Pros
Vaco was my 1st experience with a recruiting firm. I was nervous about accepting a contract position, but the recruiters assured me that their track record was solid - they said I'd receive competitive benefits and consistent work and that they would help me find a permanent position - which I made clear, was my ultimate goal. They were attentive, friendly, and quickly found me a position that paid about 50% more than my previous permanent job. So far they'd earned my trust. At the time Vaco offered health benefits and 401k, which was a pleasant surprise - though the health insurance was grossly overpriced, it was better than Cobra.
Cons
My contract was 6mo. long and the company extending it. They told me they were extremely pleased with my performance and were interested in hiring me as a permanent employee. My Vaco recruiter found out and said she was communicating with the company's HR team and would keep me posted on the offer. Everything seemed to be going so great that I signed a contract to buy my first home. As my 2nd contract end date approached I grew very nervous. I called Vaco multiple times and left messages for the 2 recruiters that place me (one was a team lead) and it was like they completely disappeared! They would not return my calls or emails. It was such a stressful time - I didn't know whether or not I would have a job right up until the day before my contract ended - then the company finally told me they could not make me an offer at that time, however, they then advised me to apply for 2 open positions and said they would call me back in for an interview in a few weeks. I am not sure if this was some way to circumvent working w/ Vaco, but the whole situation started to seem sketchy and the anxiety and uncertainty was sickening. The next week I cancelled the contact on the house, thankfully, because I never heard from Vaco or that company again. Even after my contract ended, I continued to leave messages for Vaco, hoping they would place me in another position. They never responded. As a result, I now avoid contract/consulting positions like the plague and have an ingrained distrust when it comes to recruiters.
