Am I in the wrong here?

LegacyUser

I am currently looking for a job and I have contacted a recruiter. The recruiter promised the world and the earth to me and to be fair set me up with a load of interviews. There was one particular company that the recruiter spoke of in our initial interview which I was very interested in.

After a week, I had received a couple of hard offers but still no word on Company X. I looked at their website and saw the role was advertised publically and decided to apply directly myself. Within 24 hours I had an interview set up with them for the following week.

The day before my interview the recruiter got back to me regarding Company X (and two weeks after my initial meeting with him). He said that they thought my experience didn't really suit the role originally advertised but they may have something else more suited for me. While this was probably true, I'd still managed to get an interview for this role myself, and the fact that I now knew that there was something more suited to me I could just ask myself if I felt the interview didn't go well. I told the recruiter I was no longer interested in this company as I'd enough on my plate with other companies.

As it turns out, I got the role more suited to me with Company X, thanks to my former employer who does work for Company X and who gave me a ringing endorsement prior to my interview.

The recruiter found out that I'd taken a role with Company X and called me labelling me "unprofessional, underhanded and unethical". I disagreed and he cited he had agreements in place with all their clients that if they introduce someone (it was the recruiter who would have sent my CV in first to be fair) to them that they are entitled to a fee. I said that this was an "ethical issue" between the recruiter and Company X, even though personally I didn't want the recruiter to get a fee because it was me and my former employer who basically set this up from scratch.

I didn't apologise to my recruiter for my actions when he rang me on Friday. I didn't say much at all to be honest. I just decided to sit on it for the weekend but now I feel like ringing him tomorrow and letting him know exactly how I feel. I have no duty of care to the recruiter. I signed no agreement with him and the only thing I find unethical is that he can label me privately on the phone "unprofessional etc" and still want a fee from Company X for placing "a candidate of outstanding quality" with them.

What do people think?

AARRRGH

He's just a salesman annoyed he didn't get his commission.

There's no point complaining to his boss, as he'll be just as bad as the recuiter.

You're not in the wrong.

Forget about it and move on.

ifah

ignore the name calling - he's just sick because he has missed out on a nice bonus. Just inform him in writing that if he has a grievance he can take it up with the HR department of Company X.

Also inform him that you don't appreciate the untrue labels he was assigning to you and that you would have difficulty recommending him and his agency to any of your colleagues/friends.

Dord

dublindude wrote: »

He's just a salesman annoyed he didn't get his commission.

There's no point complaining to his boss, as he'll be just as bad as the recuiter.

You're not in the wrong.

Forget about it and move on.

I agree. He's probably just annoyed that you got it by yourself and he doesn't get his fee.

Not your problem, you just wanted a job.

shoegirl

It is even more unethical for recruiters to not respond to people who they've sent for interviews in a reasonable time. They seem to forget that.

A good many years ago, this happened to me many, many times. I phoned over and over and no answer. In at least one case, they never came back to me at all. Amazing how they can be so unethical themselves.

Another good one was a company in London who sent in a CV for somebody already working in the company without his consent. Again unethical.

I think recruiters have to respect the fact that you are looking for work to earn a living, not earn them credits. If anything major comes up there are situations that may involve a slightly less than correct approach, but they do occur. I withdrew from an offer once because of a personal situation and it was really difficult, but at the time to have gone ahead would've made my personal life unbearable.

TirEoghain

A likely case:

Recruiter holds off sending CV into company X because he'll get more comission from the other companies from which you received offers.

If the recruiter sent your CV into company X instead of telling you lies, none of this situation would have arisen.

Agency was in the wrong, agency got bitten.

Candidate 1 v 0 Agency