Loss Prevention Of New York (Fred Tennie) rip-off! He tried to have me pay up front for a job that I hadn't even gotten. Long Island City, Queens New York

I'm not sure if that's illegal, but if that's the way he runs his business, then you can refuse. Recruiters, even in major firms, can stoop to low levels to fill a position. Recruiting is like sales. They'll do anything to make a profit. ESPECIALLY IN NEW YORK CITY.

Make sure you find out which interview questions are illegal to ask, such as "Who do you live with?" They want to find that out, so they can think about a lower or higher salary to give to you, and that's illegal. If you live with parents, you'll get a lower salary than if you lived alone or had a family to support. By law, that's none of their business, though. And there will be several, uneducated or conniving recruiters who will say that it is perfectly legal. I suggest you report them to the better business bureau/ federal or government agency/ a goverment website for the city/ and news reporters then.

Businesses will pay recruiters thousands of dollars to fill a position and if that new employee leaves that job sooner rather than later, then that recruiter may lose that business as a client.

I AM sorry that he made you go through any troubles. We've all gone through really bad agencies and recruiters, especially after college. Recruiters and companies eat college grads alive!

That's why I never trust agencies. It's best to mail or email your resume directly to companies, even for temp jobs. Although, recruiting agencies may make your life easier in finding temp jobs more quickly. To be honest with you, businesses DON'T WANT to deal with agencies.

Do you know how annoying recruiters and agencies are to business companies? They bother companies non-stop to see if they can fill a position for money.

Some companies have absolutely NO time to look at resumes and they need to fill positions right away. So, only then, they'll rely on agencies.

BUT THEY WOULD RATHER GET THE RESUMES THEMSELVES. I would suggest mailing it directly to the companies, especially by email, or both.

But don't annoy them with it, by sending it to them more than twice or calling them to follow up. They HATE it when they receive phone calls from unqualified candidates who ask them, "Did you get my resume?" They might be thinking, "Yes, I got your resume, you moron, but I didn't call you, now did I? And that's because I'M BUSY or YOUR RESUME SUCKS!" They don't like candidates who are too aggressive... that's just making you look too eager and unintelligent.

But you DEFINITELY should NOT pay a fee. That's unheard of (well for the most part). If the fee is small, below $10, then it wouldn't hurt to see if you get a job out of it. But if the fee is in the $$thousands$$ or takes away a certain percentage of your new salary, then forget about it!