To think this job is a scam.

[karalime]

Please help me with your collective wisdom mn, I am clueless in the ways of recruitment agencies!

This morning I received a phone call from a recruitment agency I have never signed up for talking about my CV, which I had posted when applying for a job on another website (perhaps foolishly). I tell her I'm interested so she emails details of the job and some forms, with one asking for my references. Now, I felt uncomfortable with this. I have no idea who this woman is and I've heard stories of referees being bombarded with calls. I tell her this on the phone and she says it doesn't matter, come into central London to get registered and take some tests. I keep telling her I don't feel comfortable with this and in the end I email saying I don't think I'm suitable.

A few hours later I get an email from someone else at the agency telling me that she has spoken to the client and they would like to offer me the role. I ignore this and about an hour later she calls me on an unknown number, I tell her that I am uncomfortable with this entire thing but she keeps telling me to come into their office to register, about how I'm perfect for the role because I'm local etc.

All I can think is why? Why me? Why would they want anything to do with me when I tell them I will not give them details of my references right now? Surely if they were legit they would just say 'okay we have lots of others'. This is clearly dodgy right? I really need a job though so I don't want to potentially throw a chance away. Please help as I've only worked in pubs before so I don't know how these agencies work.

p.s if I sound really naive it's because I am, I'm a student who loves reading about cake punching and naice ham. Thanks x

I've never heard of anyone being offered a job without a phone interview with the client at the very least. what was the job for?

sounds dodgy to me

Agencies are pushy. Can you look up the agency online? When I put my cv on a recruitment website I did get a lot of calls and emails.

They have a website but it all seems very vague. There are a couple of reviews but mostly for the US. It screams dodgy to me but I really don't know what to expect.

Yes, it sounds very dodgy. What agency is it? And what is the role? Given how many people are out of work in this country, it seems unlikely that any reputable agency would have to resort to offering jobs to people without even seeing them and would keep calling repeatedly. Did they tell you wihich company you would be working for?

Yes Unexpected them did, but I can't find much evidence of that company operating in the area they told me...

Are you prepared to say why agency it is?

Sorry, not why but what.

No idea really but I bet if you did go in to "register" and take some of their "tests" you would find a hefty "registration fee" attached.

If I put it here do you think they would find it? I will say that the woman on the phone said they specialised in financial recruitment which is why they had some difficulty finding someone suitable for a customer service role :S

I was told that if I came down to register in London I would then go up to meet the client or visit the office or something. Basically it seems to good to be true but I really have no idea how this works anyway.

Yes, it does sound too good to be true. No agency is going to promise to put you in front of a client before they actually meet you, especially one (like you) who isn't even sure she wants the role on offer. This (alleged) client is the one paying their fees, so they need to present only good candidates. Do you have a very specific set of skills which could mean they struggle to find candidates? Tbh, on the face of it, customer-facing roles in a financial environment shouldn't be very difficult to recruit for. I do think this is probably a ploy to get people onto their books and the role will magically disappear when you get to their offices.

I wouldn't think there could be any comeback to naming them on here, it's not as if you have said anything derogatory about them.

Yes, you're spot on, very dodgy.

Tell her that you're happy to provide references when you attend at an interview.

In my experience, headhunters:

• have an online presence
• are a fairly well known firm that comes up in google etc searches
• can give you detailed information about the position available (name of company, written job description, location, salary details and other T&C's)
• rely more on candidates contacting them about advertised jobs than the other way around
• BUT work for the client and not the candidate - important to remember where their loyalties lie!
• would normally interview a long list of candidates in person at their own offices (or possibly on the phone) to create a short list to present to the client.
• short listed candidates would then be interviewed by the client at the client's premises, possibly with the headhunter in attendance.

And then check references....

Thanks for your reply Unexpected that's what I was thinking. Ahhh back to the job search...

A lot of agencies will trawl through job sites and contact people who post looking for jobs with other agencies.

It doesn't necessarily mean that they don't have jobs to offer you. A lot of agencies that head hunt are genuine, but at the same time they might not actually have the sort of work you're looking for or that amazing job they tell you they have. They want you to come into their offices and sign up with them so they can try to set you up with interviews. They are trying to drum up business and keep their clients happy if they can place people in jobs at the same time well it's all well and good.

I would however, be very suspicious of an agency telling me their client wanted to offer me a job when they know nothing about me and had never met me. That sounds like nonsense.

If I were you and didn't feel happy about the situation I'd ignore them and if they ring you again I'd tell them you're not interested and they must stop bothering you.

Thanks everyone x

Dodgy, they want your references as contacts for their database. They will then bombard your referees with calls & emails offering theme resourcing services as they will be perceived as managers with hiring/firing responsibilities.

Pushy folk you've spoken to probably being paid on number of contacts added to said database.

Avoid like the plague...

I worked for agencies for 6 years, not as a recruiter but in another function. This is dodgy. If the role is advertised somewhere they would have probably had too many applications, bearing in mind the state of the employment market. So why would they need to chase you if youre not interested. At my old place we removed adverts after we had too many applications (hundreds in some cases) as the recruiter couldnt cope with sifting through all the CVs. Also it'll cost you time and money tow travel to London for this, so why bother? Ask them to pay for your train fare and see what they do?