Getting past the Agencies

CCFC_80

I do not really get why some employers love to use agencies whilst others would not touch them with a barge pole. If I was an employer I would be in the wouldn't touch them with a bargepole catagory.

medini

I have started to formulate a theory that people who work as recruitment agents do so as they are unsuitable to operate in a proper work place and must be contained in a nice safe office where they can be kept an eye on rather than being allowed to roam around in public causing havoc.

Dundunbanza

I had an interview with an agency and got some information on how they work it seems to be that they receive jobs from employers and these positions then go onto a database within the recrutiment agency for a set period of time ... say 5 days.

The consultants then have this period of time to allocate candidates to the position and there are also a maximum number of candidates that can be allocated to the position once the maximum number of candidates have been allocated the position closes on the internal recruitment agency database. Therefore you or I may see a job advertised by an agency on a website that is no longer accepting applications but the agency will never tell you this and we are wasting our time. I'm not sure if individual consultants have a set amount of allocations they have to do each week to meet their target also but I suspect as much.

The above is not what I was told by the consultant but what I gleaned from reading between the lines of what she said.

If possible stick to direct employer applications at least that way you are more certain that the job actually exists and you have more of a chance of an interview.

mizzbiz

Dundunbanza wrote: »

The consultants then have this period of time to allocate candidates to the position and there are also a maximum number of candidates that can be allocated to the position once the maximum number of candidates have been allocated the position closes on the internal recruitment agency database. Therefore you or I may see a job advertised by an agency on a website that is no longer accepting applications but the agency will never tell you this and we are wasting our time. I'm not sure if individual consultants have a set amount of allocations they have to do each week to meet their target also but I suspect as much.

QUOTE]

Thank you, that explains what happened to me recently!

I found a job on the website of the agency I currently temp for that was perfect for me and I was perfect for it. I rang the agency and the girl dealing with me did not get back to me, despite numerous messages. I finally tracked her down (refusing the option of "leave a message and she will call you back") and asked her if I could be put forward for this job. She was so so shifty about it and I couldn't understand why. It was by no means closed, I was told. So I put i my application, heard nothing for a week. Rang back and lo and behold, she isn't dealing with it and someone else will call me back if I am suitable. I asked again, "Is the job still available" and again really shifty reaction. The job was open but they did not want to put me in for it, for some unknown reason.

tgon

Mizzbiz, I suspect the job never existed but if they admit that they leave themselves open to complaint and investigation through their governing body, the EAS. I've had the same treatment sometimes and can only conclude the "vacancy" was for marketing purposes to assess available resource in a certain field. Totally underhanded and totally unacceptable.

SomeBozo

Part of my business is a "semi" recruitment agency.

Though we don't actually advertise any jobs, we get approached by employers for vacancies or up-coming vacancies and we fill the position for them. The criteria they have is quite strict and we only get paid if we fill to their satisfaction.

I guess what we do falls into the "head hunt" category. Its getting more and more frequent for a company to give us a name of someone they want also.

I have used the services of recruitment agencies in the past and not had a bad expereince. What I like them for is their networking abilities, they usually know when someone has been laid off from a company with the skills I need, in fact I even state companies and positions of people I want.

That being said, if the public came to me and bypassed the agency I would not use the agency again. I am using their services so I don't have to deal with CVs etc. If I am going to field these calls, I might as well advertise it myself and not pay for a agency!

Bozo

lauzellen

I've had a few experiences with agencies and they weren't great - very much the same as advertised above with the exception of Reed whom were excellent. Whether that's because my sector is science and they had a dedicated science department I'm unsure. I always dealt with the same person and he was fantastic, always kept me up to date and gave good constructive feedback. He even negotiated a pay deal for me once off his own back when in my own feedback I mentioned that it didn't seem enough given the responsibilities.

I'd use reed again, but try to steer well clear of other agencies.

Sazzyukrafc

I've always found agencies rather annoying, not because they don't get back to me, but because they don't leave me alone!

I apply for a job and then they hassle me for weeks about job opportunities that don't ever seem to come to anything. They never seem to answer the phone and when they do the person I need to talk to is never around. Then they will ring me numerous times a day leaving messages every time.

I recently got told by one of a job that would be fantastic and that I'd walk into, the agency just never got back in touch despite me ringing and emailing, and so I approached the company directly about it...turns out they didn't even send my CV and the job had been filled, and the manager actually said I was ideal for it and wished he talked to me sooner.

1984ReturnsForReal_2

Strider590 wrote: »

I just sent a reply to an agency telling them:

" Thanks for your reply, I have however discovered an old colleauge and friend works for the same company at their ******** facility and will be pursuing an application directly via their HR manager *** *********

Thanks again "

I'm so evil

You may have just done yourself out of a job.

Its not evil.

Its stupid if you dont know the agreements between agency & employer.

I suggest no one do this unless the full facts are known including the contractual relationship.

Ninja_Seb

Is anyone else finding that all agencies seem to have these days is temporary jobs..

It's been like this for a few years now. Maybe it's just employers taking people on a temp/fixed term basis so they don't have to payout in employee benefits.