Beware of Scam Sounding Recruiters

I hate looking for a job. It’s never been fun. The last few times, I already had a job, which took some of the urgency away. I’m especially fearful now of ending up in another bad match, stuck in another cubicle near yet another high-traffic/low concentration area.

I have to wonder about a few things though.

For one, do Career Builder and Monster somehow handicap you if you decide not to pay for their premium services?

Also, is it really a benefit

This post just took a turn from what it was originally intended to be. I was going to whine about recruiters asking me to join yet another resume farm. Those really bug me. I don’t get the point, and I’ve never gotten a benefit from them. I was going through my spam folder, and came across the following message:

subject
Corporate Recruiting Firm (Contact info request)

Eric,

If I already emailed you then please ignore this, but I've learned that some of my recent emails were not delivered.

I have a copy of your resume and was touching base to see if you are currently in the job market. If so, please register with us at www.mcsourcer.com/register so I can easily update you regarding opportunities.

I'm based in Chicago but our current search engagements are spread nationwide.

Best Regards,
Mike McCarthy
McSourcer Recruiting and Staffing
Phone: 312.277.1986
40 E. Chicago Ave. Suite 131
Chicago, IL 60611
http://mcsourcer.myplaxo.com

Remove your email from my list here and I promise to never contact you again:
http://lists.mcsourcer.com/u?id=8080475.23b48f3475dfcdc7d0e7a4c33c22768d&n=T&l=mcsourcer-candidates&o=1372721

I decided to to a search on this agency, and I came up with this. They’re not saying this is a scam, but it sure sounds like one. I agree.

For one thing, look at the phone number: “Phone: 312.277.1986”. In America, we write our phone numbers as “(312) 277-1986”. In other countries, they put periods after the groupings of numbers. I tend to be suspicious when I get an email that is supposedly from somebody living in the U.S. but uses foreign designations. Have you ever posted something on Ebay or Craig’s List and somebody promised to pay you in “American Cashier's Cheque”? Why would I go to a yard sale in my neighborhood and offer to pay in “U.S. Dollar” when that’s all we use here?

The website for McSourcer is very basic. It’s definitely not professional at all. I could do a better job with TypePad’s templates than that. You can read the link I posted above for what happens when you try to register. I’m not planning to.

McSourcer aside, do you get any benefit from resume farms? If you’re already on sites like Careerbuilder, Dice, Monster, Clearance Jobs, etc., do you ever act on those emails that say “We’re the largest IT recruiting firm, with over 40,000 customers. Put your resume on our site”?