Pros
- The people are great and very friendly. You will have a chance to make great friends. - The starting salary is better for recruiters than other agencies - They have a ton of happy hours. This can be a good thing if you enjoy hanging out after work, but if you have a family or other plans then everyone makes you feel guilty for not going. - They are very involved with community service events - They are one of the best staffing agencies around. They charge a higher mark up than most agencies and they can back it up because they have a "do whatever it takes" attitude. - There is a very in depth training plan in place for new Recruiters. They put a lot of time and effort into this. Everyone in the office helps out. - They only promote from within for the sales manager roles. Therefore, at least you know your manager has walked in your shoes and knows what its like to do your job. - They offered some moms in the office an alternative work schedule (4 days a week) But this also caused a lot of jealousy and issues in the office. People didn't think it was fair that some people were allowed to get the schedule. There are no set "rules" on who gets the schedule. This was a pro for the ones on the schedule, but not fair to those who didn't have any children. - They have a Christmas party for all employees and their significant others. Food and alcohol is all covered. - They give out awards at the Christmas party. Its always the same people that get them so don't get your hopes up on getting one. - Some of the managers truly care about you and want you to succeed. They will take time out of their day to take you to lunch or meet up with you to give you advice. - They give sales managers an incentive to win a cash bonus and a trip to Cancun if they make a certain amount of sales through the year. - If the company has a good year they would randomly give out bonus checks to employees and the longer you were there the more you got. - They have yearly sales meetings that take place in various locations over the US and they provide food, drinks, and entertainment during the 4 days. Its basically one big party for the managers. - You learn a TON of things at Aerotek including interview skills, how to get a lead, how to set a meeting, how to check references, prepping candidates for interviews, writing resumes, and building relationships. If you can stick it out for a year or 2 then you will have no problem getting yourself another job. You will find any other job "easy" compared to the work at Aerotek. - If you love change then Aerotek is the place for you. They are always changing and updating the way they do things. Setting different goals, getting new systems, changing the office, hiring new people, etc. - Time off - They give 3 weeks vacation to start. - They put recruiters in one division so you get very knowledgeable in that division. They have recruiters that specifically cover customer service jobs, engineering, skilled trades, and oil and gas jobs. This allows the recruiters to really learn about their industry they are placed in.
Cons
- THE HOURS. They work you to death. You are required to start at 7:30am and if you plan on leaving before 5:30pm you have to ask to leave "early". Most people in the office work from 7:30am to 6:30pm or 7pm. This is Monday - Friday. They usually leave by 5pm on Fridays. If a goal isn't met by Friday then recruiters are expected to come in and work weekends. They say its not required but you are given guilt trips by others if you don't show up. - MEETINGS - They have 5 meetings a day that are a complete waste of time. One in the morning with your immediate team for 15 minutes, then another one with the entire office in the morning that usually lasts around 30 minutes. Then, there is another meeting with your immediate team after lunch for 15 minutes, and another one with the entire office that lasts around 30 minutes. The final meeting is a wrap up meeting with your manager at the end of the day that can last 15-30 minutes. They also have various other meetings mixed in during the week (recruiter meetings, training meetings, sales meetings, etc). Recruiters will have to attend 28 meetings on average per week and a minimum of 25. The meetings are not helpful when you have strict goals to hit and you are too busy in meetings that you can't actually work on your goals. - MICRO-MANAGING - If you want to know what its like to be micromanaged just get a job as a Recruiter at Aerotek. From day one all of your activity is tracked and discussed. The activity includes number of calls per day, phone interview, face to face interviews, reference checks, leads, etc. Recruiters complete weekly reports to hand into their manager where they have to list all their numbers and give reasons why they could have done better. Sometimes the micromanaging gets out of hand and includes discussions of how to dress, what kinds of shoes to wear, how much makeup to wear, the pictures you can have your desk, etc. - Goals are completely unrealistic - The managers go out and meet with clients and make promises that the recruiters can't follow through on. The managers set the goals for the recruiters and expect them to work long hours and the weekend to meet the goals that they set for them. - Age discrimination - If you step into the office at Aerotek and see the recruiters you will see a group of 22-25 year olds. They ONLY hire people that just graduated college. The only reason a handful of the people are older (between 30 - 35) is because they were hired out of school and stayed for several years. A person over the age of 26 is considered "old" at Aerotek. - Not a place to work if you have a family or enjoy going to the gym after work- If you have a family and actually want to spend time with them then its not a good place to work because of the long hours. By the time you get home from work its after 7pm and you don't get much time to spend with your family. If you enjoy going to the gym you will be mentally exhausted when you leave work at 7pm to even think about going to work out. - Lack of Salary increases - The recruiters have a base pay that has stayed the same for over 10 years. They also get commission, but that varies all based on how busy the office is. You can work your butt off and still not get any commission because companies just aren't hiring. - No career opportunities if you don't want sales - If you are a recruiter that would like to stay a long term recruiter then you must understand that you will not get a pay increase, and you will not be eligible for the bonuses and trip that they offer to the sales people. - Drama - Everyone at this location has outgoing and social personalities. Many of them also cause drama, talk about each other, pick on others for the clothes they wear, etc. Its like being in high school all over again. This is mostly the girls that cause this drama. The guys are too busy planning happy hours. - Benefits are costly and not very good - The cost is above average for medical care and the deductible ($2000 for single) is high and once the deductible is met the insurance doesn't cover much. If you ever have to go to the hospital or have surgery you will be paying several thousands of dollars out of pocket depending on what you have done. The people that had kids said they owed over $3000 per kid as out of pocket expenses. - The location - They are located in Robinson off of Campbells Run Road off the parkway. Campbells Run Road is a mess every day after work. If you have to take the parkway you will be sitting in a ton of traffic in the morning and after work. It gets worse when there are any sports games, concerts, or any other events in the city. The traffic makes it even worse when you are working a long day with lots of hours. - You have to sign a 2 year non-compete when you start. You can't get any other job at a staffing company when you leave for at least 2 years. - When you start and you hire your first person you have to get in front of the entire office and do a "Start Dance". This is a dance that you have to make up and do in front of everyone while half the people in the office video tape you and laugh at you. If you don't believe me, look up "start dance Aerotek" on youtube. You may see some of them on there. - Carefrontation - This is the term Aerotek gives when you confront someone in a caring way. This has gotten out of control. Carefrontation is now given on clothing, pictures on desks, etc. When you start expect to be "carefronted" at least 1-3 times a day.