Unscruplous Recruiting TacticsHi All, I am in the process of negations for job with a Recruiter who is using some questionable business tactics. Just a quick background, the job is with a Bio-Tech and someone I worked with previously is the hiring manager. He called me and suggested that I ask for more money because their hiring salary range is $45k-$55k. I did as he recommended and the Recruiter is being deceptive. The Recruiter says they won't go above $50k, says that it's fixed. But, the hiring manager says that's not the truth, in fact, the Recruiter is low-balling me in order to get a better deal on their end. First it was $25 an hour, now it's $24.50 an hour. I interviewed with the recruiter and this is when I was told of the low-ball offer. After 24 hours, I hadn't heard anything, contacted the hiring manager. He replied that the Recruiter had informed the HR manager that, "the company couldn't afford me!" I immediately called the Recruiter to ask what the status was and his reply was, "we submitted your resume and haven't heard anything back yet." I understand that this is all just business, but I find it disrespectful and unethical for a Recruiter to not tell the truth to both the customer and the employee. Has anyone dealt with a Recruiter like this in the past and if so, what was your experience and the outcome of the situation. Also, if anyone has any suggestions, I'd really appreciate any insight one might have on the whole scenario and how I should play this out. I only want to work for a great company that has good benefits and a make a career there (the hiring manager's words.) He's a decent fellow and has said some very nice things about me to his manager. I have an outstanding reputation as a hard working, talented Computer Tech with more than 10 years of experience and a well padded resume. It is very frustrated that I'm getting such a bad vibe from this Recruiter. Bottom line, should I stay or should I go? Regards, Icarius
Not all recruiters are bad, but many are scum bags. I don't understand why the recruiter would want to lowball you, but it sounds plausible in your case. My experience is the higher your compensation, the higher their pay day. The only reason they would want you to lower your asking price is that they rather you get the job at a lower price than not at all. Unfortunately, since this is the recruiter who reprensented you to the company, they have dibs on you. Even if you find another recruiter say a month or two down the line, this first contact will haunt you as no other recruiter can represent you for a long time. This has happened to me. Since you know the hiring manager, I urge you to try to work this out with him/her directly and bypass the recruiter. Even more important though, continue to actively seek other positions. It might be Fed up that this recruiter is screwing up your life just to pad their pay, but these things happen. Rather than waste your neurons on how unfair it is, keep your eye on the prize, that of you getting a better job. Good luck and keep us up to date. If the recruiting agency is quoting you in hourly rates rather than salary, chances are they are trying to make a bigger mark-up on you. Maybe they take their commission over and above whatever they bill you out at to the company, rather than a fee based on your salary. I don't know, but if I were you, I'd just tell the recruiter that you know someone at the company and you know that they will pay up to the $55k. Flat out ask them why they are giving both you and the company the runaround. If they are playing games with you both, you need to put a stop to it. If the client company wants you, and is willing to pay you the top dollar, it is not up to the recruiter to make the decision. I also think the company you are interviewing with needs to take a more pro-active stance with this recruiter--they are the client, and it is their money. And, BTW, not all recruiters are bad! Both my husband & I have had great luck with agencies (both professional headhunters and employment/staffing agencies) over the years! I think you have two options. First, you could go to your buddy who's the hiring manager and tell him exactly what's going on and who said what and see what he thinks you should do about it. I can't imagine that this employer would appreciate the tactics this recruiter is using. By the same token, I wouldn't accuse the recruiter of being less than honest. I'd take the approach that I didn't understand what's going on - that the recruiter is saying stuff you don't believe to be correct based on your conversations with your hiring manager buddy. That's probably the best approach. The second approach is to meet with the recruiter and confront him with the fact that the hiring manager is a buddy of yours and he's giving you information that doesn't line up with what the recruiter's telling you. But if you take this second approach, I think you have be absolutely sure your buddy is behind you and totally correct in what he's saying, because you don't want your friend to get in trouble if the recruiter is working with someone further up the ladder and decides to rat out your friend for giving you information about the job you shouldn't have had. Make sense? Paul W. Barada The Negotiation Expert Paul makes great sense, here, as always! Better to go to the recruiter, scratching your head and saying, "Boy, I just don't understand what's going on here....." and ask for much more clarity. At the same time, if you use this tactic, perhaps you can say you "know" someone in the company in a position of authority, and via the grapevine you understand that the upper end of the salary range is $55k. Also, could be that though the hiring manager knows the job's salary range, there might be a company policy that says they don't hire in at the high end. HR might be privy to this, but the manager might not be. Or was the hiring manager absolutely clear that the salary range at hiring is up to $55k? Or did he meant the entire pay range of the position? There's a difference, or could be. Paul, Thanks for you response, much appreciated. Good advice, I'm going to discuss w/ my buddy and we will then take it to the HR Dept and let them approach the Recruiter. I don't relish a confrontation w/ the Recruiter because it might jeopardize my job. Thanks again!
Icarius Thanks Anne_Marie, I appreciate your quick responses, all good info. I have dealt with "Headhunters" before and have had positive experiences, but I think that my buddy wouldn't steer me wrong. He's flat out said, "The job is yours." I'm apprehensive about telling the Recruiter that my buddy and I talked for fear of reprisals or possibly losing the job! I know for a fact that the range set by the company was $45-55k because my buddy spoke w/ HR. So, I'll play it cool, fly low and let the Company deal with the tactics. Thanks again and I'll keep you posted. Best Regards, Icarius. | |
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