Getting past the Agencies

Louise22

Yeah, what has personality got to do with someones ability to perform a job to a high standard?

RobTang

Louise22 wrote: »

Yeah, what has personality got to do with someones ability to perform a job to a high standard?

Well it depends on the job, but personality is important , if you dont get on with other collegues it might be hard to perform your job to that high standard esp where teamwork is important.
Besides if you were hiring would you pick a person you could get along with or a person you couldn't stand ? (given more or less equal ability to do the job)

Ninja_Seb

RobTang wrote: »

Well it depends on the job, but personality is important , if you dont get on with other collegues it might be hard to perform your job to that high standard esp where teamwork is important.
Besides if you were hiring would you pick a person you could get along with or a person you couldn't stand ? (given more or less equal ability to do the job)

Thats the problem. The agency isn't the one doing the hiring, so why should they be making decisions about personality..

Teamwork is about good communication, you don't have to like or be best friends with everyone in your team.

liney

Guys, if a company has chosen to instruct an agency they are agreeing to pay a fee.Ffor this fee they expect to only see star candidates. If you technically meet the job spec it does not mean you will get an interview or be put forward for the job if the client has requested only 4 CV's for a position and 4 other people are better suited then you.

It is ironic that people are saying that agents don't know what they are doing. At least they have a person spec to refer to unlike yourselves who think you should be forwarded because you're just that good :rolleyes:.

If your potential employer respects the agency enough to deal with them and pay for their services, then you should show them some respect too. It's nice to be nice.

Louise22

RobTang wrote: »

Well it depends on the job, but personality is important , if you dont get on with other collegues it might be hard to perform your job to that high standard esp where teamwork is important.
Besides if you were hiring would you pick a person you could get along with or a person you couldn't stand ? (given more or less equal ability to do the job)

well what if you are never even given the opportunity to show your personality? You cant glean personality from a CV or application, so the agencies have no right to judge.

Louise22

liney wrote: »

Guys, if a company has chosen to instruct an agency they are agreeing to pay a fee.Ffor this fee they expect to only see star candidates. If you technically meet the job spec it does not mean you will get an interview or be put forward for the job if the client has requested only 4 CV's for a position and 4 other people are better suited then you.

It is ironic that people are saying that agents don't know what they are doing. At least they have a person spec to refer to unlike yourselves who think you should be forwarded because you're just that good :rolleyes:.

If your potential employer respects the agency enough to deal with them and pay for their services, then you should show them some respect too. It's nice to be nice.

agreed, it is nice to be nice and show respect - shame most of the agency staff I have dealt with do not seem to agree.

CCFC_80

liney wrote: »

Guys, if a company has chosen to instruct an agency they are agreeing to pay a fee.Ffor this fee they expect to only see star candidates. If you technically meet the job spec it does not mean you will get an interview or be put forward for the job if the client has requested only 4 CV's for a position and 4 other people are better suited then you.

It is ironic that people are saying that agents don't know what they are doing. At least they have a person spec to refer to unlike yourselves who think you should be forwarded because you're just that good :rolleyes:.

If your potential employer respects the agency enough to deal with them and pay for their services, then you should show them some respect too. It's nice to be nice.

so then what guarantee is there that you will send the client star candidates when you are only sending 4 cv's when there are perhaps 12 candidates suitable for the role. The frustration is that people like my self are not getting an equal opportunity when applying for jobs.
A previous poster has made the best suggestion so far by stating that all recruitment agencies should be banned and a free nationwide jobs database should be set up for the benefit of everyone.

hayley11

I'm not sure anybody has said they should be put forward for all jobs. Obviously if somebody is more qualified then they should get it. And why don't we get a person spec? Because they don't pass it on to us. We get one if we go direct. So surely they should save our time and their time by giving us a copy so we can see if we're suited or not. Then if we don't get an interview, we'll have a better understanding of why, instead of the carp they give us.

I agree personality is important to some extent but it's very hard to tell from an interview what somebody is really like, and what they are going to be like to work with. I am very shy in interviews, I don't like them so I get nervous but when I get to know people I am very chatty and bubbly.

I'm a bit confused actually, about how recruitment consultants get such a good understand of somebody's personality? Every agency I have been to has been the same, fill in lots of forms, give them your passport, do a couple of tests, speak to somebody for 5 minutes then you wait to hear from them. And wait. And wait. Then they put you forward for an unsuitable job. They you never hear from them again. Great. :rolleyes:

And with regards to recruitment consultants not knowing that they're doing, most i've met don't seem to have a clue. They seem incapable of listening to what you tell them. I appreciate they can only put so many people forward for certain jobs but what about when they put unsuitable people forward? How do you justify that?

In my opinion they are nothing but pushy salespeople, who don't provide a good service to the people that are keeping them in a job. I'm sorry if I am offending any recruitment consultants on here but I am referring to the ones I have met.

Strider590

Just been speaking to a friend who has had more dealings with agencies (when he ran his own business).

Apparently tell them you want a little more money than the position has advertised.

They only put the higher paid candidates forward because they make more commission from them.

poppy9_2

I am a recruitment consultant and lots of you posters don't seem to understand how we work. We are paid a fat fee because our clients trust us to interview candidates personally and asses both their competency for the role as well as their personality and whether they are likely to fit in with the team.
The clients trust us because we have built up a strong relationship with them by regular meetings which have given rise to a deep understanding of the culture of the company. This is precisely why clients use agencies rather then advertising themselves and having to sift through hundreds of CVs of candidates who may on paper look suitable, but personality-wise are unlikely to be.

We spend an hour with each candidate and are given ongoing training around our area of expertise. For example, I am an ex-accountant and recruit accountants now, so clearly I am qualified to interview job seekers and ask appropriate questions.

Don't tar all recruitment consultants with the same brush. When I read some of the posts here, they do smack of bitterness at not having found a job yet.