Best of the major recruitment agencies?

Top_Banana_2

I have my CV on all the major recruitment agency websites, but very little is happening. Some call me and go over the same questions all the time; they say things like 'tell me where you've worked before', and I think 'haven't you looked at my CV then?'.

It is flippin' annoying!

Which is the best agency/jobsite to be registered with? I'm looking to get into property/surveying/construction.

Ta!

CCFC_80

Top_Banana wrote: »

I have my CV on all the major recruitment agency websites, but very little is happening. Some call me and go over the same questions all the time; they say things like 'tell me where you've worked before', and I think 'haven't you looked at my CV then?'.

It is flippin' annoying!

Which is the best agency/jobsite to be registered with? I'm looking to get into property/surveying/construction.

Ta!

I completely agree as I get the same, they are really thick as they have my cv in front of them and then ask me where I have worked and what experience I have. They are just to lazy to read through my CV. It is so infuriating!
95% of agencies are a total waste of time and they are in it only to make money for themselves and they don't give a you not what about finding a job for people. I would like to see employers advertise all genuine job vacancies through the Job centre plus website or at the job centre itself and not deal with agencies. It does not cost anything to advertise via the job centre, plus with them dealing with agencies they are charged huge fees which could be passed on to the people they employ if they take them on directly.

emma396

it depends a lot on the type of work you are looking for, most work that the agencies get is admin, and depends on the qualifications you have as well. i'm a qualified maths teacher who left my job, i'm now working in a call centre for £6.25 an hour.

cazziebo

andy46 wrote: »

I completely agree as I get the same, they are really thick as they have my cv in front of them and then ask me where I have worked and what experience I have. They are just to lazy to read through my CV. It is so infuriating!
95% of agencies are a total waste of time and they are in it only to make money for themselves and they don't give a you not what about finding a job for people. I would like to see employers advertise all genuine job vacancies through the Job centre plus website or at the job centre itself and not deal with agencies. It does not cost anything to advertise via the job centre, plus with them dealing with agencies they are charged huge fees which could be passed on to the people they employ if they take them on directly.

I used to work in recruitment and can you guess how many people were unable to tell me what was on their CV? I can accept some people might be vague regarding dates, but some candidates would give wrong job titles when asked!
Going through a CV with a candidate is good practice - taking a CV at face value is asking for trouble.
Employers use agencies for a reason - to find them the right people for their jobs. If they got the same professional service from a jobcentre for free, then I'm sure they would do so. They don't.

OP - can't answer which agencies are the best. It depends so much on good consultants that you could have a great branch of Reed in one location, and a terrible one in another. In some areas, the small independents are the best. Do you know anyone who recruits in your field who you could ask to recommend some agencies?

LittleVoice

Top_Banana wrote: »

I have my CV on all the major recruitment agency websites, but very little is happening. Some call me and go over the same questions all the time; they say things like 'tell me where you've worked before', and I think 'haven't you looked at my CV then?'.

It is flippin' annoying!

Which is the best agency/jobsite to be registered with? I'm looking to get into property/surveying/construction.

Ta!

You'll find a list of agencies here - http://www.getthatjob.net/uk-recruitment/building-construction.htm .

You write of wanting to "get into property/surveying/construction". Do you have experience/qualifications in these fields?

DKLS

I wouldnt recommend one agency over another, it all comes down to the consultant. I have experienced the brilliant to the incompetant and downright useless.

The ones that have been brilliant have been the ones, who actually listened to what I wanted, and didn't try to slot me into the first job that came along.

Keep trying, be in regular contact with your consultant, be reliable and professional, and you will reap the rewards.

dag_2

95% of agencies are a total waste of time and they are in it only to make money for themselves and they don't give a you not what about finding a job for people. I would like to see employers advertise all genuine job vacancies through the Job centre plus website or at the job centre itself and not deal with agencies.

Reed.co.uk - which acts more as a classified advertising service, and which is therefore not to be confused with the temping and placement services offered by Reed the employment agency, have arguably the most comprehensive collection of RSS feeds of job adverts out of any classified advertising service. They have hundreds of different job specialities that are organised into broad categories, and feeds are available in each job speciality for either the whole of the UK or just a region. So it's incredibly easy to use a news reader programme to browse absolutely bang-up-to-date jobs quickly.

That's a lot more than can be said of Jobcentre Plus! Although JCP let you save searches once you've registered and logged in, they don't appear to allow you to create RSS feeds from saved searches. With reed.co.uk, although you can create registrations and login, you don't have to; it's still possible to get RSS feeds for your job searches without registering.

My experience is also that the reed.co.uk categories are more specific than those offered by JCP; it's easier to narrow down on jobs you'd actually want with reed.co.uk than it is with JCP.

There may also be a number of other classified advertising services that offer RSS feeds. I think this is a much better way of looking for jobs than relying on agencies. It's also better than the Jobcentre Plus and old-fashioned newspaper advertisements, because it allows you to browse hundreds - or perhaps thousands - of vacancies, but without having to get bogged down in details of jobs that you probably aren't going to follow up. You naturally only start to investigate the details of a job if the headline in your newsreader makes it look interesting.

If employers find that they're able to make snap decisions about us, yet still hire a successful candidate, then I don't see why it can't work the other way round, so that we can still find and get a job without having to waste time pursuing jobs that we really aren't going to be interested in.

So, my view is that it's better for us as jobseekers if employers advertised with reed.co.uk rather than JobCentre Plus. Either that, or JobCentre Plus learns how to slap a front end similar to that used by reed.co.uk onto their own database, so that we can get RSS feeds for their jobs too.

Top_Banana_2

LittleVoice wrote: »

You write of wanting to "get into property/surveying/construction". Do you have experience/qualifications in these fields?

Yes. I have a BTEC in Construction and Surveying and a NAEA/NFOPP Technical Award in the Sale of Residential Property. I am also studying for a Building Surveying degree from December via distance learning.

cazziebo

These are areas that are very quiet in recruitment just now - very quiet.

Do you have any industry experience to support the qualifications? If so, I'd apply direct to employers you want to work for. Having said that, it will be a tough try as the property market is in a real doldrum and unlikely to perk up in the near future.

If you are lacking in experience, then your best bet is probably to try another field until the market picks up. Really, this is not the time to try to enter construction or property.

BridgetJones_2

I've had good experiences with Reed and their website is very well designed.

BYALPHAINDIA

I agree, Andy 46 hit the nail on it's head!!

95% are just a 'complete waste of time' Young lasses sat there looking busy looking nice.....:rolleyes:

There ok, There getting paid to sit there, While you the 'Monkey' is walking around town looking for work.

I always found the 'out of town' agencies to be the best, They work harder than the city centre agencies.

The agencies to stay away from (previous exp)

Office Angels, Kelly's, Randstad, Taskforce - (They are rubbish)

Best ones are - Addecco 10/10, Reed 9/10, Hays 10/10.

Driver Hire 8/10.

A mate of mine said they are all 'hotheads'

I worked for Office Angels, And did really well on their assignments ( Solicitor's assistant) then got the call......huu we won't need you anymore!!

But they were still wanting someone.

No notice nor nothing.

Thank's a bundle.:rolleyes:

Never worked for an agency since - 5 years ago.

Best Of Luck.