Real Technical Recruiter? Identity Thief? Or just plain Troll?
Many IT workers whether full time or contract have a disdain for recruiters. It's justly deserved event though there are still some professionals in the field.
Recently, I've finished off some smaller contracts and I have a big contract coming to an end so I am back out in marketing mode and this time has been very disconcerting to me even having been a contractor for about ten years.
Employment experts and job sites drill into job seekers that they need to have excellent oral and written communications skills. It seems that rule no longer applies with recruiters now because I've calls from recruiters I could barely understand over the phone. How is a recruiter who can barely speak fluent English going to sell my technical communications skills to a client? As a writer and communicator, how should I regard a potential opportunity that outsources their recruiting to a third party who cannot communicate effectively to me over the phone or via email? How can they value my skills?
On this latest round, I've run into an interesting pattern with agencies that have recruiter front people who don't speak English as their first language. They are asking for a lot of personal information up front without even offering their last name including:
- The last four digits of your SS# or heck sometimes ask for your entire SS#
- Your birth date including month and year
After the jump, I have the text of an email from one such recruiter.
They also ask for references up front without even the hint of an interview or a job offer. While this is common with some of the second tier contract agencies it is even more rampant now and I've instituted a policy where I don't give references without a job offer.
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