IT Staffing Firms

[IndyColtsFan]

I have dealt with them on both ends and the majority are purely salesmen and don't care or even understand what they are recruiting for or the person the are recruiting. The biggest annoyance right now are the guys with thick accents that call about a position not closely related to my resume. I've had experiences with all the ones in the OP as well as GlobalInsight, Matrix and a few others and not a single one stood out as an exceptional company.l

My favorite is when I get an email about my resume (which clearly shows me currently employed and living in Indianapolis) for a 2-month contract which is 1000 miles away and oftentimes, says "No relocation assistance provided." LOL!

 

[Stuxnet]

I've consulted through two of them and I've hired consultants through all of them. In my experience they're all generally the same. FWIW, I have an extraordinarily low opinion of IT recruiters. They're worse leeches than realtors and car salesman in my book.

 

[KentState]

My favorite is when I get an email about my resume (which clearly shows me currently employed and living in Indianapolis) for a 2-month contract which is 1000 miles away and oftentimes, says "No relocation assistance provided." LOL!

Been getting a lot of those lately also. 2 month contract in New Jersey at $30/hour. So, I'm going to give up my full time employment for something like that?

IMO, the major job search sites are now along the lines of MySpace when it comes to spam. Main reason why my contact info is a special email account and a Google Voice phone number. Here is a recent dictations from Google:

Hey Chris, This is the Joe from payment consulting cruise. This is regarding an opportunity ripped off sun trust and they're looking for someone with the sequel. So would you be at a freshman the market just call me back on my number. My number is 404xxxzzzz. Thanks a lot. Bye.

 

[SaDiZTiKStyLeZ]

I'm fairly cool with dude at Robert Half, he calls every now & then trying to get me something. Even when I am employed...
He landed me a contract-to-hire gig last summer. But they hired the other guy instead...

 

[Tsaico]

I have been on both sides with Robert Half, early when I started my career and now for medium term help (6 mo) and they are OK. The main think I liked looking for a job, was they had a lot of people looking to them for positions, so as long as I was good with them, they fed me a lot of leads. I found for the most part, I just interviewed with them, they tested me, and then sent me to various places. In my case, I seemed to be covering things like medical leave, paternity leave, disability, stuff like that. Where they needed someone for 3 mo or less.

Now on the other hand, getting a recruit from this, I don't have to actually test or interview them myself. And if I don't like the one I have, I can fight to get a new one.

Cost wise, I pay 30% more than if I had just hired someone myself, and paywise, I made 20% less than if I was a permanent hire.

 

[DesiPower]

Look at TEK and Apex, we use them all the time, good people and the contractors are happy. Although they are good only if you are specifically looking for contract jobs

 

[TalonStrike]

ok, so bottom line, are they worth bothering with, or should they just be avoided? I'm only looking for permanent positions, no contract stuff.

So, they take money out of my paycheck, and I end up getting paid less because of it? Or do they get paid in addition to my salary?

I'd rather just get a position by myself, but applying to jobs on Monster and Dice feels like I'm just taking a big stack of resumes and throwing them out the window.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

ok, so bottom line, are they worth bothering with, or should they just be avoided? I'm only looking for permanent positions, no contract stuff.

It doesn't hurt. Just make sure you tell them that you want a direct hire position only or, if you're comfortable with it, contract-to-hire.

So, they take money out of my paycheck, and I end up getting paid less because of it? Or do they get paid in addition to my salary?

Most get paid in addition to your salary. For example, for a contract job, they'll post a job on Monster or CareerBuilder and say "$50/hr." The company will pay them $80 or $90 an hour and you get $50 of it.

For direct-hire positions, they'll get paid by the company.

I'd rather just get a position by myself, but applying to jobs on Monster and Dice feels like I'm just taking a big stack of resumes and throwing them out the window.

I got my last job via Monster, and I got this one via TekSystems through a friend.

 

[Farang]

ok, so bottom line, are they worth bothering with, or should they just be avoided? I'm only looking for permanent positions, no contract stuff.

So, they take money out of my paycheck, and I end up getting paid less because of it? Or do they get paid in addition to my salary?

I'd rather just get a position by myself, but applying to jobs on Monster and Dice feels like I'm just taking a big stack of resumes and throwing them out the window.

I'm a recruiter for a major consulting company. I recruit for contract roles.

Not trying to give a sales pitch, but no job is permanent. Most jobs pitched "contract-to-hire" are 3-4 months on contract. If you don't suck, you get the job. It really limits your opportunities if you go direct hire only, and you usually don't end up with the best match because interviewing can never compare to actually doing the job for a few months.

Staffing has very high turnover, so you get a lot of numbskulls calling you. The key is to develop longstanding relationships with good people you trust. Typically one or two rounds on Monster, getting 50 calls and meeting a bunch of recruiters, you can find the 3-4 you want to work with long-term.

Recruiting is sales, so if the job isn't "real" you likely won't get called on it. I prioritize what can close this week, so the 'hottest' job orders are what I work on. My time is valuable and I wouldn't call you to chat about a fake position.

Companies pay our bills, not you. Just like any other company we need to offer competitive pay or we wouldn't get any employees.

Finding a job on your own is not always a better idea. Most companies are terrible at hiring, and often set people up to fail because they are clueless. Consulting companies do this all day, every day, for a living, and they are pretty good at qualifying who will work and who will not.

 

[TalonStrike]

not interested in contract jobs.

 

[Farang]

not interested in contract jobs.

you're probably unemployable and hope a 'permanent job' means it is harder to fire you.

I recommend usajobs.gov

 

[Gibson486]

You would be stupid to pass on work just b/c it is contract. I am living proof. When I graduated college, I turned down a contract job doing DSP work because it was contract. In reality, they just wanted to try me out for 6 months before they made a decision. You know how much good DSP people make now? And no, they usually do not hire fresh college grads with just a BS to do it.

Anyways, proceed making the next 100 threads about something related to jobs...

 

[TalonStrike]

you're probably unemployable and hope the idea of a permanent job means it is harder to fire you.

You give recruiters a bad name. Don't try to force your contract jobs on me.

 

[Gibson486]

I'm a recruiter for a major consulting company. I recruit for contract roles.

Not trying to give a sales pitch, but no job is permanent. Most jobs pitched "contract-to-hire" are 3-4 months on contract. If you don't suck, you get the job. It really limits your opportunities if you go direct hire only, and you usually don't end up with the best match because interviewing can never compare to actually doing the job for a few months.

Staffing has very high turnover, so you get a lot of numbskulls calling you. The key is to develop longstanding relationships with good people you trust. Typically one or two rounds on Monster, getting 50 calls and meeting a bunch of recruiters, you can find the 3-4 you want to work with long-term.

Recruiting is sales, so if the job isn't "real" you likely won't get called on it. I prioritize what can close this week, so the 'hottest' job orders are what I work on. My time is valuable and I wouldn't call you to chat about a fake position.

Companies pay our bills, not you. Just like any other company we need to offer competitive pay or we wouldn't get any employees.

Finding a job on your own is not always a better idea. Most companies are terrible at hiring, and often set people up to fail because they are clueless. Consulting companies do this all day, every day, for a living, and they are pretty good at qualifying who will work and who will not.

Yeah, people do not realize that the turnover rate in your industry is pretty bad. You cannot really rate the company as a whole because people are constantly jumping from one firm to another.

We should change the OP's title to "job polling member"

 

[Farang]

Yeah, people do not realize that the turnover rate in your industry is pretty bad. You cannot really rate the company as a whole because people are constantly jumping from one firm to another.

We should change the OP's title to "job polling member"

There was an interesting article in the NY Times about how our economy relies a lot on the promise of a few to rise to the top, and how people will put up with shitty living conditions if there is the chance they become wealthy (Hollywood was used as an example, as well as crack dealers).

This is very much true in staffing. Companies hire a bunch of people at relatively low salaries, with the promise of big commissions if they build a book of business later on. Most fall off, those that stay absorb the losers' books and become even stronger. So tenured staff have great salaries, from their own skill and from those who fell off, while new hires are consistently brought on with these tenured folks as examples.

 

[lokiju]

Yes, many times.

Every IT job I've had for any significant length of time has always been through TekSystems until the past two jobs which were through friends.

I personally think Tek is the best of the bunch but have dealt with many of the companies you listed, none of which ever landed me anything.

Here's the best advice I can give when using them.

THEY WORK FOR YOU!!!!!!

I cannot stress this enough.

If you're dealing with someone and you're not getting interviews, finding matches to what you actually want with pay and role or are not getting responses in a reasonable time frame via phone or email then "fire" them. Just call up the main number, ask for the manager of the persons you've been dealing with. Tell them you'd like a new person and keep doing that until you get someone that actually works for you.

They make huge amounts of money from getting you a job. You're basically their paycheck.

Be firm (not an ass) and you also have to do your part and show up when you're told at interviews and knock it out of the park every time.

You MUST keep on them constantly. Its the whole squeaky wheel gets the grease.

I've had success time and time and time again using them and have had friends use the very same people that were finding me interviews nonstop and in two cases my friends told me "they never call me back". It wasn't the recruiters fault only. THEY weren't willing to do what they needed to in order to stay at the front of the recruiters mind every single day.

The good part then is if you start to have a good history with Tek then they'll tend to try even harder to place you in the future if you want/need as they know you'll not be a problem.

Last point. Get the details in writing from them/your recruiter. Verbal matters for nothing when push comes to show. Get in writing any money related items you're told. Get in writing your schedule, title, job description, etc.

I had a situation in one placement that I did get where my recruiter told me there's a starting bonus once I go permanent with the company after the 90 contract period if the company decides to hire me.

Company love me and bought out the contract time to hire me after 15 days as a full time employee and in the process of going permanent I say to my manager at the company I'm going permanent with "when do I receive the sign on bonus" and his response was "I don't know what you're talking about".

Quick version is basically my recruiter confused it with another position and company unrelated to me. BUT I had it in writing from here stating I would receive a $5k bonus when going permanent. TekSystems tried to still convince the company hiring me to pay it. This just pissed off the company that was hiring me. Thankfully their anger was correctly directed at Tek and not me though and still hired me. Teksystems took the hit and paid me the bonus from their funds and the recruiter was fired.

I didn't want the person getting fired and didn't want to cause the drama but I sure as shit wanted my $5k bonus I was expecting and promised in writing.

Moral of the story, get everything that matters in writing.

If you have any specific questions, I can try my best to answer them.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

You give recruiters a bad name. Don't try to force your contract jobs on me.

Do you currently have a job? If not, why not take a contract or contract-to-hire job?

 

[BChico]

We utilize contractors from Robert Half extensively.

PM me if you have any questions.

 

[ultimatebob]

I hate Robert Half... the recruiter I had was pushy, and he didn't seem to understand technology all that well. This guy seemed to think that I'd make a great Solaris admin just because I had Linux on my resume, because hey... UNIX is UNIX, right? NO, especially when the customer wants a Senior level admin with 5 years experience AND Oracle certifications.

Oh, and they gave my e-mail address to spammers. Bastards.

 

[McLovin]

I've worked with Apex Systems. I didn't have to deal with them very much and actually got hired on by the company they referred me to.

 

[wheresmybacon]

Do any of you have any experience with the following IT staffing firms:

TEK Systems
Robert Half Technology
KForce
Apex Systems

Did you find them to be helpful? Otherwise, what is your opinion on IT staffing firms in general?

I did a 6 month contract with Robert Half. I found them to be really professional and seemingly well run - at least the branch I was with. With the exception of the absurdly low pay rate I'd recommend them. If you don't care about pay or benefits, I'd say they're pretty good.

I've also been with Entex, Siemens, and Modis. Modis, without question, has been head and shoulders above the others in literally every way. Pay rate was awesome. All the people in the office - who I never actually met, as a remote worker - were very pro and extremely good with all of my questions and requests.

All in all, though, at this point in my life I'm glad to be done contracting.

 

[airdata]

I hate Robert Half... the recruiter I had was pushy, and he didn't seem to understand technology all that well. This guy seemed to think that I'd make a great Solaris admin just because I had Linux on my resume, because hey... UNIX is UNIX, right? NO, especially when the customer wants a Senior level admin with 5 years experience AND Oracle certifications.

Oh, and they gave my e-mail address to spammers. Bastards.

I get alot of emails where they're using copy/paste templates claiming to have read my resume and go on to list some job I'm in no way qualified for. If I was a CCNP with 5-10 years experience I probably wouldn't have my resume up on monster.

 

[alkemyst]

recruiters are often the only option for those looking to work in companies that only hire from them.

In general, there is nothing wrong with them; you can still look independently.

My problems in the past is every $30-40k job that came up they would badger me a bit to jump on the 'opportunity'. Also once they see you are a 'computer guy' they want to push the 100's of programming jobs on you.

I usually interview my recruiter now and if I don't like them, I will ask the agency for another.

 

[ultimatebob]

I did a 6 month contract with Robert Half. I found them to be really professional and seemingly well run - at least the branch I was with. With the exception of the absurdly low pay rate I'd recommend them. If you don't care about pay or benefits, I'd say they're pretty good.

I've also been with Entex, Siemens, and Modis. Modis, without question, has been head and shoulders above the others in literally every way. Pay rate was awesome. All the people in the office - who I never actually met, as a remote worker - were very pro and extremely good with all of my questions and requests.

All in all, though, at this point in my life I'm glad to be done contracting.

Yeah, I can recommend Modis. They found me the job I have now, and they've found me a few new recruits for my department.

 

[SaDiZTiKStyLeZ]

Worst part of staffing agencies is the over abundance of contract work.
A lot of contract work on resume is lackluster. Which was all of my past experience.
Longest gig I had was 6 months, but it was an on-call type of gig. So at times, we heard nothing for about a month between jobs.

I would have left my current job already, but I want to get the time & experience to put on resume. Despite how shitty my job is, this is the first time I've had consistent work for more than a month, since I've been of working age.