Recruiter won't refer me because I turned down a job.

[davidinindy]

OK. Here's the situation
I was contacted by a recruiter for a 6 month contract as a "packaging engineer", which is one of those positions that does not involve any engineering whatsoever. I really enjoy CAD design, but was still interested, as it payed very good, it's work that I could probably do well, and I had just been layed off. I did a phone innterview with the company and it went very well.
To make a long story short, I interviewed with a few other companies that same week, and took another position.
The recruiter called and said the company wanted to hire me. The recruiter was very angry that I took another job, and said it put him in a spot with the client. I told him it was just business, and that I decided I wanted to stay in design.
Well, after two weeks, the job didn't work out, and the recruiter (a very large one that lists many engineering and CAD positions) had a position listed I was interested in. When I called and explained the situation, he was pretty unprofessional and said he'd have a hard time referring me to anyone.
Could this be the first time this has happened? Does he expect everyone who interviews with someone to accept the job? Is it discriminatory?

David

 

[ctmtwilliams]

Recruiters are like butchers, they are selling meat. Of course he wanted you to take the position, he was going to make money off of selling you. The fact that you turned him down pi$$ed him off, and now he doesn’t want to sell you. I’ve been placed buy recruiters in the past. One guy had the nerve to approach me after less than one year for a position with another company! Don’t be fooled into thinking that recruiters are anything more than commissioned salesmen. They aren’t there to help you or the hiring company, they are there to make a buck.

 

[epoisses]

Come on David, if this is the level of service this recruiter provides, don't even bother and go next door immediately, if you'd want to deal with recruiters in the first place. (I wouldn't)

 

[TheTick]

Just let him go. Cross him off your list, and stick to professional-acting recruiters.

I've had my share of run-ins with unprofessional recruiters. They usually aren't worth the effort, as they are acting in their own self-interest: get warm body into soft seat for cold hard cash. One recruiter went so far as to schedule an interview for a job that I told him I didn't want!

There are recruiters out there who do a good job of matching people to jobs. Find them and stick to using them.

 

[davidinindy]

Well, I actually contacted an associate of his about the other position, not realizing they sat right across from each other. She had been in touch with me in the past regarding other CAD positions but I wasn't looking at the time. It's just a shame, because this recruiter really deals with a lot of the CAD positions around here. I thought about calling his supervisor, but don't know if that will accomplish anything.
I realize that they are just serving their own purpose, but think they'd understand.

David

 

[nnjunger]

There are a lot of recruiters out there. Like anything else, some are very professional and courteous (even though they are selling something), others are not professional at all.

Cross the unprofessional ones off of your list, there are lots more to chose from.

I had one recruiter schedule an interview (at considerable expense to the company) and when I got there, the job was not even close to what I was told. I learned the lesson on that one to do a phone interview first, fortunately I was only out time, not personnal expense. I had another recruiter submit my resume to a company even though I told him I had already been referred to that company by another recruiter. Needless to say, I didn't get the job, and neither recruiter made any money. A great portion of that I chalk up to the client company not wanting to deal with the headaches of multiple recruiting companies.

Hopefully you can find good networking, whether through recruiters, coworkers, friends, etc., that will help you. If you do use a recruiter, spend a lot of time talking to them on the phone before you agree to let them act on your behalf.

 

[GregLocock]

The recruiter is acting in an ... interesting ... fashion. You are basically a known marketable commodity, if he can sell you to someone else he makes money. If he refuses to sell you to someone else then he makes no money.

Bizarre behaviour.




Cheers

Greg Locock

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[IRstuff]

It almost sounds like the recruiter was pretty raw and new. As Greg says, it's cutting off one's nose to spite one's face.

Someone like that is probably not long for the world of recruiting, so it's probably not cost-effective for you to maintain that particular relationship.

TTFN