Charges for using agencies??!!??!!

Job_seeker

Strange story this one and I have been puzzled as to what to do about it.
A few months ago i was contacted by a recruitment agency and they told me they had the perfect job for me and needed to see urgently for consideration for this role. I attended the appointment in excitement as my current time being unemplyed has reached a record 4 months at this point and the prospect of any job was motivation enough!
I went to the address specified and had to wait at a reception for a short time (serviced building but the initial image was good)! I was then greeted by the assuming "Consultant" and led me into an office, the word consultant in my day used was awarded to experts in their field these days it appears spotty youngsters who can barely string a sentence together can carry such an honour.
My gripe was not the quality of the consultation more so that no consultation or job offer matrialised! I was addressed as if I knew nothing of my field and told that it was doubtful that I would ever get another job at my age! I was told that without their "Help"! I was doomed on the modern job market! I was then quickly told that I had to pay them a couple of hundred quid for their expert representation and that the senior partners (no doubt somebody a bit taller than the youngster sat infront of me)! Would have no problem in finding me work on the (mysterious) unadvertised job market!!!
What a load of cobblers and what a nasty setup attacking job seekers in need of work (in a recession!!!) for an income! This idiot who gave me my "consultation" looked as if they were ill equiped to find themselves a better job than to give somebody with my experience help and advice!
I left quickly saying I would think about it!
Later on I did some research and found that it is not quit legal to charge for being put forward for a job! and it was under this premise that I attended the appointment.
I also wondered if there is anybody who had actually received this service and been happy.
Comments would be appreciated - company is New Way Executive Search and Select.

SomeBozo

Its a scam, similiar to those who you have to pay for to "edit your CV".

Chalk it down to experience, promise yourself that you will never pay anyone to get you a "potential job" and move on with your life.

Bozo

DCFC79

Its a con, no agency i know asks for money the way you describe OP

Job_seeker

They don't just ask for money, they offer cv revision and some psychametric testing. But don't most agencies offer that for free? I know its a scam if you can't be put forward for a job without paying!!

DCFC79

Job_seeker wrote: »

They don't just ask for money, they offer cv revision and some psychametric testing. But don't most agencies offer that for free? I know its a scam if you can't be put forward for a job without paying!!

i havent been offered help with my cv by agencies before but then i hadnt asked, you can do the cv yourself just by searching the net and asking for help on here

cazziebo

That's not a recruitment agency - recruitment agencies are not allowed to charge candidates.

It sounds more like an amateurish attempt at a career counselling service. Don't ever pay for this - it is rarely worth it. I agree you'll get better advice on here or ask around and find a reputable recruitment agency - there are some about. (not many!)

Job_seeker

Actually I did some research and there is another company operating from the same address called morton connolly - my research showed that they are a career management company, although their website isn't all that transparent about how they "HELP" people.

Job_seeker

There is a lot of help online, one Government website offers the same services for free!

b-b-b

Ha-ha recruitment its a muppets game! - Its a lucrative business for what can only be described as scum really. :eek:

I've heard of Select - They suck donkey balls :T and while I remember the best story I've heard about being charged directly by recruitment agency, and that kind of business is a CV review company offering to 'modify' / 'rewrite' your existing CV to make it more appealing to employers by paying them an hourly rate to do it, for this a 'trained' professional will read thru your CV and offer revisions for a heavy sum. = Con!

rich_months

As already stated, it is illegal for a recruitment agencies to charge the job seeker for their services.

You also have to remember that serviced office space can be taken by just about anyone, so be careful.

Chinwig_2

Having read some of the posts I would like to coment as follows. One of the so called "recruitment consultants" memtioned contacted me having seen my CV on Monster. I went through the first (soften you up) meeting and the second (hard sell) meeting when I was presented with a cost of £2000+ for their services. I pointed out that I was just about to be made redundant and didn't have that sort of money so they suggested I took out an interest free credit card (best whilst you still have a job).
These people are parasites.
I wasted three months designing pictoral CV's and getting colleagues to assess me.

I finally managed to get a new role through my own network - no assistance from them (I failed to contact them every two weeks so they washed their gruby little paws of me).
Yes, I fell for it and every month I see a credit card bill that I didn't really want. Sucker? No I was vunerable and they made the most of it.
Words of warning, they are very convincing, beware!:cool: