does anyone have any experience being placed in a job with Aerotek staffing company? I was contacted by one of their recruiters for an opportunity with Wachovia, but it seems a little fishy as most of these things do. So i wanted a bunch of internet junkies like me to give me some feedback.

5/20/2007 9:08:13 PM

i was curious also. i've seen them all over CareerBuilder but have been skeptical as well. i haven't heard anything about them either.

5/20/2007 9:09:50 PM

i have an interview with the recruiter tomorrow for a 6 month trial position with Wachovia in their CRM division. the job description sounds good and would be an awesome boost for my resume, i just wonder if getting involved with Aerotek is a mistake.

5/20/2007 9:20:03 PM

haha this is so weird...an Aerotek branch up here in NJ just got me an engineering position at an HVAC engineering company. the guy i dealt with at Aerotek is awesome and really worked his ass off for me to get the job.

5/20/2007 9:26:37 PM

^did they contact you or did you sign up with them to get job placement? how did the interview process go?

5/20/2007 9:28:00 PM

i was listed on careerbuilder.com. they contacted me one day and told me to come in for a generic interview so they could meet me and see how i handle myself. when i went in they said they asked me in really cause they had a position in mind for me. they told me about it and i agreed for the interview in which they set up completely. a few days later i went in for the interview at the company. but everythin was set up and dealt with through Aerotek.

5/20/2007 9:33:30 PM

I work for Apex Systems, we are a technical staffing firm formed by ex-tek employees. I can't speak for Aerotek, but contract work is becoming very popular. It isn't a trial position, it is prob a 6-perm term. Meaning that Aerotek is charging Wachovia for their services and making money off of you for the first 6 months. They aren't paying you any less than Wachovia would/will, but they are charging them more b/c they should be covering the costs to employee you (benefits, taxes, unemployment insurance, etc.). Unless you REALLY screw up, Wachovia should bring you on perm after the initial contract.

Like I said, I can't speak for Aerotek, but that is how we do things at Apex. Don't take the first salary/hourly rate they throw at you, they usually have room (they charge client 55/hr and pay you 30/hr, etc.). Ask for more, it's worth a shot. But once you've got an interview negations are over.

In your interview tomorrow make sure you ask about benefits and length of contract and odds of it actually going perm. The interview tomorrow is just to go over your resume, the position, and to see how you would be in front of the client.

5/20/2007 9:35:20 PM

thats cool. one more quick question, are you connected to aerotek in anyway now? Are you getting paid through aerotek, owe them anything, or have any other ties now that you have this job?


Cause what im scared of is getting this job at wachovia but being a temp and being paid through aerotek. I dont want to be involved with any 3rd party mess more than i have to.

5/20/2007 9:37:25 PM

While you are on contract you get paid by Aerotek and your recruiter should be in contact with you almost weekly. Once you go perm, your relationship with Aerotek is ended.

5/20/2007 9:41:21 PM

i will be gettin paid by the engineering company, not Aerotek. and i owe nothing to Aerotek; they collect from the company for their services.

5/20/2007 9:46:01 PM

Quote :

"Like I said, I can't speak for Aerotek"

5/20/2007 9:48:27 PM

do keep in mind that my position is a full-time, permanent position, not a contract/temp position. so while it is a temp position, you most likely will get paid through Aerotek.

5/20/2007 9:52:21 PM

ok, well it still doesn't sound as bad as i have thought.

the pay they mentioned sounds pretty good but i will try and get the higher end of it.

I just don't want to be considered a "temp" around the work culture. especially at a place like wachovia.

5/20/2007 9:57:14 PM

my roommate is a recruiter for Aerotek and it's basically just how JThelms described Apex Systems..

5/20/2007 9:57:56 PM

Aerotek is the sister company of TekSystems in case any of you has dealt with them before

5/20/2007 10:07:46 PM

I've got plenty of good things to say about Aerotek. I've got a job b/c of them.

I applied to several jobs being advertised by Aerotek on behalf of several Triangle companies. I made contact with a recruiter, and I gave him all my prospective job requirements (salary, location, work type, etc). After about 3 months they helped set up an interview with my current employer. I got the job, moved back to Raleigh, and have been happy since.

The only downside is that you'll work as a contract employee through Aerotek for a set # of months. During this time you'll get paid through Aerotek and get insurance through Aetna. Aenta is ok, if you're hleathy and single. I've had some hastles with Aetna, but it's worth dealing with shitty benefits to get the job I wanted.


Aerotek is fully legit, and I'd reccommend talking to a recruiter to get your job needs in their system. It doesn't cost you anything since they get paid by contracting you out to your new employer (if you get the job). I'd recommend it to anyone having trouble finding a job.

5/20/2007 10:20:12 PM

^what kind of benefit hassles did you deal with?

5/20/2007 11:17:02 PM

johnnyboy, how does your roommate like being a recruiter for them? i got a call/email from them the other day about a recruiter position and it sounds sorta interesting but it would be good to hear what its like from someone who may know

5/21/2007 12:37:04 AM

my wife worked for Aerotek after getting her first degree for a while.

its a good company, and she only has positive things to say about it.

however, if youre a contract employee being paid by Aerotek, you will feel the division between "regular employee" and "contract employee" at your workplace. it doesnt matter which agency you work through. it's the nature of the business. however a large company, like Wachovia, will have a LOT of contract workers so you wont be alienated or ostracised. and everyone knows its a good way to get your foot into the door for a permanent position.

i think as far as agencies go Aerotek is one of the higher regarded ones. they only place technical, science, and engineering folks, as far as i know. and they wont place just anyone. they dont want slackers giving them a bad name.

5/21/2007 1:30:17 AM

yeah i have a friend that works for a staffing agency and they straight up rape his paycheck. I think his job pay $22/hour and he only sees $11 and doesn't even get the same benefits as if he were an actual full time employee.

the only benefit is you can get into a position that you might otherwise not have a chance. This gives you a chance to prove yourself and potentially get a real full time position with the company you are contracted out with.

5/21/2007 11:26:54 AM

^ your friend needs to quit working for Labor Ready.

5/21/2007 12:07:16 PM

yeah i know, but he's been there for 6 months and he's expecting to get hired on full time soon. Otherwise he's on the job hunt for a new position directly with a new employeer.

5/21/2007 6:26:15 PM

My husband has worked for them twice. He has had an awesome experience and then a bad experience.

Awesome experience:

He worked for them last year in a temp position and they were very good about keeping in contact with him. They would even send a representative out every so often (at least once every couple of weeks) to the job site to meet with him and discuss any issues he might have. The first day he worked down there, the representative met with him a couple of hours and bought him lunch and talked over the general job requirements. The only reason he quit was because they lost the contract with the company where the job site was.


Bad experience:

He worked for them last month at a different job site for a temp to hire position. He was told he would be working 50 hours plus and would be on second shift. He got to the job site and was informed that he would be working swing shift (alternating shifts every week) and wouldn't be getting the 50 hours. So, he called his Aerotek rep (a different one than he had at the last job) and she said that he will only be on second shift and would get 50 hours. They go back and forth for a couple of weeks on this and finally, my husband has no idea when he is supossed to work because he has been told two different things. He shows up for work and they tell him that he is there at the wrong time. He finally quits because of the confusion.

I think it depends on your representative and the time and effort they put into hiring you and keeping up with you. If you have a good rep then your experience is probably going to be awesome, but if you happen to get stuck with a crappy one, then you may not have as pleasant of an experience.

5/21/2007 8:56:36 PM

^^ most legitimate staffing/contract services pay their contractors close to, as much, or even more than the average permanent employee makes in the same position. Hence the conflict between temps and perms you often see.

the temp services make up the diff by charging the employer a massive amount. maybe twice as much as what they pay hourly. the employer who uses contract staffing does this because its worth it to them that they dont have to pay FICA, Insurance, retirement, & potential legal costs associated with permanent employees. also they can let them go at a moments notice if they dont work out, or work slows down, rather than try and find work to keep them busy.

your friend is getting fucked. unemployment is too low to put up with that shit.





[Edited on May 21, 2007 at 8:58 PM. Reason : ^^]

5/21/2007 8:58:02 PM

yeah i think he knows this now. At first he was just happy to have a real full time job b.c he was unemployed for a long while (not counting target as a job). The only reason he hasn't quit as i said earlier is at this point he doesn't want to lose his investment in the company and expects to soon be getting a perm position and really likes the job.

5/21/2007 9:36:33 PM

Quote :

"i think as far as agencies go Aerotek is one of the higher regarded ones. they , as far as i know. and they wont place just anyone. they dont want slackers giving them a bad name."

Actually, Tek Systems is a branch of Aerotek and they only place technical, science, and engineering folks. Aerotek does much more.

5/21/2007 11:29:47 PM

Yeah, from what I understand Aerotek does more blue-collar type stuff

5/22/2007 1:45:40 AM

i dont think so. unless you consider placing engineering and applied science grads to be "blue collar" work.

5/22/2007 1:00:21 PM