Category: Job Search

I just got a call out of the blue from a job placement company.

The guy calling was obviously Indian. His accent was so thick that I could barely understand him.

He sent me an email while we were speaking on the phone. That gave me and Identification of the company, this guy worked for. As I explored their website I found that in addition to a supposed office in IL their main office were actually in Bhusari Colony,
Kothrud, Pune 411038 India.

So that’s all fine except that this guy tells me he wants me to respond to his email in the next 15 minutes. Say what?? Hello, I’m actually filling out another application right at the moment.  I told this guy that, then he starts pressuring me to apply for a job in San Jose, for 80k max and he has no idea what the hell the job is. All he can tell me is that it’s something to do with embedded systems That could be anything from a Jet Engine control module to an implantable medical device.

His email has a ONE LINE job description and the only information is a requirement for HP Quality Center which is a test tool HP purchased from Mercury Interactive.

What the fuck?

So this moron wants me to apply, in the blind for a position that I have no data on, and he wants me to do this in the next 15 minutes…

I told him that the application I was working on would be finished first, then I’d send him the information he wanted. He asked how long that would be… I told him he’d have it by tomorrow morning. 

You know I want a job, but I can’t waste time with people that don’t do their jobs. Especially when I’ve got a real job application that I’m working on.

——– UPDATE ——–

Ok maybe I’m a bit too sensitive.

I get another email this morning from this Manoj guy. This time he’s wanting me to sign a document that says, and I’m paraphrasing here;

“I promise under threat of litigation, that I will not apply for or allow anyone else to submit me for a position with GE or any of their subsidiaries or partners for the next 45 days.”

I have some problems with this.

1) GE has it’s fingers in companies all over the world. Technically that makes all of those companies subsidiaries or partners, completely off limits. How would I keep track?

2) The document also specifically mentions a Wisconsin job opportunity NOT a San Jose position that we discussed yesterday.

3) Until yesterday I never heard of the agency this guy works for.

4) Based on his comportment, his inability to speak English clearly, and the way he represented his company… I DON’T want him representing ME.

I was polite, I sent an email saying that I couldn’t in good conscience sign this exclusivity agreement because I had no capacity to control what other headhunters may or may not do and bade him farewell.

I hop in the shower, when I’m put together for the day, I check my email again. There’s another email from him. This one is the same email as yesterday with ONE difference. It’s for a position in WI.

Yesterday:

I have a fulltime position at San Jose CA which is an HP QC and embedded requirement.

In case you are interested please call me back asap.

Today:

I have a fulltime position at Milwaukee WI  which is an HP QC and embedded requirement.

In case you are interested please call me back asap.

The rest of the email is a list of questions… all of which are answered in my resume, and oh… They’re also answered on the job search board that he got my contact information from. Mind you he’s asking for all this information but nowhere does he ask for a resume, or salary history

Name: 
Availability:      
Current Location:

 Please let me know if you wish to consider him!

Contact No.:       

Email ID:   

Work Status:        
 

Employer Details
Full Name: 
Company Name:

Phone No: 
Email ID:

 

Reference 1
 
Name: 
Designation:
Company:
Phone No:
Email ID:
 
Reference 2
 
Name:
Designation:
Company:
 Phone No:
Email ID:

I preserved the formatting of his email. If you look carefully, you’ll see that after this information has been filled out… It looks like he just cuts and pastes it, including the line ” Please let me know if you wish to consider him!” into an outbound email to his supposed client. I wonder if Manoj remembers to change the pronoun… I doubt it.

I’ve come to the conclusion that this guy in fact doesn’t have a client. He’s just spamming corporations with names and resumes hoping that someone will be interesting enough that he can get his 10% to 20% cut of their salary.

I’ve no sooner looked at the email than my phone is ringing. Yep it’s this idiot… I decline to answer.

I thought about writing a nice email to him explaining that I wasn’t interested in he or his company representing me. But I thought the effort would be a wasted one.

One of the advantages of owning your own domain names is that you have the ability to really control what’s going on through those domains.

Believing that Manoj wouldn’t get the hint, (I may be one of the few people he’s spoken to for more than 5 minutes) I created a filter on my domain that will reject all messages from his corporate domain, returning an error message “YOU HAVE BEEN BLOCKED BY THIS USER”

Maybe he’ll get the message then.

If you’re looking for a job, be careful in your search.

There are people like Manoj who through their puerile efforts simply blow your chances of even being considered, and then there are others who actually use the information that you provide about your work history and other personal information to construct false identities or steal yours. 

Remember, there are always predators. This is  especially true in tough economic times.