The Rise of the "Shadow" Recruiters

In the last 6 years, there has been an increase in 3rd party recruiting, offshore or “Shadow” recruiters. I refer to these form of recruiting as shadow recruiting where recruiters consist of a VOIP phone, a satellite office and “phishing off” established recruiting firms and job portals.

Like many job seekers, a call or an email from a recruiter ignites an excitement about a possible opportunity. The quest to secure the job starts with the need to review the job description and to respond back to the recruiter either by phone or email but then on further investigation of the email, you pause.

Scene 1- (The Call)

As a job seeker, the call or email from a recruiter can only be likened to “a Kid on Christmas Eve, waiting to see the gifts he got for Christmas”. You get a call from an out of state number, your instincts tell you it’s a “recruiter”, you answer the phone in a professional manner then the voice on the other end starts to speak, in an instant, your excitement is halted abruptly, you realize what is happening. The voice on the other the end of the phone, can hardly pronounce your name (Which is not a problem as some names are difficult to pronounce or pronounced differently from how it is spelt) but then you notice that the caller has little or no business etiquette, is offering a lesser rate than the market rate and always prefer that you, the job seeker do a 1099c rather than W2.

Scene 2 (The Bait)

Sometimes, our “curiosity” or “desperation” gets the better of us, and we are tempted to proceed with the call, in spite of our gut feeling to listen to the recruiter, to email our resume and give them the right to represent and present you to the employer. The truth is, because of our desire to secure a job, we miss the tell-tale red flags.

Scene 3 (The Hook)

You email your updated resume to the recruiter who calls you back to get the last 4 digits of your Social Security number or Date of birth (Now this is not a problem as more established recruiting companies do the same thing) You submit all the necessary required information requested by the recruiter who then tells you that they will be submitting you to the client.

 Scene 4- (Waiting Period)

You anticipate an interview and get excited about the possibility of getting a job. Then the waiting period begins, Day 1, 2, 3, 4 turns into a week and no call back from the recruiter. You call the recruiter back and all you get is an “answering service’ or voice mail. You leave several voice messages and send a couple of emails but still no response and after the second week, you excitement and hope turns to despair and anger. Some actually call you once after the first call and NEVER call back again.

In all fairness to the “Shadow” recruiters, some recruiters in well-established recruiting firms do the same thing as well, they have the bad habit of not calling back or responding to emails regardless of the situation. Some of these type of recruiters feel that by not responding, you will take a hint and stop calling which is a violation of recruiting ethics and principles.

Scene 5- (The release)

Eventually, you are discouraged, your hope diminished and your faith in the recruiting process is lost. Now when you receive an email or call from a recruiter, you are less enthusiastic and sometimes reluctant to send your resume or talk to the recruiter especially when the voice on the other line does not sound professional enough.

The issues with Shadow Recruiting

1. A) The problem with the shadow recruiters is that they specialize in devaluing the consultant’s compensation rate i.e. offering to pay $35 /hr. to a Project Manager with 10 years’ experience while a recruiter from an established recruiting firm might offer to pay $85 / hr.
2. B) The majority are not professional- they call and start talking and don’t give you a chance to respond and don’t care If you understand them or not and some even get angry if you ask them to repeat themselves.
3. C) They misrepresent themselves by using pseudo names like ‘John smith’ Anthony Jackson etc. to have the job seeker call them back only to realize that it someone else.
4. D) Most shadow recruiters are located overseas and use VOIP or google numbers to call. They use remote satellite offices who provide them with local addresses, phone numbers and sometimes answering services.
5. E) They lower the standard of recruiting and prevent job seekers from getting the position or avoid responding to calls therefore missing out on great opportunities.
6. F) They are relentless in calling and become a constant menace with calls that violates one’s privacy.

The Job Seeker’s silver bullet

B 1- Researching the Company first and calling the number/recruiter back is a key step in enabling you to decipher “shadow” recruiters. The phone numbers are usually VOIP phones, satellite offices or google numbers most established recruiting firms to have a home base.

B 2- Some shadow recruiters are in other parts of the world but are smart enough to pay for remote offices and services etc. So always ask what state they are incorporated in, ask for the company incorporation number, inform them that you will call State Tax office to verify and then call to confirm.

B 3 – Ask if they are going through a VMS system or dealing directly with the hiring manager. If the answer is

VMS- Ask about the Tier / Group they belong to example- Group 1, 2 or 3 etc. This enables you to assess their ranking /position with the Employer as most companies rank the top recruiting firms in the first Tier or Group 1.

Direct- Ask for the employer company name and later call the HR department to cross check to see if the recruiter is on their VMS System.

This also determines the duration it will take for the company to review resumes submitted by the recruiter.

B 4- Politely confront the recruiter about the phone number he /she is calling from by asking “ are you calling from a VOIP line?” some will admit it, some would deny it and some will simply hang up.             

B 5 – Don’t be afraid to state your conditions: Ask recruiters to provide more than one contact in their organization that can be reached for more information on the project if they can’t be reached.

B 6- Ask that they respond to your emails and calls no later than the following afternoon at the most just you can keep the communication flowing.

B 7- Suggest that you reach out to them every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. This is to prevent an out of sight, out of mind experience as you are not the only job seeker they are working with.

Now if the silver bullet method fails, just go with the more established traditional recruiters: Apex Systems, Modis, TEKsystems, Triad Resources etc. at least you know what you are getting with them.

How does the old saying go again? Better the devil you know than the angel you don't know.’