DeanN

Hi all,

I had a bit of an odd situation with a recruitment agency recently and wanted to know if this is the norm in Canada or if they were a bit out of line.

The background is, after a month or so of job hunting since arriving in Canada as a PR, a little over a week ago I was contacted by a recruiter with details of an upcoming job in downtown Toronto. She asked me if I had anything else on right now work-wise, which (at the time) was no.

On Monday she called back to say that an interview was arranged for Thursday. Also on Monday I got another call from a different recruiter and ended up with another interview for a different client on Wednesday. I didn't think to tell either recruiter about the other interviews. The Wednesday i/v went really well, I was very keen on it, and they said they'd let me know by Monday. Thursday's i/v also went well, although the role was for less money and I wasn't quite as enthused about the job (although still keen overall).

Here's where it gets odd... literally 20 minutes after the Thursday interview, the recruiter calls me, highly excited, to tell me that they wanted me to start on Monday.

This felt really strange; I've never had a turnaround that quick from an interview. It's a somewhat senior position too, or at least not entry level, which made it even weirder. It didn't help that the recruiter just assumed that I'd definitely accept the job without any questions asked.

I said to send me the contract details over, but on Friday I called the recruiter to say could I have until Monday to decided, as (a) I was waiting to hear back from the other interview, and (b) I'd need to work out some logistics (I'm currently living in Guelph so would need to explore commuting options, rent a short term apartment, etc).

The recruiter took all this pretty badly and sounded really upset. An hour later I get a call from the recruiter's boss in which she accused me of lying to them and calling out my integrity. Despite all this apparently the client still really wanted me to work there so they were reluctantly giving me until Monday to decide, but I came away from the call with the feeling that they believed they'd done me a huge favour I didn't deserve due to my terrible behaviour.

I've found their behaviour really weird. I didn't tell them about the other interview because it didn't seem relevant as I didn't expect (and was never told) that the job might be starting two working days after I'd met the client.

So my question is, did I behave unreasonably and unintentionally cross some unwritten Canadian law of dealing with recruiters? Or are they being ridiculous?

Bahtatboy

I can't vouch for Canadian recruitment agencies, but in every industry and country I've job hunted the attitude is generally the same: they believe they're doing you a huge service, and little you should feel deeply privileged and honoured not only to be offered a job but to add to the recruiter's bank balance. And how dare you look for other jobs! Many go so far as to say that you'll be cheapening your image by registering with more than one agency...

Bottom line: employment's a two-way street. And don't trust recruiters.

dbd33

Are these contract positions?

DeanN

Yes, although both with the potential to extend beyond the initial period (6 months / 1 year).

benbb

It sounds ridiculous. I've just been reading a book by the veteran negotiator Herb Cohen who suggests that the strongest point in negotiating a job is after they've made you the offer but before you've accepted. It sounds like they need you more than you need them...

dbd33

Well yes, contracts here often go for ten years. Understand that if you're getting $60/hour the pimp is getting $120. It takes, a fortnight to burn off the cost of getting the contract so, after that, there's serious money involved for the pimp. I think looking at it with this perspective will help you to see why you were bullied to turn up on Monday (not an unusual speed, btw).

Did they require you to incorporate?

DandNHill

My experience with agencies has not been great but I didn't like them in the U.K. either.
They make a lot of money when they place a candidate and so they don't want to risk losing that money. Sounds like the boss was very unprofessional though.
At the end of the day you'll be working with the company not the agency so don't let it spoil the excitement of a new job!
Congrats.

geoff52

Don't over analyse the situation, its the way of the world. Either take the job or turn it down, don't it make into a personal issue, life is too short.

dbd33

You're thinking of a permanent job. In this case the contractor will work for the agency, not the client. There's no placement fee but a split of the hourly rate.

DandNHill

Ah ok.

Maybe the OP does Ruby on Rails? Lol

dbd33

I did wonder, especially as he or she is in Guelph.

DandNHill

Lol

scottabraham13

I wouldn't worry about it. I work in IT and I can tell you that the recruitment agents will try any trick to get you into a job because it means $ for them. Sounds like emotional blackmail to me. Like someone else said, don't over analyse it. Good luck in your job hunt.

DeanN

Thanks for all the advice on this thread. I think I'm going to take the job anyway, but it's good to read that the consensus seems to be that this is just agency dirty tricks rather than me doing them wrong in some way.

dbd33

An important consideration is that you're tying yourself to the agent long term. If it's a discounter, like say Procom, you won't get much representation but at least you'll get paid. I would avoid any pimp with a name that suggests ice and snow.