What to look out for with RHT

Alright, so I was offered a job at a competitive wage for the job I'm looking for. After the initial interview with the recruiter, it appears that I am almost guaranteed to get the job. They have a good relationship with the client and based on my experience I am a perfect match for the position.

My question is, what's the catch!? The starting salary is good, the job suits my abilities, yet I've heard a lot of negative things about RHT. What, in particular, should I watch out for?

Any advice is appreciated.

Take the time to read the contract. If you are negotiating with other consulting firms other than RHI within the same timeframe, read their contract they include in the initial paperwork. If you sign the RHI contract, you are in essence EMPLOYED by RHI and somewhere within their contract, there will be a statement that you cannot provide consulting services to other firms even if you are not on assignment for RHI. In other words, if another firm offers you a contract while you are on the "bench" with RHI...you cannot accept Firm B's offer.
They should never have you signing a contract until they have a position within a client for you to be working at.
Example: I have 3 possible offers. I'm waiting on one that should come through but, it's with a competitor of RHI. The RHI Recruiter had me come in to fill out paperwork they needed completed to continue. The paperwork included a W2, Bank Direct Deposit form, CONTRACT. All this based on speculation that a client would bring me on board as a RHI Consultant. In essence, by filling out these documents AND SIGNING THE CONTRACT I was agreeing to become an RHI employee....but, had the client NOT to use my services, there was not guarantee from RHI that I would get paid. This also meant since I was EMPLOYED by RHI, I could not seek other opportunities with competitors.
READ THE CONTRACT!!

Yes, this is exactly what I'm seeing too.
The recruiter who's legal abilities are so great, that he's not even aware
that you can get copies of documents you've signed, is SO
absolutely certain that the contract means something other than what it says.
He's sitting there telling me oh no it doesn't mean that.
It's ok to sign it.
No you can't take it with you to review later, you must sign now, and yes, I DO have a job for you.

Is he an attorney? No. Can non attorneys provide legal advise?
Hell no!
These guys are taking advantage of people's desperation to find work
and conning you into becoming an "employee" though they haven't paid you a dime.

Okay, I think I should provide an update to this thread. I ended up getting a 6 month contract job at a pretty good rate. In fact, they gave me a higher hourly rate than what I initially asked for (mostly likely because it increases their own commission, but what do I care I got a higher pay). After the 6 months, I was hired full-time by the company I was a consultant for. It's been a year now and I am still a full-time worker at the same company with no more ties to RHI. That being said, my experience was a good one. I was paid well for the 6 months I worked for RHI, and ended up with a full time position at a good starting salary.

I understand people need to be careful with the contracts they sign and not everyone has a good experience with RHI, but I just thought I would update this thread with my story. I've read a lot of reviews when I created the original post, and many of the reviews make it seem like RHI is a scam. I just want people to not feel completely deterred from trying them out. In some cases you do benefit from using them.

rictalley in Fairfield, Ohio said: Take the time to read the contract. If you are negotiating with other consulting firms other than RHI within the same timeframe, read their contract they include in the initial paperwork. If you sign the RHI contract, you are in essence EMPLOYED by RHI and somewhere within their contract, there will be a statement that you cannot provide consulting services to other firms even if you are not on assignment for RHI. In other words, if another firm offers you a contract while you are on the "bench" with RHI...you cannot accept Firm B's offer.
They should never have you signing a contract until they have a position within a client for you to be working at.

This is false. I am a former Robert Halfer and our Hourly Employment Agreement is a non-exclusive document. Nowhere in that agreement does it state you cannot consult elsewhere while consulting with Robert Half. What it does state is that you are not allowed to consult with a direct competitor of the client you are working for (i.e. if you are doing a project for Chase you cannot do a side project with a direct competitor of Chase, Fifth Third for example, while you are consulting at Chase). All recruiters should highlight the fact that only the consulting services portion of the Hourly Employment Agreement (not contract) goes into affect by signing it- NOTHING else on that agreement goes into affect unless you are placed through us.

Anonymous in Des Plaines, Illinois said:

This "former Robert Halfer" is dead wrong. We can thank him for proving George's point that the Robert Half folks have no idea what they are talking about. The Robert Half agreement IS exclusive, and that exclusivity is NOT restricted to a client's competitors.

I have a copy of the official Robert Half "Hourly Employment Agreement" sitting in front of me. Section 1.d states: "Consultant shall not, during Consultant's period of employment by Robert Half Technology, perform any services for any other individual or company similar to the services being provided hereunder without obtaining Robert Half Technology's prior written consent." See anything about competitors in there? Neither do I.