Awful recruitment agency or am I just too sensitive 😢

[user1471867483]

I am currently unemployed and I registered with a particular recruitment agency just before Christmas. I either text or email this recruiter to 'check in' and let him know my availability about every week. He hasn't done much to find me work, but Monday he contacted me about a role for two months. I told him I can only work to 4pm each day (due to new personal commitments) and said I can start the role in a week's time. Like I said, I've waited 4 months for work from him! He told me he'd put me forward for that role and "I'll work my magic" regarding my leave time each day and start date, he said. Ten minutes later, I emailed asking for the job description (which I think they have to provide?) and reaffirmed my start date and 4pm finish time (I like we everything in writing). In the meantime he never emailed me the job description and I never heard back from him until yesterday. I signed on yesterday late afternoon and by the time I got home, he had left a voicemail at the time I was signing on, asking me to call him. It got a little late and I emailed to say I'd call him the next morning. I rang him this morning and was met with a very abrupt recruiter. He argued with me saying that when he rings me he expects me to pick up my phone right away and speak. I told him I'm a very busy woman with many interviews. I reminded him he told me he'd work his magic and he said jobs move quick and I need to work quick with him. He told me the job has now gone and I said, "Well, it wasn't to be". I told him I needed everything put in writing too including the job desc but he went on and on basically making me feel guilty and argued saying my name about four times like he was arguing with his gf or something. His voice rose and he wouldn't stop arguing. I can come and go as I please? I felt controlled. Am I wrong? There wasn't any respect for me at all.

He probably would have, if you'd returned his call.

You still seem fixated on the recruiter and determined to paint him as the 'bad guy'.

Why do you care about the hourly rate for a job you're clearly not interested in? Perhaps you should focus on the 4 other interviews you claim to have, rather than spending your time complaining about someone you will never contact again.

Most people using temp agencies are desperate for work. There are more people available than jobs so its a bunfight when something comes in and the quickest responder wins.

If you have been working for a long time & are highly skilled, you are better off going to a more specialised recruiter or head hunter, where the quality of the candidate is more important & so the recruiters want to woo the best.

What industry is your expertise in?

Yet another AIBU thread in which the OP obviously doesn't think they're being unreasonable in the slightest.
You say in your second post that you've dropped this agency so you'd already made your decision about them.

There should be a "Looking for Reassurance and Positive Strokes" board; I think it would be very popular.

Sorry I would have declined the call but immediately texted to advise him I was in an interview/job centre. And ask could he text/could he wait an hour to speak. I don’t understand why you wouldn't do this given the job market is so poor and you’ve been looking for 4m? Especially given you have restrictions on hours you are available. He probably spent a considerable time persuading this client to consider you given the latter and you couldn’t be bothered with a polite holding text?

I’m not surprised he was annoyed and told you so [odd how so many people interpret that as being rude, when it was actually you being rude].

So?

If you wanted to know, ask. If you are unemployed, then who cares what the rate is on a temp job. You take the job, prove yourself, and negotiate for a higher salary on the next one.

If I were your work coach I would be sanctioning you for being too picky and not biting the agencies hand off when they offered you this role.

He could have worded it better but realistically if you don't answer the phone they'll go to the next person on the list. Many recruiters work on commission so they're not going to hang around for you when there's another person with a similar skill set on the list. The employer could have been on to them to secure a candidate quickly. Snooze you lose

What on earth are you talking about? Why do you think you'll be working with a recruiter after they've placed you in a job??
You have completely ignored all the sensible and correct advice given and still don't seem to grasp that the recruiter doesn't work for you.
Just because someone's rude (which, in fairness, he was), doesn't mean what they're saying is incorrect.
You seem very entitled.

Why were you emailing instead of calling? I think if I was him, I would feel like you were avoiding me and that would feel a little frustrating.

I have worked in recruitment. I can guarantee he hasn’t done much and he would not have attempted to work any ‘magic’.
he was bloody rude and unprofessional and zero interest in his client as a person, his only interest is commission and he has no skills beyond the basics otherwise the op would be feeling far more looked after than she is now.
arguing with her in that manner is disrespectful and shows exactly how bad he is at his job

Many moons ago I worked in an agency doing fast paced, temporary recruitment. He is right, everything moves at lightning speed.
Those that are responsive, straightforward and answer the phone will be favoured.
You are engaging his services for free. He should be polite but is entirely within his rights to set expectations.
You’re signing on so I wouldn’t think answering the phone is an unreasonable expectation.

Good to drop the agency. He sounds like a prick.

You’re probably right; it does sound like he was just focusing on numbers and his manner sounds brusque and unprofessional.

But the bottom line for the OP is that she needs to respond faster.

This isnt a premier job search firm by the sounds of it and they have no particular reason to “look after” candidates: they just want to match candidates with roles. Its not a jobseekers market and if you want to get hired the onus id on you to make yourself hireable.

Temp agencies have a huge number of people on their books and agents will have two dozen potential candidates on their call list for any roles that come in. As alluded to already being readily contactable is key, once an agent has left you a voice mail they are straight on the phone to the next candidate and your chances of landing the role start to diminish. You wanting written descriptions just places you in the awkward squad category, why bother doing that when they know they can fill the role with another candidate who picks up the phone says 'yep, I can do an interview this afternoon/start tomorrow morning'.

Agreed. OP was already down his list when she said she would start in a week (a week into a two-month temp contract isn’t reasonable when they clearly need someone short term, ie to start immediately).

You sound like your hard to work with op. Yea he should have provided more information but was also trying to secure you and interview.

The OP is not 'the client', she is not paying the agent to find work for her. She is a candidate that the agent may contact if her CV is good match for a role. A solid working relationship may develop later if the candidate proves to be reliable and has good feedback from said clients in which case they will be on the 'hotlist' for a call in the future.

"Am I too sensitive......?"

I * *don't think you are sensitive at all but, my word, you are arrogant. I think you have to remind yourself that you need a job but have two things (at least) counting against you as far as employers are concerned - you have restricted your available hours and you must be nearing the end of your working life. The onus is on you to put yourself out more, not think you can call the shots. You're the one with the begging bowl, not the employers nor the recruiter.

He sounds frustrated with you.
You are sounding like someone who’s going to be a nightmare to manage and he will want to place the right candidate and retain a relationship with the company paying him to find candidates.
Are you used to being self employed and resenting looking for employment?
I’m afraid you’ll have to make yourself available and be proactive if you want to
compete with good candidates.

'I signed on yesterday late afternoon and by the time I got home, he had left a voicemail at the time I was signing on, asking me to call him.'

Why had you not heard / found the voicenote upon leaving the job center ?

' I told him I'm a very busy woman with many interviews.'

But

it appears you have been unemployed since / around December when you registered with the agency, so you are not that busy and you don't seem to have that many interviews if he is contacting you for a temp position.

What is the result of these many interviews ?

He shouldn’t have raised his voice, that was rude and unprofessional. But it works both ways. Recruiters work on tight deadlines and need candidates who are flexible and responsive. Waiting until the next day to answer calls, insisting on later start times and early finishes, and demanding everything in writing will usually mean they move on to someone else. There are plenty of candidates who will take the call and job quickly without the drama. It’s not personal, it’s just business.

You sound like a time waster to be honest. 4 months waiting for work and when he finally calls you need a week's notice before you start and to finish early. Then he calls again and you dont call him back.

He probably has a long list of people willing to start immediately and work the full day. You may have blocked him but I highly doubt he was going to call you again anyway.

He sounds ridiculous. He placed someone else so no skin off his nose.

I’ve been both sides of the recruitment agency coin. When I was a recruiter, a client would contact with a vacancy they were looking to move quickly with. As first resort I’d scour the internal database, great, Steve, Tom, Sue and Kelly all look like they have relevant experience. I’d get hold of Steve and Tom on my first attempt, and Sue would call back within the hour. By the following morning when Kelly gets in touch the other 3 have already had their CVs submitted to the client and interviews arranged, and I’d have been told by client not to send anyone else over as they’d interview the initial 3 and see how they got on. That’s how quick it can go.

On the other side, I did admin temping for a while. I’d get a call at 3pm asking if I was available to start the following morning for a company who’s Receptionist had just been signed off for a fortnight. If I missed the call then chances are the next person they called got the work instead, there was no time for messing about.

And she can only work until 4