Tread carefully with contract firms

Q: How can I protect myself when being recruited by contract shops? I just accepted a job through a contracting company. I got the contract in the mail, and the terms are pretty bad. How can I avoid wasting my time on deals like this?

A: When you work with job shops, contract agencies or consulting companies — they go by so many names I can't keep up — you need to be careful. These are companies that hire you, then "rent" you to other companies where you will actually work. There are many reputable, honest contracting firms out there. However, this sort of third-party employer business can also be a racket.

A problem with such firms is that they sometimes recruit aggressively but do not disclose terms of employment in advance.

A few tips on how to avoid problems when contract firms call to recruit you:

Ask to see their standard agreement before you go on any interviews. Also ask whether there is a special agreement you'd have to sign if you accepted an assignment with the specific third party they're calling you about.

Get references. Ask to talk with companies at which the firm has contractors working, and with employees of the firm who are working on-site at the company in question.

Prepare a simple checklist of benefits to discuss with recruiters on the phone. Ask explicitly about health, disability, life insurance, workmen's compensation and 401(k). If what they offer doesn't satisfy you, end the conversation or negotiate a better deal before you proceed. But beware: Anything they say on the phone may change when you get the offer and the contract. (That's why references are so important.)

Finally, if you want to work through contract shops, find the best ones before the worst ones find you. Call those companies where you'd like to work (the actual third-party employers) and ask their personnel departments what contract shops they use and like. Introduce yourself to those shops. That's a good way to get contract work in the companies where you actually want to work.

The headhunter tip:

Get it in writing

The verbal job offer was for $48,500; your first paycheck is less. The title was Sales Development Manager; your new business card says Sales Representative. The manager promised you a performance bonus; his boss says, "Maybe next year." The manager agreed to give you a third week of vacation; now, HR says that's against company policy.

A verbal job offer tells you where you stand while the company prepares the formal written offer. But a verbal offer is like a wet noodle: It doesn't stand up. Get your job offer in writing. Accepting a written offer that lacks detail is like ordering the Mystery Meat for dinner: You don't know what you're getting until it's too late.

Get everything you've been told in writing, and don't accept the job offer — even verbally — until you have it in writing. A good employer will agree to this.

Copyright 2008. Distributed by Universal Press Syndicate

Nick Corcodilos is author of "Ask The Headhunter: Reinventing the Interview to Win the Job" and the host of www.asktheheadhunter.com. He can be reached by e-mail at seattle@asktheheadhunter.com or at North Bridge Group, P.O. Box 600, Lebanon, NJ 08833. Sorry, no personal replies.