiters will waiste your time if you let them.

However, is it just me or are all the recruiter women really, really, hot? A few weeks ago, I went into an agency and met my short, mini-skirt wearing recruiter.

Then, she told me that she needed to introduce me to another recruiter. This one was 45 and looked like an ex-supermodel, who is still really hot.

I've had similar experiences at recruiting agencies.

snadam

MCPWannabe wrote:

I agree with the sentiments above. Recruiters will waiste your time if you let them.

However, is it just me or are all the recruiter women really, really, hot? A few weeks ago, I went into an agency and met my short, mini-skirt wearing recruiter.

Then, she told me that she needed to introduce me to another recruiter. This one was 45 and looked like an ex-supermodel, who is still really hot.

I've had similar experiences at recruiting agencies.

which office is that exactly...

Crunchyhippo

JustAnotherGeek77 wrote:

Experience is where its at in this game folks.....

To many of us think that It is a turn key solution to success. RIGHT. WAKE up!.. You have to put in your time and prove your worth. You have to keep thinking out side the box and not just slump around and say hey i have my cert I am an expert when you really are nothing. Take this from a guy that's been there. fresh out of college with windows nt certs, Dos and unix background. Yes DOS and unix for all you GUI mouse clicking mites. Thinking I was Hot s##t cause I knew more than most from OTHER activities . But then I got slapped with being the helper of a help desk tech making $8.50 an hour

Know what happened. I stuck it out..

A couple of comments here.....

I agree completely - experience is where its [sic] at, sir.

So how do I get some of this elusive experience with *I begin laughing here* just a mere education? And, btw - I'm wanting to break into the networking field with my education and certs, and I'm currently working in a non-networking field. And I have a wife and children who depend on me financially, so "putting in my time" at $8.50/hr. will only succeed in starving us to death. I'm not making networking salary right now, unfortunately, but it's not as bad as 8.50/hr, and I'm still going in the hole. Maybe to you single guys this low pay is a viable alternative, but if this is what it takes to get into networking and you're married (and especially with kids) and they look to you for a paycheck, then abandon networking aspirations. Yeah, I know, do it because you enjoy it, but bills are a solid reality in life that have to be resolved.

Unlike, say, accounting or architechture or even computer programming, you can't reasonably expect to get a decent job when you finish your education and finish beating your brains out; you first have to either "intern" (i.e. "work for free" for the uninitiated) or work for peanuts (i.e. work for a salary you would otherwise normally laugh at) in order to "stick it out" as you put it.

Welcome to the world of networking.

Mishra

snadam wrote:

MCPWannabe wrote:

I agree with the sentiments above. Recruiters will waiste your time if you let them.

However, is it just me or are all the recruiter women really, really, hot? A few weeks ago, I went into an agency and met my short, mini-skirt wearing recruiter.

Then, she told me that she needed to introduce me to another recruiter. This one was 45 and looked like an ex-supermodel, who is still really hot.

I've had similar experiences at recruiting agencies.

which office is that exactly...

Honestly, tek systems here has tons of good looking women as well. I'm sure that does great for those lonely IT guys that walk in.

networker050184

Crunchyhippo wrote:

JustAnotherGeek77 wrote:

Experience is where its at in this game folks.....

To many of us think that It is a turn key solution to success. RIGHT. WAKE up!.. You have to put in your time and prove your worth. You have to keep thinking out side the box and not just slump around and say hey i have my cert I am an expert when you really are nothing. Take this from a guy that's been there. fresh out of college with windows nt certs, Dos and unix background. Yes DOS and unix for all you GUI mouse clicking mites. Thinking I was Hot s##t cause I knew more than most from OTHER activities . But then I got slapped with being the helper of a help desk tech making $8.50 an hour

Know what happened. I stuck it out..

A couple of comments here.....

I agree completely - experience is where its [sic] at, sir.

So how do I get some of this elusive experience with *I begin laughing here* just a mere education? And, btw - I'm wanting to break into the networking field with my education and certs, and I'm currently working in a non-networking field. And I have a wife and children who depend on me financially, so "putting in my time" at $8.50/hr. will only succeed in starving us to death. I'm not making networking salary right now, unfortunately, but it's not as bad as 8.50/hr, and I'm still going in the hole. Maybe to you single guys this low pay is a viable alternative, but if this is what it takes to get into networking and you're married (and especially with kids) and they look to you for a paycheck, then abandon networking aspirations. Yeah, I know, do it because you enjoy it, but bills are a solid reality in life that have to be resolved.

Unlike, say, accounting or architechture or even computer programming, you can't reasonably expect to get a decent job when you finish your education and finish beating your brains out; you first have to either "intern" (i.e. "work for free" for the uninitiated) or work for peanuts (i.e. work for a salary you would otherwise normally laugh at) in order to "stick it out" as you put it.

Welcome to the world of networking.

Why do you continue to come and post this BS about the IT field? Trust me you are not the only person who has a wife and children. I have a wife and three children. I'm putting my wife through school (which means daycare for the kids also) so you are not the only one with bills. If you think its too hard to get a job in the networking field then move on and stop trying to bring everyone else down with you. Its not that hard to find a job, you should start looking at yourself rather than blaming everything on "the world of networking."

darkerosxx

Yeah really, people are begging for networking employees in the south.

Crunchyhippo

networker050184 wrote:

Crunchyhippo wrote:

JustAnotherGeek77 wrote:

Experience is where its at in this game folks.....

To many of us think that It is a turn key solution to success. RIGHT. WAKE up!.. You have to put in your time and prove your worth. You have to keep thinking out side the box and not just slump around and say hey i have my cert I am an expert when you really are nothing. Take this from a guy that's been there. fresh out of college with windows nt certs, Dos and unix background. Yes DOS and unix for all you GUI mouse clicking mites. Thinking I was Hot s##t cause I knew more than most from OTHER activities . But then I got slapped with being the helper of a help desk tech making $8.50 an hour

Know what happened. I stuck it out..

A couple of comments here.....

I agree completely - experience is where its [sic] at, sir.

So how do I get some of this elusive experience with *I begin laughing here* just a mere education? And, btw - I'm wanting to break into the networking field with my education and certs, and I'm currently working in a non-networking field. And I have a wife and children who depend on me financially, so "putting in my time" at $8.50/hr. will only succeed in starving us to death. I'm not making networking salary right now, unfortunately, but it's not as bad as 8.50/hr, and I'm still going in the hole. Maybe to you single guys this low pay is a viable alternative, but if this is what it takes to get into networking and you're married (and especially with kids) and they look to you for a paycheck, then abandon networking aspirations. Yeah, I know, do it because you enjoy it, but bills are a solid reality in life that have to be resolved.

Unlike, say, accounting or architechture or even computer programming, you can't reasonably expect to get a decent job when you finish your education and finish beating your brains out; you first have to either "intern" (i.e. "work for free" for the uninitiated) or work for peanuts (i.e. work for a salary you would otherwise normally laugh at) in order to "stick it out" as you put it.

Welcome to the world of networking.

Why do you continue to come and post this BS about the IT field? Trust me you are not the only person who has a wife and children. I have a wife and three children. I'm putting my wife through school (which means daycare for the kids also) so you are not the only one with bills. If you think its too hard to get a job in the networking field then move on and stop trying to bring everyone else down with you. Its not that hard to find a job, you should start looking at yourself rather than blaming everything on "the world of networking."

Uh, what dreamworld are you living in, networker050184? You say it's BS, but you haven't refuted a single thing I've said. So you're going through hard times, too? Like I said, welcome to the world of networking if you don't have experience. You're going to go through hard times at first before you start to see a respectable income. I think this just proves my point.

Maybe you're the one who should be "moving on" from this board instead of giving newbies unfamiliar with networking false expectations. And if you think it's "not that hard to find a job" (especially after the mortgage meltdown), you're either being disingenuous or you're just ignorant about the job field. Want a job at 8.50/hr? Sure, you'll probably find one. Looking for one where you can actually make your house/car payments? Look long and hard. And you think I'm saying this just because I'm experiencing sour grapes? Hmm - well, I wonder why others in my networking graduating class are echoing the same things I'm saying a year after graduation?

I'm not against networking as a career; but know what you're getting into and don't believe the hype that the schools are unloading about the great pay when school is over. Look at Monster/Yahoo Hot Jobs/Dice if you doubt me. Do you see a job listing that doesn't say "requires 2/3/5 years experience" minimum? Anywhere? Education doesn't get you a decent job; experience does. Maybe the market will swing back to where it once was, maybe not. In the meantime, walk into this with your eyes open and knowing what you're walking into.

dynamik

If you're going to tear into someone, you should at least take some time to learn about his or her situation. He's actually got a great (from the sounds of it) voice job; he was just saying he made it despite having other financial responsibilities.

undomiel

I see the problem. You are actually taking those job adds at face value. Sorry, they're lying to you. When it says "requires" it actually means "would like." Every job I've gotten has required more experience than I had at the time. I still got the job though. And all of these jobs pay more than 8.50/h as well. I see plenty of jobs being posted all the time and I've been able to manage a good number of interviews as well. I don't know whether you're aiming too high or you're expecting a job on a silver platter or if you're just not in a good area of the country. There are jobs to be had. Just prove to them that you're worth it.

LarryDaMan

Who guarantees a high paying job after graduating? In any field you need some experience mixed with that education to make the big bucks.

Nobody should expect to graduate and then be a high earner, especially in IT where experience really matters.

shednik

Hey crunchy you need to realize you probably won't get a job in networking off the bat but there are plenty of entry level jobs like help desk or desktop support that start out much higher then 8.50/hr. My first internship was at that rate but it gets better, what I'm really tired of is your attitude you seem to just complain because things don't go your way. A lot of people worked hard to get where they are myself included and it wasn't handed to me, you seem to want a hand out of a perfect networking job making minimum 60k. If you're not in IT now what are you doing for a living? If you switch careers you have to start over plain and simple and not having those initial support jobs will actually hurt you because you build basic troubleshooting skills in the beginning. I posted on another one of your threads the number of helpdesk jobs in florida and there were plenty to choose from. So please stop complaining and go for a job thats attainable for your skill and experience level.