Employment Agency Experiences

mark057

I'm currently looking for accounts work after being unemployed for some time.

I have a little purchase ledger experience but have found some of the recruitment agencies shocking to deal with.

Some try and get you interested in jobs, which have no bearing on your studies and others don't like you refusing jobs they want to put your CV forward for, even if the job is clearly not suitable.

I have had other agencies who have just sent my CV to employers without even telling me, only to ring me up and tell me I have an interview.

What has other peoples experiences been of recruitment agencies? Has anyone got any good tips for getting the best from them?

Mark

mark130273

yes. dont sign with them..........i was with 6 in total and had three intereviews in 2 years...

go solo and apply apply applyapply

welshwizard

Give out your Cv to random people in the street! You will probably have more luck that way!

blobbyh

Yup, it's a well known fact that recruitment agencies make their money from placing completely unsuitable candidates while purposely overlooking the high quality ones like yourselves.

Shocking isn't it?

burg

Over the years I spent looking for accountancy roles, I was with many that simply were just the norm, have no interest and just want to make money.

I did however, find one who was fantastic, I got 5 interviews through her within 3 months, sadly I didn't get them. She was good because she seemed as though she actually cared. Maybe not but it seemed that way. She actually listened to what I wanted. Sadly she has left and all the others at the company are just the norm.

On the whole I would say most are a waste of time and you could do it on your own, particularly if unemployed and therefore with more spare time. They may work well to get temp roles to get more experience or just some money.

In the end I found my own role in the local paper. This was the same for two other roles that I was offered but declined.

I would say have a look at the agencies but also the consultants within the agency and find someone you get on with and can trust, if not go it alone!

sarahwilson

I was fortunate and found my job through an agency but I was very firm and refused any interviews that were too far away or weren't what I was looking for. A decent firm won't object to you doing this, whats the point in them wasting their clients time with a candidate thats not interested in the job?

reddwarf

I had a very good experience with a local agency in Buckinghamshire - and I have used agencies for the past 30 years when needing to find work.

I can't rate this one highly enough. I was offerred the job with a usa corp but decided to stay where I am, the interview process was tough but the agency helped me every step of the way - with preparation and comprehensive info of what questions to expect.

If anyone wants their name please pm me.

PAMDILL

I have been on both ends -as the person looking to recruit staff and bombarded by agencies and the applicant.

A lot of agencies advertise positions with companies they have not even spoken to, having picked up the vacancy through the company's advert on websites or the local papers.

They then get c.v.s and bombard the recruiter stating they have the ideal person. I can assure you this cheeses off the recruiter, especially if the c.v.s include people whose c.v.s you have already received privately and rejected.

Form the applicant side, I have found that I have contacted them regarding positions advertisd on the agency's website only to find once I have travelled all the way into town (30/40 miles) that they just want to take your details and get your c.v. and that position is not even available!!

blobbyh

Do people actually check out the agencies before trying to register with them? Probably not since I imagine people assume they're all in pretty much the same sector but the truth is many agencies specialise in certain areas e.g. Reed Accountancy while some are more mainstream e.g. Kelly Services.

Accountancy is a fairly niche sector so why register with an agency that specialises in providing manual labour to manufacturing companies? You wouldn't go to KFC and ask for a Big Mac. Of course they'll take your CV but the chances of them finding you something specfic for you are very limited since they're unlikely to be offered accountancy openings to advertise. And just like in every industry, you'll find there are good and bad companies or even specific offices. I found Reed Accountancy in Brighton very dismissive of me whereas the same company in Crawley were fantastic and found me a placement within hours. Therefore, I can't trash the whole firm just because of the crappy attitude of the office manageress in the Brighton branch.

As for applying direct, well many larger firms are only interested in using agencies with whom they form strong business relationships and most won't accept on spec CV's. Doing what one of the Marks did on the other thread - contacting the client pre-interview would generally be seen by the client as a sign of distrust between candidate-agency. While the candidate might see this as opportunistic, the client would probably see this as a breach of faith and dismiss the candidate from mind immediately, not to mention the potential for the client to be sued by the agency if they did employ directly.

The bottom line is agencies DO work for tens of thousands of people; we wouldn't be in business if we didn't.

Gem7321

At the end of the day, recruitment agencies have to find you a job if they want to make any money, so they're not going to mess you around on purpose. In my experience, small local agencies are better because they have their local reputation to maintain and they probably need the commission more than large corporate agencies.

mark057

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

A mixed bag of experiences you would have to say. I suppose the agency route is right for some people and not for others.

As for Robert's rather inflammatory comments regarding one or two of my posts these threads have done little to change my mind about recruitment agencies.

My personal experience have been they are rarther quick to judge, don't listen and can sometimes be rather rude. Robert's comments clearly reinforce that view as he seems to think i'm an example of a bad candidate.

To be honest, I don't think I am given my problem in finding work has largely been caused by the sheer competition for good jobs. I've always done well in previous jobs, except one and have passed all my exams without failing any.

Never judge a book by it's cover and as I've mentioned in a previous post, I'm most certainly not prepared to engage in any more childish banter with this person.

welshwizard

Mark, I agree with everything you say - good luck in finding work!

mark130273

mark057 wrote: »

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

A mixed bag of experiences you would have to say. I suppose the agency route is right for some people and not for others.

As for Robert's rather inflammatory comments regarding one or two of my posts these threads have done little to change my mind about recruitment agencies.

My personal experience have been they are rarther quick to judge, don't listen and can sometimes be rather rude. Robert's comments clearly reinforce that view as he seems to think i'm an example of a bad candidate.

To be honest, I don't think I am given my problem in finding work has largely been caused by the sheer competition for good jobs. I've always done well in previous jobs, except one and have passed all my exams without failing any.

Never judge a book by it's cover and as I've mentioned in a previous post, I'm most certainly not prepared to engage in any more childish banter with this person.

hey mark057 you and robert seem to have a little banter going on here hey...

thing agencies are good if you have decent experience and are qualified...but if you havent got experience or qualifacations youvegot more chance of getting a "big mac in kfc" !!:thumbup:

stevef

You need to remember that Agencies do not make money by finding jobs for candidates, they make their money by helping employers fill vacancies. Lots are very good at that and have good relationships with employers, in specialist areas such as Accountancy this is even more important. If I need temporary staff (and in these hard times I am ashamed to admit we will sometimes take on staff on a temporary basis for a few months before commiting to a permanent contract), we will deal with two to four agencies that know us and that we trust to find the right candidate for us. So I agree with Blobby, Agencies can be very good for both employer and candidate, but choose the Agency carefully.

blobbyh

Blimey, this thread is a few years old and 'entertaining' to see the backlash to one of my mischievous earlier posts though the information was correct in the later one. Time and time again, people simply fail to understand what a recruitment agency exactly is and what it does.

The thread with AAT Aimee in the members section has a good post on recruitment agencies but doesn't quite redress the fact that if you go to an agency, you don't 'own' an agent as such. You're not a footballer where the agent works for the person. Consultants, in this case, work for the client and unless you're an exceptionally talented accountant whose skills would be in demand anywhere, you're not gonna get dedicated one to one consultancy advice. Recruitment consultants are NOT the same as staff who work down the Job Centre (who do have a duty to help you find work).