Got a job offer from a company called Indotronix. Independent IT contractor

[blackns]

Has anyone ever worked as an independent IT contractor? I ask because I only had to do a phone interview and now they want me to send me all of this background check info and some other stuff as well. Should I go through with this? Is this company legit? I haven't met anyone face to face but the facility for which I will report to (Unisys) is only a mile away from my house (very convenient). The recruiter that contacted me was in another state so I'm really confused about this whole thing. Please advise

 

[ex_bubblehead]

The fact that a Google search on that name (as you spelled it) turned up nothing should raise several red flags. I hope you didn't send any personal info to them. If, however you are referring to "Indotronix" (http://www.iic.com/), they appear to be a legit contract house. I'm not personally familiar with them however.

 

[blackns]

The fact that a Google search on that name (as you spelled it) turned up nothing should raise several red flags. I hope you didn't send any personal info to them. If, however you are referring to "Indotronix" (http://www.iic.com/), they appear to be a legit contract house. I'm not personally familiar with them however.

yes indotronix is the company. Sorry for the typo...

 

[Deuce65]

Are you sure this is a contractor position? Only thing I would be concerned with is that they are incorrectly classifying you. It is not uncommon for companies to attempt to misclassify employees, particularly in IT.
There is no need for a company to perform a background check for an independant contractor. If they try to have you fill out paperwork that is typically filled out by new hire employees I would ask them for clarification.

 

[blackns]

Deuce65, i think you are right. I may just be a temporary employee because it mentions a 6 month contract in the job description but everything else seems independent. Im using my own transportation (they reimburse), im going to be provided a phone and they say i must get dell certificates within 30 days, also i must report hours worked. So its kind of a hybrid temp/independent but i guess im a temp though. Have you known anyone that was recruited in this manner for an IT job?

 

[Deuce65]

Yes, my company hires most of our entry level and lower tier (techs and such) IT personnel as contractors. An important distinction though is that we don't actually hire them. We sign a contract with a third party staffing agency that actually hires them. From our point of view they are contractors, but they are actually employees of that third party agency.
It's very important though that you understand what exactly your status is because the whole point of our hiring contractors like that is so that we can circumvent various labor laws, we don't pay unemployment insurance or payroll taxed, etc. If you are a legit contractor you are responsible for all that, but if you are an employee your employer is responsible for that. You don't want to find out at the end of the year that you owe some huge tax bill.
Plus, even if you are an employee, they may try to treat you as a contractor and hope you don't know your rights. An example would be not paying overtime and hoping the employee doesn't know the difference, etc.
The most important thing to remember is that the determining factor isn't what your "company" says, it is what you actually do. They can call you a contractor if they want but if they are dictating your pay rate, your hours, your supervisor, etc, you're an employee not a contractor.

 

[blackns]

Yes, my company hires most of our entry level and lower tier (techs and such) IT personnel as contractors. An important distinction though is that we don't actually hire them. We sign a contract with a third party staffing agency that actually hires them. From our point of view they are contractors, but they are actually employees of that third party agency.
It's very important though that you understand what exactly your status is because the whole point of our hiring contractors like that is so that we can circumvent various labor laws, we don't pay unemployment insurance or payroll taxed, etc. If you are a legit contractor you are responsible for all that, but if you are an employee your employer is responsible for that. You don't want to find out at the end of the year that you owe some huge tax bill.
Plus, even if you are an employee, they may try to treat you as a contractor and hope you don't know your rights. An example would be not paying overtime and hoping the employee doesn't know the difference, etc.
The most important thing to remember is that the determining factor isn't what your "company" says, it is what you actually do. They can call you a contractor if they want but if they are dictating your pay rate, your hours, your supervisor, etc, you're an employee not a contractor.

Thanks man! Yes, this company seems legit so I'm in the process of taking various Dell certifications. Thanks for the advice

 

[Deuce65]

Good luck