Seeking advice at what point is it acceptable to side step a company’s HR Recruiter, because the one I’m dealing with seems to have no idea how proper business communication is supposed to work.
I’ve had more organized exchanges with people suffering from early dementia, I really mean that.
Here’s what happened:
I submitted my resume to one of those big globally known technical consulting companies for a position I know I'd be great at. I have former co-workers who are familiar with this company and tell me they’ve had good experiences getting steady consulting work through them.
The next day (a Wednesday) I get a call from one of their recruiters. He starts by asking me what salary range am I looking for. I know that question is a trap and I respond, “I’d feel more comfortable answering that question after I hear more about the day-to-day expectations of the position. Only then do I feel I can provide a more honest assessment.” The recruiter says they’ll set up a video interview with management that following Monday afternoon and I should expect a meeting invite in my e-mail. Wonderful, we’re driving grandma out of state Tuesday to see the rest of the family this works out perfectly. Here's where things go downhill.
First, this company is known to do a lot of sourcing from India, and my Southern California ears are having a hard time navigating his accent.
Second, this recruiter only gives me his first name and says, “Just call me at this number if you have questions.” He doesn’t give me his number he just expects me to sus it out from my caller ID history. I figure okay different cultures and all, at least I know I’ll have the rest of his info once I get his e-mail invite.
Third, the e-mail invite never comes.
Fourth, I call the phone number left on his caller ID to see what’s going on. It goes straight to voicemail with a generic greeting. "The text mail subscriber you are trying to reach is not available. Please leave your message after the tone." No mention of his name or the company.
Fifth, I tried to call one of the consulting company’s U.S. offices no luck everyone is working remote so there’s no one at the U.S. HQ or branch offices answering phones. By this point I’m just looking for someone to complain to.
I’m now eight-hundred miles from home, my aunt’s house is in the deep woods of the Pacific Northwest. I don’t have cell signal but I set myself up for “call over Wi-Fi” because I have a lot of job applications floating about. Nine days after our first conversation, two days after I was supposed to have had an interview, the recruiter calls me back and leaves me a voicemail.
The HR recruiter wants to try again to set up an interview and he acts like nothing unusual has happened. Again he only gives me his first name and says, “Just call me at this number if you have questions.” Naturally he doesn’t leave a number in the recording, just figures I’ll get it from caller ID. I call the anonymous voice mail box and leave a message making a point to give my full name, contact number, and reason for my call because that’s how it’s done.
HR recruiter calls me back very early the next morning. Him, “Hello, how are you doing today.” Me, “I’m asleep.” He finally does the time zone math and says he’ll call me back a little later.
He calls again and we speak. Again he’s acting like nothing happened. I explain to him that I agreed to meeting last Monday because on Tuesday I was leaving the state for a few days, I’m currently eight hundred miles from home. Only then does he seem apologetic and says something about a family emergency. Granted there is a lot going on in India right now, he may really have had an emergency. But communications with this guy have been less than stellar through this whole ordeal.
I only give the company another chance because they’re industry known and because of some first-hand accounts from others on the kind of steady work they provide. The sooner I can get past this guy and interface with management the better. So, we set up another video meeting the same day. This time I get EVERYBODY’s full first and last name including spelling. I make sure I get a real meeting invite in the mail. I look up everyone’s Linked-in profiles including the recruiter. I’m floored to see the HR recruiter has been working for this company for nine years.
I drop everything. I quickly set-up an impromptu space for the call (lighting, camera positioning, etc…). I change my clothes and put on a “face”, (ladies you know what I mean), I login on time and I wait…. and wait…. and wait…
I’ve been stood up.
So, now that I have management’s names, e-mail and Linked-in information and you’ve read through the saga of frustration I’ve gone through. Do I just run around the recruiter and deal with management directly? For that matter should I avoid this global consulting company like the plague even if I know people who’ve had successful experiences with them?
Very frustrating been through similar myself, I have completely stopped working with recruiters for this very reason , I can’t understand half of what the recruiter is acting and they stand you up , never call back, and when they do its about jobs you are completely unqualified for or entirely another field.
On the times I have had an actual company recruiter stand me up after rescheduling twice and using a vacation day for the interview I won’t even deal with that company any more on any level.
Good luck but honestly if he has been there 9 years and this behavior is tolerated I would think twice about working with them
At this point, I would not even think of this as making an end run around the recruiter - you have the names and email addresses of those you were going to interview with - I'd email them, cc the recruiter, and say something similar to "Im sorry we were not able to connect yesterday! I'm very interested in XX, Inc, and would love to speak this week about your open role. Is there another time that works with your schedules?"
If I had missed the interview, I'd be quite apologetic and set up another time with you asap. If they dont respond quickly, you'll have an idea of their actual interest in filling this role and you as a candidate.
First of all, make sure it's REAL. many recruiting firms troll for people first and then try to get it set up, they are not usually successful. Look out for SCAMS, recruiting people who have been out of work has resulted finding out it was all a scam and now they have your personal information.
DUMP that recruiter!
I agree. There are lots of scammers trying to get your information through different means. Does it look like a legit LinkedIn account for the members in management?
Reading this and I am frustrated so I cannot imagine how you are feeling. I would suggest that you reach out to management directly. Who knows, sharing your experience may get you the position. It highlights so many qualities that employers are looking for. All the best!
Deal with management directly.
Just wanted to add that my current company has a large amount of staff in India and it is not at all uncommon for them to use only a first name and last initial as a full name.
I don't normally say yes to that, but I don't see what you have to lose at this point.
I would make your end run completely about you're doing this because you are very interested in the opportunity and the possibility of working for such a fantastic company and that you don't want to miss out on this potential opportunity and NOT complaining about how the process has gone so far.
I don't see where you have anything to lose by doing this at this point.
Avoid.
Hi! Unfortunately, this has been 90% of my experience with consulting companies. It’s likely the person you’re working with is a sourcer not a recruiter. I stumble through the initial contact, but the job sounds good so I stay with it. He makes all kinds of promises, I sign a Right to Represent, and I never hear from them again. I’m starting to believe they get paid on the number of resumes they bring into their database.
I’d walk away. If you can’t let it go, send an email to the ceo detailing your experience with an eye toward hopefully saving the next person some heartburn.
I think you hit the nail on the head here, you’re not dealing with a recruiter for the company.
I recruit for a organization not a staffing agency and I to get these calls all the time because I either applied or was found on Social media.
what you called these people ,which is correct are sourcers , individuals mostly out of India.
This is the new way that corporations outsource their efforts to find candidates to other countries , it is very common and also very inexpensive compared to hiring someone here in the US to directly find candidates for you , hence the very strong accent to be navigated as well.
They are legitimate however nine out of 10 times I’ve submitted my résumé to them spoke to them briefly and never heard back whether the client was interested or not obviously I didn’t get the position there was actually two times that where I did get a position from this outsourcing our RPO’s they’re called.
"Do I just run around the recruiter and deal with management directly?"
Yes!
I agree. I don't normally say yes to that, but I don't see what she's got to lose at this point.