recruiter won't answer questions and wants to rewrite my resume

A reader writes:

I saw a blind ad (no company name provided) and sent my resume and introductory email. Within an hour, I received an email expressing interest by a recruiter followed by a voicemail. The initial email said “your resume is great.” I sent an email to the recruiter and asked if I could have the name of the company so that I could research it before we spoke by phone. I received a response saying that the company would not allow its name to be revealed until an interview was set up. Okay, I thought, but I was not happy to be unprepared. 

During the phone interview that followed, none of my questions were answered – remember, this company wished to remain anonymous, so nothing was discussed about specific job duties, size of team, first few projects, how work would be evaluated, etc. Remember, so many in the job search world always say “prepare and have questions ready.” Well, I was unable to prepare for this phone interview. But, at the end of the 20-minute phone interview, the recruiter asked for my resume in Word (I had sent it in PDF), because she wanted to re-do it. She said it was “flat, hard-to-read, and not easy to follow.” Excuse me, but in her first communication, the resume was “great” – her word. Would you have sent her the resume so she could have “re-created” it?

At this early stage, I can see her not wanting to get into something very detailed like specifics about the first few projects you'd be working on -- but she should have given you solid information about the job responsibilities and reporting structure. How are you supposed to know if you're interested in investing any time without this basic information? This goes back to employers (or in this case, a recruiter) feeling that they have all the power and that job candidates should simply be happy to get a chance to be considered. It's BS.

However, if these were questions you were asking simply because you felt that part of making a good impression was having questions prepared, well, obviously she's not concerned about that. But if you were asking questions because you're trying to determine your interest level and if it's worth your time to proceed or not, then you're perfectly entitled to hold firm on that before investing further time.

A lot here depends, of course, on how desperate you are for a new job. If you're not and you feel you have plenty of good options, there's no reason that you need to indulge her if you don't want to. It's completely fine to say, "I can appreciate the employer's need for confidentiality at this stage, but before I can move on to an interview, I'd want to know more about ___." But you need to be willing to risk losing the opportunity over it.

As for this resume re-write, at a minimum you should make it very clear to her that no resume can be sent out as yours without you having signed off on it. I'm a little worried that she's going to make changes that you wouldn't approve and send it out without you even seeing it. Regarding the contradiction of first saying it was "great" and later criticizing it, it's possible that she meant that your experience is great but the resume needs some work. And it's absolutely possible that she's right. But I'd proceed with some healthy skepticism until you have a better feel for how she works.

Any recruiters out there want to weigh in?

am I annoying my recruiter with weekly follow-up?

A reader writes:

Just before Thanksgiving, I had an initial phone interview with a company. It went well and in the first two weeks of December I was called back for a second and then third interview, as I was up for two different slots in this company. Since then, I was told I was one of the final two for one of the slots. Also since then, the holidays have happened, a [reorganization], and now someone gave notice in the group I was one of the final two for. I've been touching base weekly with my recruiter just to see if there was any news. In my last E-mail with her, she told me she would let me know when something changes. Should I still keep touching base every week or so, or am I becoming an annoyance?

My answer is posted over at U.S. News & World Report. Please check it out!

when a recruiter asks for your height, weight, age, and marital status

A reader writes:

I sent a resume to a recruiter and he then sent me a survey to complete. The survey was laden with questions that are illegal to ask in the employment process. Yet several friends of mine said this is how employers are bypassing EEO requirements. They simply use an outside firm and say, "We want an unmarried male under the age of 30 with the appropriate height and weight." They can't advertise this but they can certainly tell the recruiting firm they want this profile in a candidate. As an older career changer on the stocky side, I tend to rather sensitive about questions about my marital status, height and weight.

I stated this in my response to this particular recruiter and I was amazed by his email to me, which follows:

Thanks for responding - in reference to your comments - we don't discriminate for any reason - it is illegal to not hire someone because of their answers to those questions...frankly, we don't care..it is just information that many times we are asked by clients - it may open a door, not close one. We are not the enemy, we are your best ally - we try to get you in the door.

I'm amazed that people fill that information out in every other walk of life..i.e...life insurance forms, license forms, census.. etc.. and they never complain.

This reader forwarded me the questionnaire he was asked to fill out. Here are the questions it contains, in its entirety:

1) Current or most recent base salary? Bonus earned? Auto program?
2) Do you own your home? Are you open to relocation? Any location preferences?
3) Are you married? Children?
4) What is your birth date? Health? Height? Weight?
5) Why are you looking for a new opportunity?
6) If separated from company – separation date?
7) Any special parameters you want us to keep in mind for your search?
8) Any other information you feel we should know that is not on your resume?

As I've said before, the act of asking about things like marriage, children, and age isn't illegal, but considering the answers in an employment decision is. So it's just stupid to ask them, and anyone who's done hiring and ever talked to a lawyer doesn't use them. (In the U.S., that is. I know they're not uncommon elsewhere.)

This questionnaire is amazing. Who is this recruiter? (Also, how stupid is he? If he really wanted to know this stuff, he could figure most of it out in person through casual conversation.)

I especially love his last paragraph, defending himself. You fill out this information on insurance forms (where it's, uh, relevant), so why not turn it all over to him too? And why not throw in a naked photo while you're at it?

Anyone want to take a whack at this guy? Or defend him?

when a recruiter misleads you and wastes your time

A reader writes:

I've been fully self-employed as a freelancer for about three and a half years. Over the last year, however, my income has dropped by a good bit (thanks to moving and to the economy). I'm doing fine with what I'm making, but it feels like that could change any time. In a perfect world, my freelance business would be predictable enough that I'd never consider another salary, but it's a far from perfect world so I do think about returning to the salaried world some times.

When we moved to our new city, I signed up with a couple of creative placement agencies. I've never used that kind of agency before because they mostly place people in full-time and on-site temporary jobs and I'm usually able to fill my calendar with higher paying projects that I can do from my home office. I signed up when work was slow and I would have been able to do something on-site and full-time. They call me with various projects from time to time, but I've usually passed on the their opportunities because I'm busy enough not to have to take them. They also charge pretty high commissions, so the pay to me ends up being lower than I'm used to even when the client is paying my usual rates.

A few months ago, they called with an opportunity to do some freelance work for a big local company. I could do the work from my home office and it was a dream client that I'd love to work for and had no other access to. I agreed to the interview and was very excited. When I got there, it seemed clear that a) the client wanted someone with a much more extensive science background that I had and b) the "freelance" opportunity was really just an audition project for a full-time position. It was a waste of my time and theirs for me to go there. And, even worse, it made it impossible for me to approach that client about any other business because the placement agency would want a huge chunk of any fees I'd ever earn from them.

I haven't agreed to meet anyone they've wanted to introduce me to since, but they called me yesterday to ask if I'd be willing to talk about something full-time. I said yes, if it was the right fit. They told me about a position that sounded like a good (but not great) match for my skills with a "medium-sized company." I specifically asked about the client and they said "medium-sized." They asked for a specific kind of writing sample, which I provided. They schedule a phone interview for me this morning, which I did. The phone interview went well, but it turned out that the "medium-sized company" was actually another recruiter who is trying to find someone to hire for a HUGE local company (Fortune 500 public corporation). The recruiter didn't even have my resume when we talked, but she did have my writing sample. We talked for about 30 minutes and she asked if I could come meet with her boss for an interview TODAY. I tried to put her off but she pushed hard and I agreed to meet this afternoon.

Then, I thought about the HUGE company, the hour it would take me to get there and back, the client deadlines I need to meet this week, the fact that she didn't even have my resume, and I started to have big doubts. I think if I put in the time to get over there today, there's a good chance that a) she'll be wasting my time because she doesn't really know enough about me to know if I'm a good candidate and b) this isn't really the job for me even if she's right that I'm who they might want--the HUGE company isn't where I'd been thinking my next move would be.

I called the placement agency and explained what was happening. They pressured me and pressured me, they told me what "great opportunity" this would be (even while saying they didn't know it was for HUGE company when they told me about it, so I doubt that they have any idea if this is a good opportunity or not). I told them that I'd be willing to meet with this other recruiter tomorrow but that I cannot make the appointment today.

I'm feeling guilty for backing out after I agreed, but I'm also getting really frustrated with these recruiters. I think they're all pressuring me to spend hours on this interview without having any idea if I'm the right fit for this position. They just want to be able to say they found a candidate, any candidate, and they don't care if they're wasting my time or not. And I don't want to potentially sour a relationship with a huge local company by showing up to interview for something I'm not the right fit for because the recruiters aren't paying enough attention to me or what I'm telling them.

What responsibility should recruiters have to respecting the time of the candidates they send for interviews? Is this kind of lackadaisical "just do the interview" attitude the best I can expect from these kinds of placement agencies?

Well, like most industries, it depends on who you're working with. There are terrible, lazy, incompetent recruiters out there. And there are fantastic ones. It sounds like you've hooked yourself up with a bad one, and I'd recommend unhooking yourself.

Do keep in mind that recruiters ultimately don't work for you. They work for the employer, because that's who pays them. So their goal isn't so much to work to find you a great fit at a job you'll love as it is to find the employer someone they'll love. Now, there's a lot of overlap between those things -- a good recruiter will be open and honest with you about the jobs they talk to you about, because doing that is part of doing a good job for the employer. But when you encounter an incompetent recruiter, they don't get that. Instead, they see their business as presenting the employer with any reasonably qualified candidate they can find, and if that means fudging the details a bit, they may.

You've had enough experience with this agency know to know that you can't trust them. They're not competent or ethical. End your relationship with them. If you want to work with a recruiter, ask around to people you know about who they recommend for your field. Get online and see what recruiters are writing good stuff on blogs and Twitter. Ask them for recommendations. There are great recruiters out there, if you look -- but you don't want to work with just anyone. Good luck!