Recruitment Agencies (Are they worth signing up for ?)

geoffky

they are leeches pure and simple....

dave4545454

geoffky wrote: »

they are leeches pure and simple....

exactly

agencies should be made illegal

hullight

I got my current job through an agency :beer:

It was really just an extra part of their recruitment process because they interviewed potential candidates from many different recruitment agencies.

I would say apply if they are just going to introduce you to the client to get their fee (rather than being contracted out by the agency).

gus1

I spoke to an agency on Friday and they informed me that all the agencies in the area are only allowed to submit three CV's for any position therefore, so that they dont loose their commission they need to ensure they only forward three of the best.

I no longer register with agencies, its a waste of time, although I just apply for the positions when they advertise on fish4jobs and jobisjob and wait for a response. It's more of a surprise when they call and show an interest.

In this area one job was advertised on the companies web site and yet six agencies were also advertising the same position. Had I waited a while I could have applied via agency advertising rather than spend two hours completing the on line application and groan the dreaded written statement!

Good luck with your job search.

terra_ferma

Agencies do advertise fake jobs.
As I work in a sector with a small number of companies in this area, I am often able to recognise who they are.
Once I even phone a company, as the job had been advertised a few months back (had a distinctive job title, salary and job description). They confirmed that they did not have any vacancies.

I think it looks bad if they don't have jobs out there, and maybe sometimes they need to attract CVs to have them ready to send (in my area of work at least, as there are not many good candidates).

datlex

I have to say I have had good experience dealing with agents. My recent jobs have all been via agencies. Even in a recession there are jobs to apply for, so if no one is interested ask at the job centre for help with your CV. I know in this area there are organisations that will give you free advise. Basically with agents they do work for the client. You need to prove to the agencies that placing you can earn them commission.

edgex

as someones already said, the smaller, localised agencies are much better

i had a good experience with a regional one here
whereas with a national one, well the 'consultant' didnt have a clue about relevant qualifications in the field, & the only job they sent me info on was of the type i had specifically said i wasnt interested in.

sue49

It is illegal to post a fake job. If you find any you should report them. There are some good agencies out there but they are usually the independant ones. In this market they will be inundated with candidates that they cannot help. Rather than admit this and tell the candidate it is unlikely they will be able to get them anything they are told to tell everyone how busy they are and then the candidate doesn't hear from them again. They also get people constantly phoning about jobs that they are just not suitable for so before applying for everything going think about whether you have the relevant skills and experience. The clients pay a fee so they don't want people they have to completely retrain. They work under considerable pressure although this is no excuse for bad manners. Stick to the small agencies that will be more likely to be honest with you.

andy46 wrote: »

Yes this is my major gripe with agencies. I think that it should be a criminal offence for agencies to advertise fake jobs with a maximum sentence of the death penalty !!

On a another matter the communication tends to be very bad between the consultants and the candidates , when they put you forward for a position they never want to get back to you when you are unsuccessful and are up your backside when you are. You are always chasing them to find out how your application is progressing

Employment agencies are very hard work to deal with and in my opinion are best avoided if you can.

El_Rey

Sue49 - Who do you report them to? Is there a governing body for recruitment agencies?

CCFC_80

At least half of the agencies in my home town are advertising fake job vacancies usually in a window display which probably means that around half of the agencies nationwide are doing the same.