Did a recruiter ( job, school or military) lie to you?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

When I was still in high school my U.S.A.F. recruiter showed videos depicting new barracks in tall buildings, with lockers and helpful people there to show us how to hang things up. The trainers were patient and understanding, and everybody walked to eat breakfast casually during the early morning sunshine.
Reality check: The barracks were old and single-story, we had foot lockers, we marched in tight formation, we ate while it was still dark, and our “Team Leader and Assistant Team Leader” yelled in our face when we did something wrong.
Personal reality check: I lived worse and ate much worse at home, I had to clean the barn and slop the pigs before breakfast at home (before the sun rose), and those Air Force Team Leaders only yelled at me when I did something wrong…and they never hit me. So, yeah, I was lied, but I still came out ahead.

So, what tales do you have for us?

2

This one involves a job.

A third party recruiter set me up with an interview at a company. After he described the job, I wasn’t sure I wanted it, but he told me the interview had been scheduled, the company was looking forward to meeting me, and I’d better be there at the time he set up. So I went.

At the interview, which took place on Monday (this will become important later), it was obvious that this job placement was not going to be a good fit. I wasn’t enthusiastic about the company, and the company’s interviewer didn’t seem that enthusiastic about me.

On Friday, at about 4:30 pm, I get a call from the recruiter. “They love you! Report for work at 8:30 Monday morning.” Well, it was late on a Friday afternoon, and too late to do anything, so I showed up Monday morning at 8:30.

Well, I encountered what you might expect when you walk into a new job: there are forms to sign, a benefits package that you get after three months, they want your SIN number, and so on. The interviewer was to be my boss, your desk is here, and so on.

Then the interviewer invited me for coffee in the company cafeteria. “You know, I didn’t really want to hire you.”

“Then why did you?”

“Because the recruiter told me that you were so enthusiastic about getting this job. And I can see that you’re good at what you do, but to be honest, you’re not what we’re looking for.”

That set off a conversation where we both discovered that the recruiter was a liar.

The recruiter had told the company that I loved the interview, really was behind what the company did, and would like to start as soon as possible.

The recruiter had told me that the company loved me, and wanted me to start as soon as possible.

In other words, the recruiter bullshat us both ways, with no time for either me nor the company to back out, late on a Friday afternoon, with work to start on Monday. Basically, his lies boiled down to “Spoons wants this job” (I didn’t), and the company wanted me ASAP (they didn’t). Once my would-be boss and I figured this out, we laughed, shook hands, and wished each other well. Then we parted ways.

It was a day out of my life, I did not get paid for it, but whoop-de-doo, I could absorb the cost. Regardless, it was a recruiter lying to both of us.

3

I took a job that I had spent a year in vocational school being trained to do.After being processed in with all the forms and policies etc. my boss said “I want you to meet the head of our wholesale department too” I met with the guy. He said;..“this is a great company in 20 years you will have $100K in a retirement account if you keep at it” Of course I did not. I ended up moving 6 times just to keep some sort of merely liveable income and the company went bankrupt after i spent 15 years working for them.

4

I don’t have a story quite as fun as @Spoons, but in the IT-related parts of my career I dealt with recruiters a little as the employee and more as the hirer. And in each case they proved to be utter scum who cared only for collecting their fee.

I also don’t have a story as unfun as @sb1953 but my airline career resembles his story. Got hired on at what later proved to be the RMS Titanic. But boy was everybody associated with recruiting and onboarding enthusiastic about the awesome opportunity that awaited all of us at this fine establishment. Once we got good and psychologically trapped here, it became a matter of “In for a penny; in for a pound” until we rammed the iceberg at speed and most folks’ careers drowned.

5

Wow, you’re older than I thought.

6

I left a burglar and fire alarm company in the early 80s, with some significant separation pay that allowed me to spend a few weeks looking for a position with a similar company. A “recruiter” called me about interviewing with “Big National Fire Protection Company.” Never heard of them, but that was pre-internet and he described them as an established firm with great pay. I sort of assumed they were expanding into my area. He was unclear about my exact role, but assured me I was a perfect fit.

Showed up at the interview and there were a couple other people there. OK, I guess interviews are running behind. But then the interviewer and recruiter called all three of us into an office and started blabbering about fire safety and how important it is. His talk started with, “Have you ever been burned? It hurt. Now imagine being burned over most of your body. Imagine a loved one being burned over most of their body!”

Turns out it was a job selling battery-powered smoke alarms door to door. Base pay of $50/week with commissions on every unit sold. I missed the rest of his pitch.

7

A learning experience, to be sure.

Apologies in advance, this isn’t a quick story.

My Marine Corps recruiter lied to me. Lied right through his martha-frocking teeth.

When I enlisted in 1980 there were two options for contract length (the # of years): a ‘straight 6’, or 6 continuous years; or a ‘4x2’, or ‘4 by 2’ which is 4 years active then 2 years in the inactive reserves. In the inactive reserves, for 2 years you’re pretty much a civilian but the military still owns your ass so if they need to call you up and reactivate you, they can.

When you’re 18 years old, a straight 6 years sounds like FOREVER. Give me the 4x2.

Fast forward through the many days and weeks of meetings, discussions, the ASVAB test, choosing the MOS I wanted, signing the commitment and then dropping the news on my folks (and that was a bombshell)… to the morning when I’m supposed to ship out. The recruiter picks me up from my parents’ San Francisco home, early in the morning, 0700 or something like that (thanks mom for rising early and cooking me breakfast and seeing me off; my dad couldn’t care less, he stayed in bed, couldn’t be bothered). Sergeant T drives me over to the MEPS processing station in Oakland where we take the oath to defend the Constitution, yadda yadda yadda. By now the sequence of events there is hazy.

This was on 25 Jan 1980, my PEBD. In the military, everyone knows their PEBD, their Pay Entry Base Date. PEBD determines a lot of things including pay anniversary and seniority. When it comes to rank eligibility for promotion there are two key time frames in play: time in service (determined by your PEBD), and time in grade (when were you promoted to your current rank?). It’s been 46+ years and I still remember my PEBD.

I digess. Refocus, Bullitt.

They sit us down in that classroom and put our contracts in front of us. The real contracts. I’m in with maybe 25 other young studs signing our lives away. Our recruiters are nowhere in sight. We’re led by other military personnel, and I don’t remember if they’re Army or Navy or whatever. All of us there are fresh recruits going to any of the military branches.

They make it VERY CLEAR: this is the REAL contract. Anything anyone ever promised to you means NOTHING unless it’s on the contract. No verbal promises, nothing, unless it’s on the contract.

I read the contract very carefully. My guaranteed MOS is clearly there. The contract length? 6 straight years. I see no verbiage about any 4x2.

I raise my hand and explain. I’m the only one to question their contract. They tell me to go outside and down the hall to find my recruiter. I do, and I point to the contract and ask Sgt T. He points to somewhere else and says, “Here it is, right here.” I look at what he’s pointing to, don’t really understand it but I figure, okay, I probed it, he responded, so it must be there. Stupid me.

I return and I sign. I ship out that day and soon enough I’m at MCRD in San Diego and all my hair is on the floor by some barber’s chair.

Fast forward 3 years and maybe 10 months. I want out in a bad way and am looking forward to it. The unit I was in wasn’t very motivating. It was depressing. I go to my Admin office and ask, How and when do I start processing out?

They inspect my contract and say no, I’m in for a Straight 6. Incredulously questioning, but to no avail, I am totally effed. And I am pissed.

He lied right through his martha-frocking teeth.

But in the end it actually works out. In years 5 and 6 I’m with a unit with a great CO, a Mustang who’d made it to Staff Sergeant (E-6) before becoming an officer. Now he’s a salty Captain who knows how to motivate us and kick us in the ass like we need. We become a hard-charging unit. ANGLICO, then later artillery. Good years. I also pick up some rank and I’m liking it better.

After 6 I reenlist and get a hefty bonus for it, and in subsequent years I take advantage of education and reenlistment bonuses, and by year 13 I finish my degree.

They want me to become an officer and I consider it, but the time apart from family is a hardship and the 3 kids are getting older now, well into their elementary school years.

I decline OCS, and then I actually get out. Just short of 14 years, but it is time to start my civilian career.

In the end I’m grateful for my Marine Corps years and experience. But if my contract ended after 4 years, I’d have gotten out. And probably ungratefully too.

Funny how things can work out.

8

I would have responded “so you don’t think I’m a good fit for your culture of miserable incompetence?”

Seriously though. other than your manager seeming like a jerk, I’m not sure what the recruiter “lied” to either of you about, aside from the usual recruiter bullshit of trying to sell the role.

That is to say, was there something fundamentally different about what the job was and the requirements for doing it?

9

Great story, Bullitt! Thanks for sharing it, and for your service to this great republic. Glad things worked out as well as they did for you.

10

I ended up going on a few of those sort of interviews when I first graduated college in the mid 90s. All variations of these Amway Multi-Tier-Marketing scams where they recruit dummies to go sell smoke alarms, knives, vitamins, water filters, and other junk door to door.

I don’t know that the recruiters “lie” so much that they don’t really tell you what the actual job is until you get there and have to listen to some douchebag give his Boiler Room speech.

Like you can’t even sell me on why I should do this and you think I’d work for you?

11

When I was deciding between graduate programs, the admissions director at [X] University told me I’d be free to apply credits I’d already earned in another grad program toward theirs. As she explained, some students applied all their prior credit at once so they could finish a semester early, while others applied it piecemeal so they could take fewer than the required number of credits per semester - the choice was mine. I ended up enrolling in their program with the intention of choosing option 2, so I enrolled in three courses for my first semester with a placeholder for the fourth…

…except it turned out all class schedules had to be approved in person by the Director of Graduate Studies, a crochety older professor who spent our meeting repeatedly asking me why I would waste my time taking just three courses when I could take four, and why I would pass up the opportunity to take advantage of all the wonderful graduate seminars they had on offer, and what a missed opportunity it would be to etc. etc. etc…….I finally got his approval for my three-course schedule, but at the expense of bad blood between us for the rest of my time there.

12

I had a recruiter tell me I was a perfect for the job and told the hiring manager the same thing. I was currently employed so he stayed around late for me so I could see him after work. We both realized after maybe ten minutes that it wasn’t even close to the right position for me.

I think it was me or it may have been him who said after a few questions, “this isn’t a good fit at all” the other one said “yeah” and we stood up and shook hands and I left.

13

Reminds me of an old joke: a farm boy joins the army. The drill sergeant wakes the new recruits up the first morning at 0600 hours, and notices they all have a hard time getting out of bed except for the farm boy, who jumps right out of bed, wide awake and at attention.

Then the drill sergeant gives them all tons of busy work, to break down their will and rebuild their character, army-style. He notices everybody struggling but the farm boy, who easily gets his work done, even when the instructor gives him extra to do.

Then it’s time for the shooting range. The farm boy turns out to be a crack shot. He wins a medal for ‘new recruit with the best shooting eye’.

Later, the recruits get an hour of free time just before bed. The farm boy writes a letter to his parents: “Mom & Dad, the army is way easier than I thought it would be. They let me sleep in late, I only have half the chores I had to do at home, and they gave me an award for hitting a target that wasn’t even moving!”

14

Similar story for myself. I went to a recruiters employment workshop that was seeking something like “highly paid customer representative and leadership position” blah blah that painted the picture of a salaried corporate lead or manager position. I and about two dozen others then arrived at an unmarked strip mall retail space and were attempted to be hooked in to the Cutco Knives MLM pyramid marketing scheme. I and a handful of others immediately bailed after about an hour of listening to the pitch.

15

I ended up at a Cutco thing once. A friend of mine had already been through that bullshit so I turned around and walked out as soon as I saw the logo.

16

My son did the Cutco thing for a few weeks in high school. I still have a few of the knives I bought from him, and honestly, they’re not bad knives, despite the company’s shitty sales practices.

17

Sigh. I wish they would teach contract law in high school. I had to learn it at law school, long after I left high school, and was signing contracts—sales contracts for a car, insurance for the car (I like to call insurance policies “contracts on steroids,” because they basically are), leases on an apartment—those are all contracts. At your age back then, you couldn’t have known what it meant. And you sure didn’t have a chance to consult with a legal professional as to what it actually meant.

Which is odd, because many contracts have a clause stating, “I acknowledge that I have had enough time to consult with a legal professional about my rights and obligations under this contract.” You did not get that chance.

I was offered a contractual job a few years ago (teaching substantive law to wannabe-paralegals at a vocational college). As a lawyer, I read the fine print carefully. Aside from violating at least three of Alberta’s employment laws, there was the final clause about consulting a lawyer about it. Well, I’m a lawyer, so I consulted myself, and my answer was, Nope, I’m not taking this job. Those violations of our law (as a lawyer, ethically, I cannot be a party to violations of our law), and the pay (which they said was non-negotiable) cemented my decision.

Point is, that if I was 18, and given a contract, and told to sign it then and there, without the possibility of seeking independent legal advice, I would be very wary of what it obligated me to. Especially if you’re only 18, as our friend @Bullitt reported.

I’m glad that things worked out well for you, Bullitt, but I would advise everybody to take any kind of contract seriously. It’s not a “sign here and we’ll make it work” kind of thing; it is a legally-binding and enforceable obligation on both sides. Folks, before you sign, make sure you understand what your rights and obligations are under it. And if the other party does not give you the chance to seek independent legal counsel about it—well, just tell them no, you’re getting a lawyer’s advice as to what it means. And if they balk at that, then just walk away. Never go into a contract you know nothing about and in which the fine print obligates you to do something that you and the recruiter never discussed.

18

I had a line removed from my current contract before I signed. It suspiciously left the door open for unpaid overtime.

As for the original question: lie, well not directly, but a recent job posting and information from their HR was very different to the actual job discussed during the interview. If I had known, I wouldn’t have wasted my time on those silly tests.

It had been a while that I applied for a job, but it was weird. Intelligence, reasoning, technical (pen+paper for an IT job?) tests that I couldn’t finish or just gave up on after a while resulted in a positive next day phonecall to get me in the next phase. It felt to me that they already made up their mind and just wanted to rush the paperwork.

19

There’s certainly a lot of illogic in big company recruiting. Where the HR bureaucracy has one set of needs and the department needing a worker has (or wants) a totally separate and simpler process to select a winner. Leading to pointless square-filling such as your meaningless tests.

OTOH, in a small company, the defects in the recruiting / hiring process are more likely to be insanity, piracy, desperation, or simple cynicism on the part of management.

20

A combo of Amway & knives, basically?