Talent Scout Recruiter - Recruitment Services Manager

[#1]

I have some questions about the Talent Scout program, but I'm a little confused about the program itself. I received a message a little over a month ago from an Upwork Talent Scout that began as follows:

"I'm a Recruitment Services Manager from Upwork who helps connect Upwork's largest clients with the best individual talent on the platform. Based on your background and skills, I thought you might be interested in this job post."

I thought the Talent Scout program was to recruit people to long term enterprise jobs with no fees, but in searching I'm seeing a lot of stuff about freelancers applying to be Talent Scouts and then get connected to jobs? 

In any case, I sent a proprosal not expecting anything since we all know how useless the Talent Specialists are, but I heard back a week or two later saying I was one of the client's top picks. This led to an interview in which I spent 15 minutes or so on a video call with the Talent Scout as they explained a bit more about the program and this specific job, and then maybe 15-20 talking to the client while the Talent Scout observed silently. They told me I'd get feedback on the interview and that was it. 

The Talent Scout wouldn't tell me what company this job was with prior to the interview, which I understand is not uncommon for real recruiters, but the issue was after the interview when I looked them up it became very, very clear that the absolute best case here was that this was someone foolish who somehow made a bit of money in one industry and was looking to throw it away on a completely unrealstic project in another. Much more likely however is that this was just a small time conman. I won't go into all the details, but just searching the person's name and company name I quickly found Glassdoor reviews that said they don't pay their employees, tons of sketchy half finished websites, and multiple attempts at crowdfunding the project they allegedly wanted to hire me for.

After the interview, I never heard back from the Talent Scout despite sending multiple follow up messages and seeing them online every day. They're obviously just ignoring me.

So my questions are, is there any sort of vetting process for the companies the Talent Scouts are recruiting for? It didn't take me any time at all to determine this wasn't a legitimate business, but no one at Upwork could be bothered to check? Are the clients required to verify a payment method or that they actually have any income? I understand they pay Upwork for this service, but is that done up front, or after they hire someone? It's one thing to have a credit card on file for an individual client on a small project, but there should probably be a more thorough process for enterprise clients looking to hire long term.

I'm annoyed that the Talent Scout wasted my time, but more so worried that they tried to connect me with a fraudulent client and then completely ignored me after the interview. But unfortunately, that's all pretty normal and expected on Upwork.

[#2]

Hi Jacob,

Thank you for your message. We certainly understand your concern and we appreciate you sharing your experience here. I have escalated your concern to the appropriate team and they've confirmed that they do have a vetting process including confirming budget/ timelines while taking in clients. We will surely let you know in this thread whenever we receive more details about the process.

**Edited for Additional Information**

I received an update from the team and they will give you more information about your concern directly via email. Kindly expect the update within the next 24 hours. Please don't hesitate to communicate with the team if you have questions and they'll be happy to assist. Thank you!

[#3]

Still haven't heard anything, about what I expected from Upwork. 🙄

[#4]

Hi Jacob,

I'm sorry for not being able to get back to you sooner. I have submitted a follow-up to the team and it looks like your concern along with your account needs further review. They committed response or update within this week and you should be notified as well. We seek your patience and utmost understanding while sorting this out for you. Thank you!

[#5]

It's end of Friday and I've heard nothing.

[#6]

Another full week with no word from Upwork.

[#7]

Another week has passed with no word from Upwork. I'm really not expecting them to answer, this company has always had abysmal customer service, but want to keep updating this incase and anyone else comes across it looking for answers about the Talent Scout program, how it works, why the recruiters apparently don't do even a quick Google of the client name to see if they're legit, and then ignore multiple requests to talk to them...

[#8]

Hi Jacob,

We sincerely apologize for the delay. The team really wants to make sure that you'll get the detailed and accurate information about your query. They're currently receiving unusual volumes of contacts from both Clients and Freelancers but they've committed that they'll address your concern as soon as they can. We seek your patience and utmost understanding while sorting this out for you. Thank you!

[#9]

My original post is now a month old and the only thing I've ever heard from Upwork are their replies to this thread telling me they would reply eventually.

I just checked the original job post I was contacted about and of the three other jobs hired by this probably fake company, two ended with 0 hours worked, and the other only 11 hours before ending the contract that was supposed to be full time for at least several months. I'd like someone to at least explain how Talent Scout's work, when I was first contacted one of the things that got me to reply was they had a rating of 4.96 out of 141 reviews, and $2 million+ spent through Upwork, which made it look like a real business that could afford to do what they said. It was only later I realized that this appears to be all of the feedback for every job this Talent Scout has facilitated and has nothing to do with the actual clients? 

[#10]

Hi Jacob,

Apologies for the inconvenience. I followed up with the team so they can reach out to you soon.

[#11]

Hi Jacob,

A Talent Scout representative is now in touch with you directly and will be able to provide more information about the specific job you’re referring to. 

I’d like to take this opportunity and clarify that a client’s behavior in choosing to hire or not to hire is beyond our control within the Upwork platform in general and within the Talent Scout program specifically. We understand that a client initiating an interview and later changing course is not ideal for the talent. However, this is not necessarily indicative of the client not being legitimate.

I’d also like to add that the clients who utilize the Upwork Talent Scout program may also have their own hiring managers who may have various levels of control over their client’s company’s hiring decisions. 

The Talent Scout representative has addressed your important concerns and remains available to assist with any additional questions you may have.

[#12]

Continuing to keep this thread updated. I was finally contacted on Nov 1, more than a month after starting this thread. They told me they had dealt with the recruiter refusing to answer me interanally and asked what my questions/concerns were, despite having already documented what happened in this thread. I replied that same day. On November 2nd I was told

- a "Recruitment Services Manager" is the same as an "Upwork Talent Scout" and that "Upwork Talent Scout" is somehow both what they call recruiters and a program freelancers can join.

- Confirmation that feedback is left on the recruiter's profile and doesn't actually represnet the client you're being contacted in regards to.

- Clients do no have to pay for recruitment services up front.

That last point means there's no verification of payment in advance, leaving the door wide open for fraudulent clients. I was also asked to document any red flags specific to this client so Upwork's trust and saftey team could review them. Despite vetting clients obviously being something Upwork should be doing, I compiled an extensive list of links and other information clearly indicating this client was not legitimate and submitted it on Nov 7. On Nov 16 I was told "I am reviewing what you've shared and I will be glad to respond and assist with more soon." I asked why any time I attempt to contact Upwork I'm told "you'll hear from us soon" and then rarely ever hear from them again. There's been no reply since.

Valeria K's response above seems to indicate they haven't even read my messages? My problem is not whether or not I was hired, my problem is that Upwork tried to recruit me for a client that is clearly not a legimate business, Upwork can't be trusted and has no customer service to speak of even when we pay for their serivce on top of the fees taken from our earnings.