I applied online for a position titled "Customer Service - Repair". I believe that no such position ever existed.
I got a call from a recruiter, who then did a brief, informal phone screen. Then, the recruiter had to check with a manager before scheduling my "interview". The recruiter called me back to invite me for an "interview". This was on a Friday, the recruiter invited me to come in the following Monday. The recruiter said they would send me an e-mail with directions to the office. The e-mail came the next day, a Saturday, and it contained only an address, no directions, not even a landmark or other point of reference. The recruiter had changed the date without consulting with me, and the interview was now scheduled for Tuesday, not Monday. The e-mail said I needed to bring 4 reference letters, 2 from former managers or supervisors, 2 from former co-workers. I replied to the e-mail that I would be unable to bring reference letters on such short notice, and that I am not in the habit of collecting phone numbers or e-mail addresses from co-workers, so I could not provide any co-worker's reference letter.
I began to suspect that this company, Aerotek, was not on the level. I conducted some internet research and discovered one review, where someone said they had 1 interview, then never heard from the company again. Several people responded, "Me, too." One respondent explained that Aerotek is a staffing agency, and that the purpose of the interviews is just to get the names of your former employers, to whom they then try to sell their staffing services. I also discovered that there were numerous complaints about them.
I then received another e-mail, this time with skills tests and a personality quiz. My scores were high on the skills tests. But the personality quiz asked several behavioral questions using SALES scenarios. Since I had originally applied for a position titled, "Customer Service - Repair", this GAFFE increased my suspicion about the company, but I decided to go to the interview to find out for myself what the truth was about them.
I could not find their location easily, in an area full of nondescript office buildings. Fortunately, some kind people at one of these buildings told me which building Aerotek was in. They seemed to have given the same directions to other interviewees. When I got there, I filled out an application, then met with the recruiter, but I was in no mood to put up with anything shady. I immediately asked whether or not they actually had a job to offer me. The recruiter started making excuses like, "That company has very strict requirements" and so on, thus they couldn't offer me that position. But they had jobs coming up all the time, the recruiter explained. The recruiter looked at my application. I listed my last job, at a well-known locally-owned staffing agency. Then the recruiter asked me, which companies did they send me too?
I answered, "Excuse me, I'm not interested. I'm sorry for taking up your time." Then I calmly walked out. I went to another interview instead. It turned out to be legitimate.