Robert Half

Anyone else getting tired of these head hunting firms that call you in for interviews, waste your time with some prize job they say they're working on, and you never hear back from them?

What's going on with the Human Resources department anymore? Isn't it their job to look for new candidates?

It seems like there is a new head hunting firm popping up every day!

THIS SUCKS!

John Smith said: Anyone else getting tired of these head hunting firms that call you in for interviews, waste your time with some prize job they say they're working on, and you never hear back from them?
What's going on with the Human Resources department anymore? Isn't it their job to look for new candidates?
It seems like there is a new head hunting firm popping up every day!
THIS SUCKS!

True.. I also like the firms that ask for 5-6 refs so they can use them to prospect for new clients.

John Smith said: Anyone else getting tired of these head hunting firms that call you in for interviews, waste your time with some prize job they say they're working on, and you never hear back from them?
What's going on with the Human Resources department anymore? Isn't it their job to look for new candidates?
It seems like there is a new head hunting firm popping up every day!
THIS SUCKS!

Yes, I agree. They called me in to meet with me and then I never heard from them again. I think this also sucks.

This company seems to be one of the worst. They have branches all over the place, so no matter where you look for a job, they pop up. There should be a limit to the amount of head hunter agencies out there.

It's aggravating that you work hard to get certifications, degrees, and experience to interview with only a head hunting firm.

Remember how 20/20 investigated bad businesses? Perhaps they should start investigating these bogus head hunting firms.

If you get a call from anyone from RHI, respectfully turn them down. If you get into a position where you manage IT Professionals and you have a need to fill a position, DO NOT USE RHI!!!!

Thanks for nothing RHI.. I hope to help you out the way you helped me!

Yes, they will call you in for an interview to make sure you are viable candidate. It depends on your skills if it is a waste of time. If you have nothing else going on at that time you can at least network with them. The companies that use agencies usually fall into several categories: They can't find the right person on their own, they don't have a large enough HR department to recruit or the requirements for the job are specific and the pay is too low so they have nothing to lose by using a staffing firm. There are certain agencies I will agree to meet with for an interview and others I just ask what they have and how much it pays. If they don't have anything close to my expectations I don't agree to an interview.

The worst thing about RHI is when they have you come in for an interview and ask you to 'sign on the dotted line'. They ask you to check with them before you submit your resume or agree to an interview with anyone. I'm not sure how much that document holds up, but I stopped checking with them after a few weeks.

Can you call the Better Business Bureau on these head hunting firms???

Can't speak to IT, but RH also has a legal recruitment branch--again, with the plum job that one has to suspect because it sounds so crazy good. I was reeled in, & when I got there, found out I was expected to sign, without question, an overbroad release allowing them to inquire into every minute aspect of my entire life, including my medical records! WAY TOO INVASIVE, & irrelevant. I declined, politely, to sign, & the recruiter said that many other attorneys had done the same. I seriously doubt the job really existed anyway, though I can't prove it.

P.S. If it's a business, you can call the BBB on them. If you have some serious evidence of wrongdoing, also call your state attorney general's office about filing a complaint.

Me: Whenever I see a too-good-to-be-true job listing offered by a recruiter, I treat it with a healthy dose of skepiticism. When the recruiter is Robert Half, I just ignore it. My .02.

Having worked for RHI for 7 years, in both IT and Finance, I can understand the frustration expressed in these emails. I too, have not done right by some of the potential candidates that I have met with, but a good recruiter should tell you from the start that they only place 1 in 10 people that they meet with and that they should be considered a source for networking above all else. Since there is incredible turnover in this industry there are a lot of folks that are too new to provide this type of maturity and understanding in this business. Overall, however, I would highly recommend that a person looking for a new position would be better off having sat down with a recruiter at a large, Fortune 500 company like Robert Half, than not. If you want to hear from your recruiter, PICK UP THE PHONE AND CALL THEM! Sorry, but this is a fundamental in networking and job search. It shows initiative, which is what employers are looking for! PS If you are thinking of getting in to recruiting, Robert Half provides an excellent foundation, with extremely good tools to help recruit candidates, which is over half the battle. Like any company, it has its downfalls, but overall I would say it was an excellent organization to work for and I can't think of a better firm with which to start your career in recruiting.

Dear RHI employee in Wilmington, Delaware. What a line of BS! Your a former RHI employee alright what did you do transfer to another bogus RH office? This company is full light weights who have failed in their own careers. You say "PICK UP THE PHONE AND CALL THEM" nice idea but after you make that call and find your calls are screened into voice mail only to be ignored...job seekers quickly find out the hell Robert Half is.

Joe Blow said:
True.. I also like the firms that ask for 5-6 refs so they can use them to prospect for new clients.

Wow. that's wild. good point!

I have seen one too may job postings (all lined up like little ducks) to believe these are real jobs being advertised. I'm sure it is only to fill up their databases with good candidates to show to their prospective "Employers" ha - Us job seekers have figured them out!!!

My .02

I have been looking for work for one month now. I have recruiters (R) calling me every day (2-4 in one day). You have to view RHI like any other R, not as a company, but as a statistic. I only go in for the interview IF they have a solid match for me and there is an actual opening. View R like used car salepeople. They are eager for resumes (yours) and you need a job. When a R calls me I ask the typical questions and then let them submit me for the position, being professional of course. I do send them my resume, but do not expect a call back. If they do--great. It is all a numbers game with them. I have found many of my interviews on my own, but some through R. R are a dime a dozen.

Don't be upset by them, but play their game to your advantage.

The purpose of Head Hunting Firms is to talk to as many people as possible to find the best match for the company they are working for. The odds are against you in getting a job because the ratio of contacts versus placement is around 20:1. If you are not getting call backs, then you are missing something or are not qualified for that job.

You have to realize that RHI is just a resource and not a guaranteed placement. If you solely rely on any staffing agency to get you a job you're in trouble.

The main problem that occurs with candidates is they come in to do an interview and then vanish. We don't really have the time to hunt you down out of the database of 4 million candidates unless you have a white elephant skill. You have to keep calling in available so we know you are ready for work. We can't always produce a job for you in a week or less try as we might.

However, there are still major benefits of coming in even if you don't get placed. We have free online training for multiple applications, we're partners with Microsoft. We are also offering you a totally free service. Moreover, no on has as many connections to line managers and HR people as RHI, if there is a job for your skill set we will put you in it.

The problem that I have is that RH like other agencies will have you come in for an interview under the 'premise' they have a specific job available with which they are submitting you for, and then after the interview, RH and others never call back. It pisses me off to have a recruiter waste my time by telling me they have a job for me and get me to come in just to fill their resume bank. When I have received 'legitimate offers' I always follow up with the recruiter and bug them.

We don't really have the time to hunt you down out of the database of 4 million candidates unless you have a white elephant skill.

They don't have the TIME. Why don’t they stop wasting everyone else's time. What a bunch of dopes.

If they've already called you in and had you interview with the company, then it is their reponsibility to call you.

The reason there are so many head-hunters is because of the HR Department layoffs of the late 90's. There are no HR departments any more. Companies are forced to use agencies...and we are forced to use them...unless we can find a way to contact someone within the company directly. Believe me when I tell you that companies are starting (slowly) to hire in-house HR people again...because they're not getting what they want from the agencies either.

Here's another tactic that I seem to run into whenever I've dealt with these recruiters. I answer a job that RHI or another firm is advertising. I go in and fill out the paperwork and sign up with the firm. They give me the Rah-Rah, "You're the perfect fit, we'll get to work on getting you in there right away" speech. I call back or send an email a few days later to follow up. Get the "we're still waiting to hear back, things are crazy over there right now" answer THEN get the following:

"DO YOU WANT TO TAKE A TEMPORARY 2 MONTH CONTRACT JOB IN SUCH AND SUCH TOWN?"

Usually the job is WAYYY far from where I live and it's usually a 2 month contract. When I respond with "I'd really like to focus on getting into the job I initially came in for," I never hear back from the recruiter. Is this some sort of initiation rite? Is this a test of my willingness or flexibility or something?

Has anyone else run into this sort of thing?

Yeah, RHI and the Creative Group suck

they talk a bunch and dont come through

So I guess it's settled. We all agree recruiters suck like OPEC. But like gas for our cars they do provide us work once in a while. My last position was through a recruiter.

John Smith said: Anyone else getting tired of these head hunting firms that call you in for interviews, waste your time with some prize job they say they're working on, and you never hear back from them?
What's going on with the Human Resources department anymore? Isn't it their job to look for new candidates?
It seems like there is a new head hunting firm popping up every day!
THIS SUCKS!

I have to say; reading the negative comments from all of you Blowhards is a riot. I have been a corporate recruiter for 10 years and it never ceases to amaze me all the whining that comes from developers and engineers that think they are the greatest. You want a perspective from a seasoned recruiter. Stop wasting our time with your bitching about us doing our jobs. If you want to develop the contacts needed to get a job I invite you to do so. Until then shut your overprice pie holes and get your lazy blog reading asses back to work.

Frank from Tek Systems

Yours is the typical reply from a typical recruiter. Why don't you used car types quit freakin calling us with jobs, scheduling an interview, and getting us into your office, only to find out after we have wasted 2 or 3 hours of our time, that there is no job and you people are only resume collecting. Get off your freakin perch and at least be professional enough to tell us the truth--or is that something your sense of ethics doesn't do?

So shut up. You are no one to talk.

It irritates me to no end when people who treat their clients with a lack of professionalism and show no courtesy to them blame others when they are called on it.

To the recruiter who advised us to shut our "over-priced" pie-holes...allow me to point out that most of us in IT have spent THOUSANDS of dollars on our educations and YEARS of time learning every new thing that comes along...to stay marketable. I suspect the recruiter doesn't deal with contracts that end suddenly, lack of decent benes or the scams that they are pulling. We ARE trying to find ways to get around you folks. The tide will turn a**h*le!

This is degenerating into a worthless thread. I also have gone to RHI, and I have seen, to a tee, that my experiences are typical. Does this mean I file 13 RHI? Naw, but, I won't put all my eggs in one basket, either. It's a new year, and I am going to do what I have to do to get back to work.

And Frank- If we are overpriced, please, tell me who negotiates price? could it be recruiters, like RHI and TEK?????

You got to admit Frank, Joe has a point. It is you and your people who negotiate all of those "high priced" wages for everyone, because otherwise you wouldn't make any money yourself.

Huh, funny thing.

This has now become a worthless thread.

IT is not my style to react what seems like a never ending discussion but I do think one point is missed. And that has to do with the way companies are doing business now versus 15 years ago. The real change is LOYALTY with employees and that is where Robert Half REALLY differentiates itself. We FIGHT for our candidates, else our staffing proffesionals do NOT get paid. Bottom line. But that only happens when we build that trust with a candidate...5-6 references...it not only about the additional business leads...it is about the candidate showing us that they are SERIOUS about working and us getting to understand their work product. I will bet you that for every bad experience we have had there are 10-15 good ones. I don't think there is a corporate recruiting department in the world with that kind of performance...

Then maybe, can you explain why some recruiters waste the candidates time by getting them in for interviews only to be told afterward that the job was already filled--essentially they are resume collecting. This builds a lot of distrust in recruiters. I have had this happen on more than one occasion. My time is as valuable to me as yours is to you.

Can you comment?

I wanted to say kudos to TekSystems. I've talked with several recruiting companies, Robert Half, Ajilon, MSXi, to name a few. What a waste of time all those were. Especially Robert Half.

Let me give you a brief history. 3 months ago, I go in, fill out all the paperwork, take a test, talk to a recruiter, spend 2-3 hrs. Almost a month later, after leaving several messages, I'm told that recruiter no longer works there. Then the "Director" of Recruiting tells me that I got "lost in the system" and puts me through the Same process, wasting another 2-3 hrs. She claims she She's so peppy that now I'm excited. A few days later I get a call from her "assistant" letting me know they are aggressively mrkting me. Great! A week later, same phone call. Another week goes by, finally a real job prospect. They ask if I can start the following Monday. I say "Hell Yeah"...they tell me there is no need for an interview since this client has a relationship with RHI. Couple of days go by and I have to call the "Assistant" only to find out the particulars of the job are totally not what he told me. Anyways, to make a long story short, they give you the run-around, waste your time, get your hopes up high. VERY VERY BAD!!

Now TekSystems, lucky for me, the recruiter had lined up 3 interviews for me in 2 weeks. One of them I got the job. He was great at following up, keeping me in the loop and very prompt. Very surprising and am very thankful to him. Just my two cents.

It's so true...I had an agency call my refrence and offer to place him with another company. They are not all bad...but...

If you see a job posted by a contract technical recruiter, send them my letter as shown below:

To Whom It May Concern:

Considering the demand in the marketplace and projected growth for the next ten years, it is clear that anyone trying to earn a living as a contract technical recruiter should starve, and rightly so, on a regular basis. If you are reading this and are one of these blood-sucking parasites, you will probably find yourself working the phones, the Internet, and Email to earn a dollar. Right now, every Tom, Dick, Harry, Rachael, Sue, Julie, Sarat, and Amir on planet Earth is trying to make a fast buck by being a temporary employer of some kind, yet the only real difference between each and every one of you is the amount of sales puff you can blow up an employer’s behind with the standard ‘WE ARE THE BEST” sales hype or the amount of payola that is paid to an employer to get a signed contract. Most of you lie, cheat, and steal on a regular basis to achieve your sales goals and maximize your cut of your secret billable rate. You also scour the resumes you receive for applicant placement and the help-wanted ads placed by employers to find new prey. Using resumes for marketing and sales is pretexting, which is getting private information about an individual under false pretenses, is wrong.

Many skilled IT and engineering professionals believe the only career choice that is lower than a contract technical recruiter is that of a used car salesman at a buy-here-pay-here car lot or that of being a fourth generation professional welfare recipient. Skilled and educated people that do real work for a living are tired of being your meal ticket! You are nothing but scum.

It was decided long ago, at least in this house, that the "Half" in Robert Half stands for "Half Empty".

Lovely. Just Lovely. John Charles, is it? Let's just call you J.C. (Considering your holier than though Diatribe, J.C. seems to fit) You sir, are a foul spot on today's economy. We no longer live in a time where Mrs.. J.C. packs your tidy lunch pail as your off to the work place, thinking about what possible trouble little J.C. has gotten into that day (The little scamp!)
It is humorous that you people, the J.C.s of the world, assume that you are the only ones with pure hearts and good intentions. Yet once a staffing agency isn't able to find you your dream position, you spew hatred and filth like an angered octopus spewing ink. You are an ink spewer J.C.!
What of the ideals of the noble recruiter? What about their dreams? The bright eyed kid (possibly young J.C.? He may not want to follow in dear old dads footsteps of being an angry engineer) Maybe J.C. jr wants to help people find jobs. Maybe he wants to work in hope. And maybe sometimes a candidate or two are harder to place. Suddenly those candidates become Irate. Angry. Scary. Suddenly J.C. jr's world is cold and foreboding. Developers and Engineers haunt his dreams, shouting profanities and slurs at our young recruiting hero. He can not sleep, his work has become a place of fear. You have brought this upon him. You.

I have been a recruiter for well over 20 years, with the same company might I add (not a large one, we are not being discussed here). I am as professional as any of you are and dare I say as skilled as the rest of you as well. In fact, I've managed to live on my little straight commission job for the past 20+ years. What bothers me here is that there seems to be a real lack of communication/ education. Perhaps it is our role to educate candidates as well as employers? I don't know, you tell me. Perhaps my candidate clients feel I'm cold when I tell them that it's not my role to "touch base" with them on a regular basis. I ask each and every candidate to keep in contact with me. That is their job. As a candidate would you prefer I touch base with you OR that I spend my time touching base with employers who might be able to hire you? I understand you don’t want to come in and fill out my application and let me interview you. I get it, but it’s part of my job. My clients expect that I’ve met you. They want to know what I think of you. That’s why they pay fees, for a little help. If I may suggest, why not use his interview as a fine tuning interview. Take the recruiters advice, don’t take it personally, they are trying to help you. If they don’t call you back, you call them back, or send an email. They are most likely doing their best. Sorry about the soapbox, I’ll hand it over now.

Their motto is:
WE GET IT. WE SPEAK IT. WE KNOW IT.
But, they forgot to put the SH in front of the IT.

Robert Half has been in business for 50+ years and is a $4 Billion/year business. Hardly popping up every day.

Human Resource departments are not trained in finding high level technical people. And they don't have the resources to find the people agencies can. They are also trying to fill all other non specialized positions. If you don't like agencies than don't utilize their services. Last time I checked, they don't charge you any money for their services.

I love the "used car salesman" analogy. If we are used car salesmen what does that make you guys. So lets assume that we are used car sales men and our clients are looking for an "used car"...you. Just like cars on the lots, there are lemons and there are "how did I find this gem out here." Look, you have to realize that we get paid to find a perfect match technically and personality to a specific position. We are not a non-for-profit, we don't have to help everyone that walks in our doors.

And on another note, if you walk into XYZ banking company and the HR lady snubs you after you meet with her, do you bad mouth the entire banking industry? No, maybe you have to take a look at yourself in the mirror and realize that maybe a company won't want to pay $10,15, or even 20k for you. Sorry

raw bobb said:
Wow. that's wild. good point!

+1 If they ask for references prior to interviews, I drop it.
They are fishing for free prospects. They should pay for them. In silicon valley back in the late 90's, recruiters would pay 100 bucks just for a phone number of phone list.
BTW, silicon valley boutique head-hunters are far superior
to the crap here on the east coast (esp flordia)

Michael said: Robert Half has been in business for 50+ years and is a $4 Billion/year business. Hardly popping up every day.
Human Resource departments are not trained in finding high level technical people. And they don't have the resources to find the people agencies can. They are also trying to fill all other non specialized positions. If you don't like agencies than don't utilize their services. Last time I checked, they don't charge you any money for their services.

Realize one thing. Recruiters have a hard time getting feedback from employers on submitted candidates. More than 1 agency is usually working on a job posting. Companies don't have time or bandwidth to weed out all of the gargbage resumes that are sent to them. If a recruiter does not call you back that means you were sent to the employer and you were not good enough.

bubbleRefuge said:
+1 If they ask for references prior to interviews, I drop it.
They are fishing for free prospects. They should pay for them. In silicon valley back in the late 90's, recruiters would pay 100 bucks just for a phone number of phone list.
BTW, silicon valley boutique head-hunters are far superior
to the crap here on the east coast (esp flordia)

They don't need your references for prospects. It's real easy, we go to monster, career builder, etc... and look at resumes pull right from there. Pretty easy huh. I guess you are not as smart as you think you are.

Well I guess your right again. I wonder why they called my refrence and asked him to join their agency.

Current RHI said: You have to realize that RHI is just a resource and not a guaranteed placement. If you solely rely on any staffing agency to get you a job you're in trouble.
The main problem that occurs with candidates is they come in to do an interview and then vanish.

if the main problem is candiadtes vancsh why did (*name removed) send out a memo stating that admins were no longer supposed to send candiadtes to voicemail but straight through. the reason he did is because the recruiters NEVER returned calls. the reasons why, because they are told that they need to have thier "125/12" or they will be terminated. The RHi tag line of "ethics First" is a joke. it is ethics when people are looking, which lead to that big audit by PWC a few years back. get real.

Robert Half Technology has Technical Writer postings in Las Vegas every other week. A lot of people must be quitting. These "Crystal Reports" must really be tedious work.

RHI, DYNASTAFF, DRIVESTAFF and a ton of other recruiting companies, can't even remember their name, the start of the thread caught my eye, I have the same feelings and frustrations, they call you and ask you stupid ask silly questions, do you have 7 years of Microsoft Exchange 2003 experience, DUH, the thing didn't exisit 7 years ago! most of them are assistants doing the screening and they are waste of your professional time, i would say to anyone out their find mature serious recruiters, they are usually with small local well established firms in biz districts, or work solo, they don't have the decency to call you back after a client doesn't want to move forward with you, but when it involves them, they keep calling everyday! once a recuriter at accordinc in chicago, told me, we work for you, not the hiring company, bunch of BS!

their should be a concentrated effort to regulate this industry!+

oh man, tek systems! my first contact with TS was back in 1996.
i don't think the posters here have anything against a professional recruiter per say, some who is mature and who balances the relationship with the client as well as the candidate, its the attitude in general of these so many staffing companies! they call you in a for an interview, and sometimes it is questionable that the job even exisits maybe they are doing it to farm revenues, and then a year later you get this email with "Tremendous Oppurtunity" "Excellent Opppurtunity" etc etc, my only beef is that they complete the process properly, i don't they have to sit there and stay intouch with all candidates, i agree its their responsbility. its when you have an interview arranged complete the process professionally and properly. when the client is interested in you, you get non stop calls, after interview the client in not interested, I NEVER HEAR BACK FROM THE RECRUITER, that is wrong! they should call back and say hey it didn't work out for such and such reason, work on them etc etc or whatever!
anyways, guys try Linkedn! best way to network and maintain contact!@

"anyways, guys try Linkedn! best way to network and maintain contact"

Speaking of LinkedIn, did you notice that if you click on the 'more actions' link of any job listing on Indeed, you will see a link to LinkedIn and Ryze that will show you who within your network can be connected to that specific job listing? This is a great tool to use for anyone who has a profile set up on these social networking sites.

A former Robert Half Manager said it best his comments follow:

I worked for RHI for 4 years 3 as a manager, and will give you the scoop. All they care about is their bottom line and nothing else. The turnover is horrible (god forbid your a top producer and have a bad quarter..you are gone), the post false jobs and as many as possible to bombard the job boards, and never return calls. This company had a great reputation but once they become a 3 billion organization they lost site of who they were and what made them successful. They treat their employees like crap and their candidates. They even lie to clients to produce jobs. I work for a small firm now with a great reputation and believes in ethics. Just some advice..If you are looking for a recruiter, focus on the small firms that will give you the attention needed and time to talk and really get to know you. Good luck in 2007 with your job search.

I say to everyone try them for your self and experience first hand the hell which is Robert Half.

I think you get 5 star for your comments, you've summarised it precisely to the dot! and drove the point home! RHI is nothing but PURE CRAP!

They suck because they never keep promises: I agreed to meet them by making an appointment 3-4 days ago with RH but got a call to change the schedule right before the appt date...