Frustrated at recruiter (vent)

[Kaia]

Hi, just want to vent. I am going to have an onsite interview where they're going to fly me in. But due to some delay in checking my info, they're not going to give me confirmation until the afternoon/evening before my morning flight. Is this normal? That means I won't know exactly which flight I'm taking (although we've tentatively picked one), which hotel I'm staying (distance from hotel to company), what time my interview start the next day, how many interviews I'll have, etc.

 

Are we supposed to be spontaneous like that? I'm just the type of person that likes to know things well in advance if it directly involves me. And this whole experience with the recruiter has been very stressful!

 

In one of the phone calls, when I asked why they need to check my info and can't go ahead and plan the flight first (because, come on, it's been THREE WEEKS since my first phone interview with them, couldn't they check it during that time? but yeah, I guess they won't want to waste resources until they're sure they want to fly me, but we shouldn't be expected to put our lives on hold and wait for them to get back to us right??), the recruiter told me that it's because it costs the company to fly a candidate in, etc. So the feeling I get from the recruiter is that I should be grateful that they'll be giving me a free flight and stay! .. well, which I am, but it's part of their procedure, they wouldn't fly me in if they didn't think I'm worth it in the first place?! So what's this crap about "oh we need to make sure"..

 

The reason I'm stressing out so much too, is because I have an offer waiting for me that I want to take as well. Although I want this job more, I'm not going to reject that one if I don't have a firm offer from this. And the way the process is going, I don't think I can hear back from these people before the offer expires out on the other one.

 

 

[rose2summer]

I think it's definitely more polite to let you know in advance. Yes they are giving you a free flight and living accommodations for your stay, but they should have the decency to let you know ahead of time. When I read Emily Posts book on manners, there was a definite timeline, I wish I could remember, I read it 9yrs ago, I could check if you wanted.

[HealingHandsWarmHeart]

i think you should tell the recruiter that you have another offer pending and you need to make some decisions- so they need to find out what the schedule is. In my opinion, this would put a fire up the recruiters you know what and apply some pressue to their Client aka your prospective employer to either fly you out there.

 

The recruiter will most likely be making some $$ if the co. hires you ..so they want to keep you on board..

 

I'm in the jobsearch market right now myself- and yeah you have to play these games with the recruiters - unfortunately.

[rose2summer]

Yes, I agree with healing to tell them you have another job potentially lined up, so you work the desirability factor into your app, it might help some for you.

[Kaia]

Yeah I did tell the recruiter about the offer, that's when I called and found out they're wasting time checking my info. As for the recruiter, she's part of the company that is interviewing me (they have a recruiting department), so I don't think there's any incentive for her to make things smoother/faster.

[rose2summer]

Conducting a background check? Those take less than 5 min to perform. I think they are stringing you along here. I wish I had some insightful advice to give you but I just don't think this is fair to you. Fortunately all of job interviews have been within 100miles driving distance, but flying there must be tough enough already.

[NJRon]

I read it that you are a fairly strong candidate for the position. However, they are hoping that someone stronger comes along. You are, in this case, either a plan B, or they are still trying to figure out whether they have an open req.

 

If the offer that is on the table is good. Now is your opportunity to either take it as is, or, if you feel it's a little sub-par, sweeten the pot with a hiring bonus and/or other things.

 

Whatever you do, do not wait on an employer to make up their mind. Take control of the situation yourself.

 

If you have an offer on the table just tell them, sorry, but I have a firm offer for a position I would like to explore... while I would love to work for your organization, the timing just doesn't seem to be working out. Best of luck and, if down the road, a similar position comes available, feel free to contact me.

 

Give it a day for someone to come back and say they will fly you out then and there and, if they don't, take the standing offer.

[Batya33]

If you really want the job, keep your mouth shut and jump through all the hoops. How you interact with the recruiter will be directly conveyed to your future employer because the employer is the client, not you. Also keep in mind that perhaps this employer expects you to tolerate this type of inconvenience as part of the job so this could be a test of sorts to see how you react. If you want emily post type manners apply for a job with an etiquette consultant. On the other hand if you feel you are in great demand then politely decline the opportunity to interview.

 

From my perspective I have jumped through hoops for job applicants - switched around my schedule, dealt with last minute changes in plans for interviews, etc. And, like you, I have jumped through hoops to get jobs - spent hours putting together applications, met with 11 people in a row with nothing to eat or time to breathe, etc. It all depends how much you want the job.

[iamteddybearfeelmecuddle]

I schedule all travel and interview itineraries for candidates at my work. Although I am usually present, and my opinion is requested, I am not really part of the selection process, nor do I wish to be. So the person doing your scheduling, may very well have no real interest in how strong a candidate you might be; I don't know if you can guage it through her/him. The flight offerings can be difficult to deal with, and if it is a larger organization, then there are even more limitations, because they may have contracts where they are only allowed to use certain companies.

[Kaia]

Yeah I guess if I want the job bad enough then everything is fair game. I'm stressed and nervous about the interview itself already and this just adds a little bit more!

 

But I agree that it would be more decent to inform me about flight and hotel information ahead of time. Take for example, my dad is worried about me taking a cab 4am in the morning to the airport so he offered to drive me. But to do so he has to take time off work (night shift) and it just wouldn't work to tell his employer last minute.

 

I'm going to meet someone when I'm in the city as well and I can't tell him which hotel I'll be staying because quite frankly, I still don't know. These are not huge problems and more like inconvenience, but it makes the job and the company just that much less appealing now.

[avman]

When companies are juggling people's schedules to set these things up, it's not uncommon for it to fall into place at the last minute. People are busy with many other things and it's not that easy to clear out time.

 

The company I work for is famous for not planning and then suddenly I have to hop on a plane the next day for some urgent thing that probably could have been taken care of a couple weeks ago.

 

Try and roll with it as best you can. If you want the job you'll have to put up with a certain amount of inconvenience.