Gather round and hear a story from old uncle Frank. A couple of years ago I was looking for a new gig and got a couple of e-mails from recruiters with Cybercoders. They asked if I was interested, and stated that if I WAS interested that I should respond with my resume. I did as they requested, and got no response. I tried calling, no answer, voicemail, no return calls. I e-mailed them, nothing. I called the company and asked to be transferred to them, 5 rings, voicemail. Then I started googling unique phrases from the job listings. And I found that ONE of the jobs was NOT in the Washington state area that I live in, but was in Mexico, and had been closed 2 months prior. The other job really did exist though. I contacted the company that had the opening, and applied and ended up getting the job. When I got there I asked about their relationship with Cybercoders, and they told me that they didn’t HAVE one, and were unsure what I was talking about. I sent them the e-mail that I have received about the job. They said they had never so much as HEARD of them before. I contacted the recruiter from cybercoders and he finally started to respond. I asked who at the company he had talked to and he gave me a name. I went straight to that guy and asked him “Do you know this guy?” He says he doesn’t. The recruiter and I went back and forth for about 2 days with the recruiter assuring me that this was a real job, and that he was representing them, and all of that. Only, I had to go AROUND him to get an interview.
Anyway long story long, I sent him a picture of me standing in their offices in front of a sign with their name on it, and he was shocked. But he never gave up the game. Never admitted that he had found the listing online and “made it his own”. Despite the fact that the guy he says he knows denies ever having heard of him. Finally he asked “Why I was mad”. Why? Because you never submitted my resume! I got this job on my own!
This is a big problem today, especially companies using Indian “recruiters” to repost and try to get right-to-represent (RTR) for those jobs that they really have zero connection with. I see this especially with state jobs. I work as a project manager, in nearby Carson City, they post a job and I swear within a day or so I’ve had 25-30 emails from “recruiters” asking me to apply via them.