Damn, now WTF do I do?

[StageLeft]

I had an interview last week with a recruiter, she followed up on reference and now says she needs a final confirmation before pitching me to her client. Its for a contract of 1-3 months (not sure how many yet) at a pay rate that I requested. Only problem is that tomorrow I have an interview setup with another local company that, if I was offered a job with them, would be better than this contract one - and this contract one does not ensure work afterwards, whereas the local company probably would.

So, options:

1) Ignore this recruiter for two days until i finish interview tomorrow (not really fair to her)
2) Tell her to go ahead with it now then possibly backout of it after (which would have meant I was lying to her, so I don't want to do this)
3) Call interviewer tomorrow to confirm appointment and also tell him my predicament but be very frank saying that I would prefer to work for them, based only upon what I've seen on their website.

Ideally I'd work this contract for a couple months and have a job elsewhere but I can't count on that...plus this contract is to a major e-comm company and I would possibly stand a chance of being hired on after. Grr!

 

[IamDavid]

Ya got to be upfront with the recruiter. Tell her why ya think the other job would be better for you.

 

[StageLeft]

But the other one is not gauranteed (I havne't even had an interview yet!), and this recruiter has been nice to me - actually like she gives a damn meaning that I can fall back on her for work, but not if I burn her and I don't want to burn her. I don't know if I can ask her to put the job-pitch to the client on hold either...

 

[Yo Ma Ma]

<< she needs a final confirmation before pitching me to her client. >>

A final confirmation of what?

Have you been a contract employee before? Go on the interview, you have no idea if you're getting the job and until you are certain of something I would feel no obligation to tell the contract recruiter anything.

 

[Russ]

The ethical thing to do would be to tell the recruiter what is going on.

Russ, NCNE

 

[StageLeft]

yomama She wants confirmation that I'm available to take the position if she gets it for me.

Russ Only problem with that is if I tell her that her thing sounds ok but I'm hoping for something better and I'll get back to you she might be like &quot;screw this guy&quot;, because in this area my one year's experience in IT is nothing to praise God about...

I mean really would she get mad if I told her can she wait a few days or what?

 

[Yo Ma Ma]

Well, it sounds a little weak to tell her to wait while you have another interview. You might say something like you're waiting to hear back about another position and should know by xx/xx/xx, then she can wait a couple of days to pitch you to her client.

 

[StageLeft]

Ah true, thats a good one actually...if I can squeeze in this interview tonight I'm going to really push the interviewer for something substantial (hehe I know its bad to do but oh well).

 

[AndrewR]

Be as upfront as you need to be with the recruiter, but stall as best you can. I would use the short term position as leverage with the new interview (press for a quick offer since you &quot;are seriously considering another position&quot;, which you are). Don't be an ass about it, of course, but if they see you as a very good candidate for the job, the time crunch you impose will prevent them from shopping around any more.

Recruiters, like temp agencies, will wait a little bit for you since if you are a good candidate for a job, they stand to lose money just like you if you don't take the position. You could just tell the recruiter that you need a couple days to resolve a longer term position that might be available -- any sensible recruiter understands the advantage to you of a long term position over this short term assignment. If she is unyielding and bitchy, you'll probably face the same situation again if you are looking for another job assignment.

Good luck -- let us know how things turn out.

 

[StageLeft]

Yeah thats what I'm gonna have to do, she knows I'm looking for long-term work anyway. I'll tell her I need a couple of days and try and rush this other thing along. I know that the other company I want appears desperate for employees...