Why did you try to go around?

[JambaBamba]

I'm sorry this is long but I'm so frustrated about it
<bg> I'm an executive recruiter in a fairly small field. I technically have 2 customers; the client company that pays us and the candidate that we place. We've worked with Company A for 10 years - they know and trust us. </bg>

So there is a candidate that I've been speaking to since January. I don't always have the right job the first time I talk to someone and this candidate, while having a good background, is in a difficult niche. A couple months ago we presented her for a position at Company A but unfortunately she didn't have enough management experience (and the company really wasn't sure what they wanted - but that's a different rant) A job popped up (with Company A) and I thought of her for it. She didn't have all of the qualification (she's missing a financial analysis piece) but I felt that her other experience and her attitude would do her well at the company. Sometimes if you aren't a perfect fit it's easier to use a recruiter because we can fight for you to get an interview and if the interviewer falls in love with the candidate they're usually okay if the qualifications aren't perfect (you'd be amazed how flexible people are if the company & employee mesh well culturally).

So I called the candidate on Wednesday to check in and see if she thought she could do the job/if it was interesting to her. She said it was interesting but she really didn't have the financial piece and would that be a problem. I told her we'd check on it and I told her the name of the company (reminding her that we'd thought before she'd be a good cultural fit there) and sent over a mini job description telling her to call me and let me know what she thought. Meanwhile I sent an e-mail to my boss with the candidate's resume and why I thought she'd be good for the job and what the concern with the financial piece was. She sent it to our contact at the company for feedback to see what we could do to fight for the candidate (get referrals or references, angle her a special way, etc.).

I don't hear from the candidate on Thursday so I was planning on calling her this morning. What do I get 20 minutes after I walk in the door? HR at Company A sent us an e-mail that the candidate had sent to them applying for the job.

So now I'm really annoyed; you tell me you're interested, I tell you I'll find out how much a concern that you aren't really a fit for the job and then you try to go around? You'd never have heard of this job if it wasn't for me! And we're still your recruiter of record since we tried to get you in less than 6 months ago for a different position! In an industry this small you don't burn recruiters; if I thought she'd have a better chance of getting the job without us I would have talked to HR and had them contact directly (that's how our company rolls - long-term investment over short-term gain)

So the Vice President of this department sent an e-mail back to HR saying that the candidate was a no go because she doesn't have the financial piece...and no; I'm not going to fight for her. In fact she just went on our DNR (do not recruit/do not refer) list.

Don't mess with recruiters - we know more people than you!

[Kristev]

What a complete mess.

[starsinthesky]

Way to talk herself out of a job. A recruiter can get you face time that a piece of paper can't.

[Blade_Raver]

(Before reading this, please note IANAL but have worked as a contractor before.)

Did the candidate sign an exclusivity/non-compete clause with your company at anytime between January and now?

Her going around you to get in directly would be a breach of contract.

Just a thought.

[2gigch1]

You are absolutely right to be angry and your actions are appropriate & justified. Perhaps the client should be sent an email explaining exactly what she did wrong and how bad it is for you. I think a lot of people don't realize how this activity screws you personally (not that this mitigates her actions AT ALL) and I think she should be told. Might save another recruiter some heartache in the future.

[thehuckster]

Did the candidate sign an exclusivity/non-compete clause with your company at anytime between January and now?

Her going around you to get in directly would be a breach of contract.

That's exactly what I was thinking. Every recruiter I've dealt with has that same agreement, both for the employer and the candidate. The employer should be considered breaching the contract just as much as the candidate.

It's really a theft of services when you think about it. You should really fight for the commission for this, even if it has to require a lawsuit.

[JambaBamba]

On the client side we have between 6 months and a year (depending on the client and contract) of "owning a candidate". If the candidate gets submitted by someone else we still get credit. Company A is really good about this; we'd have gotten paid if they saw her and decided to hire her.

We talk to our candidates about representing them (it's a verbal agreement of "am I allowed to present you to this company") but some people decide to go around anyways. It usually ends badly for them.

I'll be the one explaining to her why her actions were bad (if she calls me back; we'll have to see) but it's one of those where you know she knew what she was doing. I have enough good candidates I work with (even if some of them go to interviews with their phones on to field calls for their boyfriend's surprise party) that a bad one every now and then won't break me. Just so annoying.

[Blade_Raver]

Sounds like next time before you re-contact a candidate, they need to re-up their exclusivity contract before any information is given.

[Sleepwalker]

I don't understand why she would do that. What would she gain?

[Blade_Raver]

She imagined she'd gain a full employee position at said company vs. having a temp or temp-to-hire position with said company.

More or less trying to cut the contractor out of making a buck... Dirty tactic.

[PepperElf]

(Before reading this, please note IANAL but have worked as a contractor before.)

Did the candidate sign an exclusivity/non-compete clause with your company at anytime between January and now?

Her going around you to get in directly would be a breach of contract.

Just a thought.

This.

I signed on with a temp agency back in NY for a job and the rules specified that I was NOT allowed to apply for any job directly with their list of companies. If I had already applied for a job with someone from the list that was OK however. And if I was placed with a company and that company wanted to hire me directly I had to let the temp agency know etc.


I had applied to maybe one or two companies on their list before I signed on with them. Interestingly, the first interview I was sent out on was... with a company that had turned me down already.

[JambaBamba]

We don't do temp positions. We only do permanent positions (almost always full time but sometimes we find part-time for someone who wants to be a mostly stay at home mom but still make income).

The candidate believed that she would have better odds if she went around me and contacted the hiring authority directly. Some people feel that they are better than a recruiter; and some are right, depending on the recruiter. This time though it made her look bad and us not willing to fight for her (which would have at least gotten her an interview where she could have proven that even though she didn't have everything they still could use her).

[PepperElf]

Yeah mine was weird i think. they called themselves a "contemporary" company rather than a temp agency. although I think it really meant the same thing in practice.


but yours sounds a bit like a headhunter or hybrid.


of course i'm betting the girl's gonna find out her chances were better if she'd gone through you vs on her own. cos you have the relationship with them already... and, as you said, you can help find her a place where she may fit in.

that's what my company was like. the first interview they sent me on... turned out the company RARELY hired directly, at least not at my level. They only wanted people that the temp agency had picked for them.

[Blade_Raver]

I'm going to take it that common sense kicked in and she didn't get the job?

[JambaBamba]

E-mail from the hiring authority:
I like the firms she has worked with, but Candidate has minimal consulting experience, and therefore, not be a good fit. The hr person pressed and got this: I don't know what you mean by "financial" consultant. No on Candidate.

She finally called me back today - all nervous (high pitched voice, talking fast). When I mentioned that I wanted to talk with her regarding the position her voice went up even more (seriously I had to hold the receiver away from my ear; I think dogs could hear her a mile away) and almost cracked. Super nervous (it was kinda funny for me because I didn't let on that I knew about the resume).

I off-handily reminded her that we'd submitted her resume to them before so they knew she was through us so they knew her background (she got kinda quiet at that point). I told her that the financials were a bigger part of the position than we previously knew (true) but that I'd keep looking and let her know if I found something that would fit her better (totally, totally false). She tried to argue that she had the right experience for the job and I just made soothing noises until she stopped.