A short post, to relate a story... just as I was about to hop onto a con-call this morning, my phone rang with a call from my Mom... given that it was first thing in the morning and that I still have a couple elderly grandparents, I answered fearing the worst... boy was I ever unprepared for the news!
Mom played for me a voice message left on her home answering machine. It was a recruiter from TekSystems, in a strong accent that I could barely understand, calling for me regarding an opening he was trying to fill. Yes, you read that correctly... a headhunter from TekSystems literally dug into the way-back machine and tried to reach me at my parents' home!
In case we've never met, let me baseline it for you: I'm well into my 30s, haven't lived at home since I was 19 (first Summer home from college), and haven't used their address as my "permanent" address since I was 22. Suffice to say, there is ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY NO REASON that they should be calling for me there.
So, here's my reaction:
a) Tweeted my discontent.
b) Blogged my discontent.
c) Setup a gmail filter that will delete all mail from @teksystems.com, skipping my inbox completely.
What a galling way to start the day...
In my opinion, TekSystems are the worst of the large scale recruiters/bodyshops.
Like many people, I was unemployed in 2002. TekSystems was one of the few companies that called me back. It was a position I was ideally qualified for. I interviewed with the client and immediately clicked.
The next day I'm asked to come into the TekSystems local recruitment office. They say the client loved me, and they would like to hire me as one of their contractors. Then the details were laid out. The job was for $12/hr and the contract had an early departure clause that stated I owed them 1/2 my wages if I left within 12 months.
Even on unemployment, I was making more money than the contract offered. After a couple attempts at negotiation, I realised they weren't going to budge, so I politely declined and started walking out.
That wasn't the end of it. The recruiter asked if I was unemployed. I stupidly stopped and replied "Yes." The recruiter then said "Well, if you don't take this contract the state will cancel your unemployment. We will have to report you."
I stood there in shock for a few moment, shook my head and walked out.
I don't know if they ever called the employment office, but my benefits continued until I acquired more reasonable employment.
Like you, I now ignore all contact from them.