The recruiter needs a filter!
This happened in late 2004, I believe. I don't remember the exact date, but it was certainly late summer as it was hot, and things were starting to turn.
This was a small manufacturer in the Midwest that made electronic filters. Their specialty at the time was lower frequency band stuff, and they've since been purchased by a corporate conglomerate and folded into a larger enterprise. They'd been hiring like mad, and I had several calls from various recruiters wanting me to interview. I declined, mostly because it required you go on site and take a test beforehand, and I wasn't in the mood to drive 3 hours to take a test.
One day, I was just so fed up with the position I currently held that when a recruiter from the general area of the company called me and asked if I'd like to start the interview process, I said "Ok, sure." I drove down one afternoon to take their test, it was a fairly banal electronics test - I'd say mid-level questions - but nothing someone with a few years of experience couldn't answer save for the few specific RF questions. You'd probably need to have had the proper experience to answer those.
A short time later, the recruiter tells me that I passed the test, did very well, and they want to interview me. We schedule times and I drive to their location again for the interview.
The interview itself was again, fairly banal. We discussed the test, I was told I did very well on it - which I would hope so, as it was geared towards someone with basic experience. We discussed my previous jobs, what I was currently doing, why I was looking, that sort of thing. The person doing the interview was one of the engineers, so it was a good conversation, we were able to ask one another technical questions and get technical answers. After the discussion, he took me on a tour of the shop, which is where I noticed some things.
The shop itself was pretty busy, which is always good, but the first thing I noticed was there seemed to be a lot of young faces, like "this is my first job out of college" age people. That's not a bad thing, but when the entire production area is composed of that makeup it just looks odd. We talked about what they were doing, he showed me some of the specialty equipment they used, and so on. Nothing other than the people stuck out as strange, but when he passed me to HR things got weird.
I met a lady, we'll call her Sally. Sally had a million-watt smile. She was more bubbly than a seltzer factory. Well, that's good because if the people are happy, then the place is happy. Right?
As she led me back to her office, we walked down a corridor. There were a lot of empty offices. Not nice clean, waiting for someone new offices. These were all "I'm getting the F outta here and I don't care if I even take my favorite coffee mug with me" messy. You know the kind, the ones where someone can't wait to get out of the place it's that bad. Well, that really stuck in my mind and it still does today. But Sally was great. She was polite, friendly, just the kind of person you want to deal with. She had an answer for everything, and was just All Smiles. The only thing of note that happened here was I asked if there was any relocation benefits, as I didn't live in the area. She got really bright and said yes, there was, she would need to figure that based on what kind of offer they made me and where I was coming from. If I didn't hear from her by Friday then to call Monday. The interview was over shortly after, I left and went to a friend's place and we had our normal Wednesday night get together and pizza.
Friday comes and goes, and I hear nothing. I call Monday as requested, and leave a voicemail. I hear nothing. Tuesday, I get a call from the recruiter. They want to make me an offer. It's a pretty bad wage, not much more than you'd make at one of the package handling and deliver companies. It was absolute crap, but I was so fed up with my current job that I was considering it, if the company's benefits were decent. The recruiter's name started with D, so that's what we'll call her. I'm me, of course. This discorse is somewhat toned down, the recruiter was one of the most unprofessional people I've ever dealt with - she was simply rude, crude, and pushy. The following conversations are abbreviated and happen over the course of about two weeks.
D: The company would like to hire you. They are offering $X!
Me: That's lower than I expected.
D: Well, are you going to take it?
M: What's the rest of the offer? You mentioned medical, etc. and they talked considerably about having relocation packages and fringe benefits.
D: You don't get those yet. You'd be working under contract.
M: I know that. However, I'd like to know what's being offered before I accept.
D: You don't get those yet. You're working for me, not them. Why do you want to know about that?
M: I'm over 30. Medical means more to me now than when I was 21. I own property that I can't just leave, which is why I'd like to know about relocation.
D: Well, I just don't understand why you need to know that. They're offering you the job. I've never had anyone else ask those kinds of questions.
At this point, there's something wrong. It sounds like the company has issues, and the recruiter is acting like they've never done this before - or are simply used to getting their way and have a god complex.
I'd like to talk about the wage that they offered for this job. It was, inflation-adjusted, slightly lower than what I made when I started at BigCo almost 10 years earlier. However, as now, things had increased far quicker than the official inflation numbers would suggest. We were firmly in the middle of the housing boom that would lead to the 2008 crash, and prices had just generally increased.
The differences between BigCo and this place is BigCo was looking for people starting their first job (for the most part.) They did give a test, but it was much easier than the one the filter place gave - very basic electronics like "Why does this LED not light?" (It's backwards.) That type of thing. They also were contractually obligated to give bi-annual raises until you met the contract wage, as well as giving contractual COLAs. So, while you started lower, you wound up at a nice wage after 6 increases (3 years.) It was worth the time to take the job because you knew you were guaranteed to be at this higher wage. That was the part that made it easy to take. There were no questions, in 3 years you'd be at this rate + contractually agreed COLAs.
Filter place had no such agreement, so who knows if you'd even get an increase after a year. They certainly didn't mention it, and my gentle prodding didn't reveal anything. The wage, while marginally ok for someone who was just starting out, was terrible for someone who had literally any time in the RF world, and they were talking up that very experience I had as an asset. The company was pleased that someone with the very experience they needed had applied. That was an even bigger kick, and it still makes me wonder if they offered even less to those who didn't have this experience.
Here's the thing: I should have immediately walked away at that point with a "No thank you" due to the wage issues. That's on me, and I take full blame for that. But as I stated, I needed out of the job I had because it was physically harming me. Now, I simply tell a company up front what I'm expecting. It makes it easier because I don't waste my or their time. Some still try to waste my time even after I say no...
But I digress:
M: I understand how a contract-to-hire works. But I can't walk away from what I have now for something that's mostly unknown.
D: Why are you asking these questions?
M: Because knowing these things is standard before accepting an offer?
D: Well, I'll ask, but I don't think you're going to get anything. Why aren't you going to take this?
We go around on this many times, the recruiter's attitude is just miserable. Finally, after telling me the company is getting angry, the recruiter sends a broadsheet with benefits. It's just ok, certainly not making up for the lower pay.
D: I sent you what you wanted. Are you going to accept?
M: I didn't get any information about relocation.
D: They didn't understand why you wanted to know about that. They're getting upset that you keep asking about those things.
M: They specifically said there were relocation benefits depending on where you're coming from. I can't just walk away from a mortgage without knowing if I'm going to eat it or be able to do something with it.
D: I'm not asking you to do that, you're going to get pre-tax money to get an apartment here.
M: But I still have the mortgage. I can't pay for both. I really need to know. They did mention it many times during the interviews...
D: (rudely) Ok, but I don't understand yadda yadda...
M: Did they or did they not actually give this information?
D: No. There is no relocation package and when Sally talked to you that was her last day so she didn't tell you she would call you.
So that's why Sally was so happy.
Looking back on the conversations I had with the recruiter, I wonder exactly how this person was going to give me part of that salary pre-tax for housing. I don't think it works like that, and in any event would have eaten up quite a bit of the crappy wage they were offering.
I should point out that the above conversations are just an abbreviated version of what happened. The recruiter contacted me probably no less than a dozen times over the course of a few weeks. Each contact was almost-a-threat, was angry, and I seem to remember having the job revoked and reinstated one day within a few hours. I'd never had this many contacts from someone, and I suspect that the recruiter had promised the manufacturer that I had accepted the job and she was just working out the details. I also have to assume that the recruiter had never dealt with someone that had a few years under their belt and knew what questions to ask. I can't imagine they lasted long with that attitude.
By this time, I was simply sticking around to see this thing through because I could not get this person to stop calling me.
D: They don't understand why you want this and they are probably not going to extend the offer anymore. (Again!)
M: That's fine. I can't accept not knowing what I'm accepting. I make an analogy about buying a car sight unseen, but it apparently goes over recruiter's head.
D: You seem to misunderstand. You won't be working for this company, you're working for me until they hire you. This is more than you're making now, why won't you take this?
Here, we have the smoking gun. Recruiter is probably making all of this up. Has she even talked to the company? I'd NEVER mentioned my current salary, so I'm not sure where that came from. Phishing, I suppose.
M: First of all, we've never discussed my current pay rate. It's about 25% higher than this. The benefits with my current job are better, and they actually exist. I don't have to move. I'm not being lied to by you or the company by staying here, and this is obviously an entry-level position even if you and the company aren't treating it as such.
The fury of a thousand tempests were in her replies, which I just ignored. She emailed me many more times, full of spite and ire. I finally had to tell her I'm not taking this, period. Your attitude is the direct reason why. I blocked the recruiter's email address after that, and even after changing addresses never received another contact from them. I assume(d) I'm on their no-call list.
About a year later, I was laid off from that bad job. It was expected, my workload was almost nothing and the place was a revolving door spun at a high rate of speed by a toxic clique. It was quite the relief.
Half a year later, they spun up on some new projects and the head technician of the filter manufacturer left and took what would have been roughly equivalent to my old position (yes, that's not supposed to happen with a layoff.)
Through a contact that remained at the bad job, I was told a story about the filter manufacturer's issues. The person related that they had hired a manager that was not well suited for the job, and was making the place miserable. This manager was driving away people, including Sally and the technician relating the story. This certainly explains the massive hiring spree, the crowd of young faces, and the "I can't get out of here fast enough" offices I noted.
This tech didn't stay long at my old job. The company sent him to Europe to learn about some of that division's products and services, but this was during a summer holiday. There was literally no one at the facility to talk to him, it was closed for a few weeks. When he returned he was badly berated for not accomplishing anything, even though there was no way he could have done anything. Not long after, he received a call from a collegue at the filter manufacturer - bad manager had left (terminated? No idea.) and would he like to come back. I understand there was fire under his feet as he left the building.
Later in my career, I had a coworker who stated that a cousin of his had taken what was roughly my old job, and lasted about three weeks before he left as quick as he could get out of the building. It just wasn't a good place to be, and the people made it worse.
(I will say that I cannot verify the story other than the technician did leave the filter manufacturer and left my old job quicker than he came in. I don't have any reason to doubt it, however.)
This recruiter seems to have folded. I don't think this had anything to do with their unprofessional attitude, but more due to the owner either retiring or passing. He had already retired once when he started the company over 40 years ago (according to his profile,) so it was probably time for him to exit the business for whatever reason. The company didn't continue - the website doesn't resolve and wayback machine suggests it was last live sometime in mid 2021. The physical location is now occupied by a different business.
I've had contacts with the filter place over the years, however, they're still on my "No" list. I know things have changed there, but the experience of the absolutely insulting offer, the lies from the company, and the completely inept a-hole of a recruiter they retained still stick with me to this day. I've mostly left the RF world behind, and my career no longer is at the level of people they need, so it's an easy decision to simply tell callers that I'm not interested.