Pros
I enjoyed some of the relationships I built there with co-workers as well as clients and candidates. Recruiting, in general, is very rewarding when you place the right candidate in a position they love and take care of the client at the same time. It's too bad most of your time at Smart Talent will be spent filling next jobs that pay almost minimum wage in strenuous conditions (dialing for dollars) rather than doing any actual recruiting for skilled, top talent.
Cons
The commission is very little, unless a temp worker is converted early, which as a Recruiter you don't have tons of control over. The base salary is low, and monthly commission (other than a converted contract) is a group commission, meaning the whole branch has to generate over a certain amount each month in order to earn ANY commission. Each Recruiter will therefore earn the same monthly commission, regardless of how much or little each recruiter generates. (Recruiters can freeload off each other. I made less at Smart Talent as a full cycle Recruiter than I've made in all past HR Coordinator roles, despite meeting and exceeding all minimum requirements set by management. Pay aside, the environment is unprofessional (swearing, explosive confrontations, inappropriate music in lobby) and all technology is outdated and embarassing to use with candidates. Our mandatory online application if not done at home was done in the lobby on SmartTalent computers, which were glacially slow frustrating for candidates to get through. Recruiters are expected to use their own cell phones while on call, without SmartTalent contributing to your phone plan, They claim that if the branch earns more than a certain amount, they will contribute, but that was never reached during my time there. All interviewed candidates had to complete a hard copy application on top of the electronic one, and had to accept or reject healthcare on the spot, which is odd and awkward for someone who hasn't even agreed to work for you. So oldschool and a complete waste of paper and time. I only worked an 8 hour day there maybe a couple times. All other days were 10+ hours, and you are on call for a week rotationally, which at a smaller branch was every 3-4 weeks. Basically you performed work sometimes at 4am, 11pm, weekends, and everywhere in between about a quarter of the month, while being salaried. You cannot have a life this way, especially while earning low pay. Recruiters are not encouraged to use their PTO, and SmartTalent has been known to call you when you finally do take it because they're not properly staffed and disasters ensue ALL the time. This is not somewhere you should work if you have any Recruiting or HR experience, as there are SO MANY better opportunities out there for companies that actually respect their employees. I never thought I'd be cleaning bathrooms and dumping trash late every Friday night at this stage in my career (they can't afford a cleaning service); so disheartening.
