re recruiters

[Nichole Kim]

Hi,
I got a couple of calls from the recruiters. Some of them asked me about which company interviewed me and in what location, who interviewed me, etc. I am wondering why at the very beginning they asked me this. Should I tell them these details? Or they were just collecting information?
Thanks!

[William Barnes]

Unless you are working with them only give vague general information.

[Nichole Kim]

Thank you!

[Rufus BugleWeed]

They are collecting information and could soon be your competitor.

[Mark Herschberg]

Originally posted by Nichole Kim:
I got a couple of calls from the recruiters. Some of them asked me about which company interviewed me and in what location, who interviewed me, etc. I am wondering why at the very beginning they asked me this. Should I tell them these details? Or they were just collecting information?

Rule 1: Be paranoid
When someone calls you on the phone and asks you questions, assume they are someone else. If someone calls me and asks for a reference for someone else, I don't give it out before confirming with the person under discussion. Anyone can pick up the phone, dial some numbers, and claim to be someone else.
Rule 2: The recruiters agenda is different from yours
Maybe he needs this info to help you, or maybe he's trying to get info for his own purposes. Don't give out any info you wouldn't want to be public information.

OK, given those rules, what should you do. First, are you looking for a job? If not, then how are they getting your name/info? Why are they contacting you. I wouldn't bother talking to them unless they can do something for you.
Now, assuming you are looking, first get their info. Double check it online. Tell them you're busy now, but get their number, check them out, and call them back in a day or two.
Once you start working with a recruiter, you should give them info on the places you've been talking to, this way they don't chase down leads you don't need. Recruiters will also tell you to give them the names of the companies you're interested in, and they will contact them on your behalf. Personally, I never do this, because I would much rather contact a company directly. Of course, if you think a) the recruiter will easy the process and negoiate on your behalf better then you will, and b) the company won't mind paying a 25% markup to a recruiter they haven't used before, then go for it. I would only do that if I know the company won't talk to me, but will talk to the recruiter.
Ideally, you'll build relationships with people over many years, and will be able to trust them, as opposed to some of these fly-by-night recuiting agencies that started up in the last 5 years.

--Mark

[Thomas Fly]

I came across a recruiter story on Sun's main Java forum several months back, from a developer based in Dallas. The "standard" recruiter markup is apparently about 35% (what they get out of your paycheck for "finding" you).
Anyhow, this fellow's woman recruiter screwed up one month & mailed the bill to the developer, and the (developer's) invoice to the client. It turns out she'd lied to both of them, and had been cutting herself in for a fat 65% while the client & developer believed she was taking the standard cut.
The developer was being paid only about half of what the client thought he was getting!!!
[ October 16, 2002: Message edited by: Thomas Fly ]

[Mark Herschberg]

Originally posted by Thomas Fly:
I came across a recruiter story on Sun's main Java forum several months back, from a developer based in Dallas. The "standard" recruiter markup is apparently about 35% (what they get out of your paycheck for "finding" you).
...
The developer was being paid only about half of what the client thought he was getting!!!

That sounds more like a consulting job. For full time employees, the stanards rate is 25%--although I've known some agencies (often the sleazeball ones like KForce) to charge more. The employee *never* pays this cost, not for our industry anyway, not at the no-executive level (although I think it's the same for executives). The company pays it. (You can agrue that the company may offer you a lower salary or less of a signing bonus because of it, but that gets into questions of philosophy and accounting).
On the other hand, if you get placed into a contract position, the recruiter typically would get a cut. In this case, the employee is technically an employee of the recruiter's company. The Employeer poays the recuiters company, say $100 an hour, and the recuoter pays the employee $60 an hour. In this case 35% would be on the low end.

--Mark

[Thomas Fly]

Yeah it was a consulting/contracting job. The recruiter was charging say $200 an hour for this "heavy-hitter's" time, but instead of paying him the $130 an hour that the client thought he was getting, she was paying him $70 and scooping off $130 for herself.
I wonder how many of these sleazeballs even have a degree in English literature... :roll: