job placement services

[1LtCAP 4,262]

ok. was contacted by one of these. headhunters? i guess they're called? they're a placement service that says they place qualified vets into jobs. now.....i could use a part time mechanic/tech. it's been a bit slow lately, so i'm struggling a bit. but i'll also do what i can to help vets, as i'm sure most of you have gathered.

 company name is professional staff services. they "cold called" me, but the guy was polite, and not even remotely pushy, which is why i listened. i'd been tossing it around, and read over the email they sent me(at my request) and noticed that there's a fee for them sending the candidate to me for interview. this wasn't mentioned when talking on the phone.

now, today, this company calls me. i have 2 people i'm dealing with in the office, and one on the phone. i see the number calling, know it's this company, so i ignore it, and take care of my customers. then my cell rings...from this company, i rejected the call, then the shop phone goes off again, followed immediately by this company. that pretty much pissed me off as i don't do shop business on the cell unless it's an emergency(such as crapcast is down and i gotta call forward to the cell)

 

 anyway.......anyone heard of this? i know there's headhunters for office type jobs, but i'd never heard of this for auto repair shops...

[Mrs. Peel 7,156]

Dump them, then block the number. NO legitimate staffing firm will EVER charge you a fee merely to interview a candidate. It's beyond ridiculous! And their escalating aggressive phone tactics reveal their sleaze as well.

FYI, a temp agency will either charge you a per hour rate for the person (and then pay that person some lower amount as their own W-2 employee)... or, agencies doing permanent placements will sign an agreement with you in advance to get a certain percent of the selected candidate's annual salary (20-30% is typical for white collar jobs)... and that's typically due after the person's been successfully on board for 60 or 90 days.

These people calling you are SHYSTERS! (20+ years as a recruiter btw - corporate, agency & as a contractor - so my advice on this matter is solid).

[jackandjill 683]

1. Never hire the company if they cold call you. NEVER. EVER, EVER.  If they are pretending to help VETS, then add another NEVER, EVER, EVER. 

2. Never buy a product thats heavily advertised on TV, Radio etc. 

 

[Scorpio64 5,147]

I used to be one of the so called head hunters.  Head hunters are recruiters looking to poach people with a specific skill set to place in another company.  What you were dealing with was a sales person.  They can be very aggressive, their monthly quotas depend on how ambitious they are, and the tactic works.  Not on everyone, but it is a numbers game.  You just keep pushing till someone says yes.

I would think that a job placement service for vets would be funded by a government program or a paid for by a donation funded non-profit.  That the head hunter (as you put it)  would charge you a fee for hiring a vet does not pass the smell test.  I'm guessing they are signed up for some kind of government program where they get a kickback for finding a vet a job and are looking to double dip.

Fees are not uncommon though, it's actually the norm.  If a company is looking for an executive, the agency that finds and places the exec gets a percentage of the annual salary.  So, like if the exec would be paid $250K annually, the agency may get 15 to 25 grand.  But in the reverse situation, an unsolicited offer,  especially when they make it seem like they are just trying to help vets, and then blindside you with the signing fee, that's pretty underhanded.

[1LtCAP 4,262]

i may have(,most likely did) use headhunter incorrectly. i did not mean it in a bad way though.

 

 

[Scorpio64 5,147]

This is how I felt some days.  It was a nasty soul crushing job.

[1LtCAP 4,262]

i can almost imagine. it seems like an incredibly high pressure job.

[Lambo2936 297]

Yeah that doesn't sound right..
I've got a few buddies that have found jobs via placement companies, but never heard of a co. having to pay to INTERVIEW.. 
You pay if you hire, exactly like peel said... My buddy was making like 13/hr and the company was charging like 16/hr.. This was after sandy, he did a lot of clean up work.

[1LtCAP 4,262]

well based on what i'm seeing here, i'm not gonna deal with them. already blocked the number on my cell......gonna ignore the email, and if they call again, i'll just tell em not interested and  block their number here.

 i'd forgotten to mention in the op, that their fee was 375, and that if i didn't like the person they sent out, they'd send someone else to interview.

 

 sometimes i feel stupid asking these questions.....but then often times i end up being glad i did.

 

 

[Handyman 5,682]

5 hours ago, 1LtCAP said:

sometimes i feel stupid asking these questions.....but then often times i end up being glad i did.