What's Right With Robert Half?

Robert Half has done a number of things to turn me off to them.
1.) They sent me in to a job that I was in no way qualified for. They said it would be a good learning opportunity for me with Crystal Reports. Lo and behold, when I started the job the group I worked for was under the impression I had intermediate to expert skills with Crystal Reports. So, #1, they are bad at finding the ideal job for you.
2.) When they terminated my contract, 2 months earlier than they said, they did it on a Sunday night at 8:35 PM. They called but didn't leave a message to call them on the Friday before I was terminated, but I had a general idea as to what was going on. The recruiter said he was gone all weekend and didn't know anything until Sunday. Funny that I had a missed call from his cell phone on Friday night. I know these temp agencies, or whatever they go by, have the right to give you the heave-ho at the drop of a hat, but at least other agencies I worked with had the decency to either give me a few days notice and try lining up another job, or at least let me know on a Friday so I had a weekend head start for sending out resumes. Let me tell you, when you get dropped like I did, it stinks when you live from paycheck to paycheck. So #3, consider Robert Half jobs old-fashioned day labor ready to pick you up at the corner or else prepare for a major letdown.
3.) They don't care what you think. Like all recruiters, they talk to you like they're your best friend and ask you to check in often. Funny thing, I called a thousand times and complained about things going on at my job and didn't hear anything back. At least they gave me a poinsettia plant for Christmas. Isn't that thoughtful.
4.) Upon my firing, I was told I would be the recruiter's #1 priority. All he called and asked for a week is when I would return his client's parking pass.
I refuse to return to Robert Half because I do not trust them or their shady clients.

Robert Half totally wasted my time and it started when I stupidly agreed to visit their Park Ave office in New York City. When I walked in and announced my presence to the receptionist, I was given a "job application" and W-4 form to fill out, which I threw back in their faces and told them I don't fill anything out unless I see an offer in writing. The receptionist was a bit turned off by my actions, but I'm not there to fill out paperwork and disclose my social security number and other personal info. I then wait 30 minutes for the jackoff recruiter to finally greet me and the first thing he asks me is if I have time to take a brainbench test to assess my skills as a Windows Engineer. I told him I'm not here to have my time wasted and if he needs to verify my skills, I'll be more than happy to give him a list of references that will keep him occupied for an entire week, as anyone I have worked with can verify that I know my stuff and can prove it. If they want to tech me out, give me a verbal interview, but I did not come there to waste my time on a mockup Microsoft Certification exam, as I've been through all that nonsense already and have achieved 2 different forms of Microsoft certications, MCSE and MCDST. I told him to tell me about the client, the job, the pay and that's where it gets interesting. After stating my desired minimum salary, he starts asking me if I am flexible and can go lower on salary. I told him no and that I am non-negotiable. Isn't it in their best interest to get me the highest possible salary because they make a higher commission off of it? This guy is starting to bargain with me because his cheap ass client won't pay that high? I politely thanked him for wasting my time by having me come in if he can't even get me an interview for the kind of money I am asking and just walked out of that hellhole. I now refuse to visit any of these agencies because I see it as nothing more than a waste of my time. I'll send a photo instead.

Nice to know I'm not the only one getting hit where it hurts by these people. Too bad we can't write about how we really feel about these ID10Ts on these boards.

kjbartz, I feel your pain. To add to my existing sh*t list of recruiter agencies, there are these two lovely crapholes, Atlantis Partners and Remington International, who are relentless in their pursuit to find out where else you have interviewed. Now why in the hell would I or anyone else for that fact disclose where else we are interviewing? I'm not going to give these dirtbags any leads at my expense and jeopardize other potential offers I may get by having them solicit these places. They game some bullcrap excuse that they need to ensure that they don't submit me to places I'm already submitted to. Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't they need my authorization before they send my resume anywhere, or do they simply blast my resume to every hiring manager out there? I told them that if they needed to find out if I've been submitted, they should ask, but I will not openly give them such information. I refuse to deal with such dirtbags and told them I cannot do business with them because of their unprofessional and questionable techniques.

kjbartz in Morrisville, North Carolina said: Robert Half has done a number of things to turn me off to them.

3.) They don't care what you think. Like all recruiters, they talk to you like they're your best friend and ask you to check in often. Funny thing, I called a thousand times and complained about things going on at my job and didn't hear anything back. At least they gave me a poinsettia plant for Christmas. Isn't that thoughtful.

Yeah, and that poinsettia plant for Christmas was just a decoration from the office that they didn't need any longer, and was probably given as a gift to them in the 1st place.

@ sick of the bull; I like your approach...go in and before you hand me some of your lawbook paperwork, put an offer on the table. I'm tired of paperwork and tests. What's up with them bringing their new recruiters in with you on an interview. This is when the "seasoned recruiter" wants to show off his/her skills... which aint much. Gas is too high to be wasting on agenices with no real jobs...