The Red Guide to Temp Agencies: Policy on Ad Hominem Statements

The Red Guide is a resource for temps to share information about agencies, in order to help each other find work and avoid being taken advantage of. It is not a resource for temps to lash out at agency representatives that they didn't like.

When I go looking for work, do I care if the recruiter is hyper-critical and spends half an hour planning his golf game while I'm cooling my heels in the waiting room? Yes, if it interferes with my level of comfort or indicates that the agency will not be responsive to my needs. If you felt intimidated, harassed or exploited, other temps need to know this. But please be specific about how it affected your ability to get work.

On the other hand, do I care if the recruiter is fat and has smelly armpits? Not if she gets me work. If you're tempted to write out of contempt for the personal style of the employee, please keep it between yourself and your clique at the high school lunchroom table. And I will edit it out, so don't waste time that I could be spending upgrading the Red Guide.

No editor is perfect, so unfortunately some ad hominem attacks may slip through. If you notice an inappropriate comment in the Red Guide, please send me email, and if I agree that it is irrelevant to the recruiter's performance, I will remove it.

But please chill! Everyone knows it's a comment made by a job seeker with no attempt to verify the information. A lot of people in this world are independent thinkers who can take this stuff with a grain of salt. Your reputation will survive. [an error occurred while processing this directive]