Candidates - Things To Be Aware Of When Using A Recruitment Agency

RacyRed

cavework wrote: »

Thanks ..
So you went for 2 jobs ? one through the agency and one you sourced yourself
The one off your own bat offered you the job , but you still waited for the second interview through the job agency before accepting their offer?.
You then (after holding back on accepting the job offer from company number one) attended the second interview through the job agency after which you phoned your consultant and insisted you needed a response to the interview with company 2 that same afternoon?
If job number one was so acceptable , why did you then attend a second interview for job number two through the agency?
You tried to hold the agency to ransom and it back fired on you. I think you told the agency you would accept the offer from the company you sourced yourself if you did not get a satisfactory response from the company the agency had put you forward to and you insisted on a totally unreasonable deadline for this.
TBH you stamped your foot and insisted you wanted to know that day if you had been successful or not!
You really are taking the ***...

It is very difficult to make an informed decision about any job without attending the second interview. Why on earth should the OP immediately accept the first role offered if other, potentially better roles may be available to her? This is a major decision which is going to have a massive impact on her life.

A same day decision after 2nd interview isn't unusual or unreasonable, especially if company 2 had been advised that the candidate had already been made an offer by company 1. The agent should surely have been pushing this hard as a candidate selling point?

I'm not sure where your assertation that the OP had stamped her foot, or tried to hold the agency to ransom comes from? She had one offer on the table and had been 2nd interviewed by the 2nd company so advised that, if they were interested, she would need to know sooner rather than later. Perectly reasonable.

Personally, whenever I've been second interviewed I'd normally expect to hear the same day if I have been sucessful. Any longer than that and I'd assume that I'm 1st reserve candidate.

cavework

Perhaps they had more than one suitable candidate .. perhaps they were interviewing over two days?
Who knows but if the OP was still interested enough in the vacancy to attend the second interview then it would be reasonable to wait at least 24 hours before demanding the result surely?
As for the friend from company 1?
Perhaps the consultant called and said ' Hi I understand you have just filled a vacancy independently with someone who was also registered on our books, as they have been successful would you consider using us if further vacancies arise?'

CCFC_80

cavework wrote: »

Perhaps they had more than one suitable candidate .. perhaps they were interviewing over two days?
Who knows but if the OP was still interested enough in the vacancy to attend the second interview then it would be reasonable to wait at least 24 hours before demanding the result surely?
As for the friend from company 1?
Perhaps the consultant called and said ' Hi I understand you have just filled a vacancy independantly with someone who was also registered on our books, as they have been successful would you consider using us if further vacancies arise?'

I don't think so somehow that is not how I see it at all, if it was then this particular thread would never have started.

cavework

The thread started because the OP decided to relate her experience with one Agency to incorporate ALL recruitment agencies and ALL consultants.
Some seem more than happy to accept that and are more than ready to believe everything the OP has said
People who are employed in this occupation and have dared to post have been treated in a disparaging and completely unfair way .
They have been judged personally by some who have had no experience in the field of recruitment or who have an axe to grind because of one or two bad personal experiences.

RacyRed

cavework wrote: »

The thread started because the OP decided to relate her experience with one Agency to incorporate ALL recruitment agencies and ALL consultants.
Some seem more than happy to accept that and are more than ready to believe everything the OP has said
People who are employed in this occupation and have dared to post have been treated in a disparaging and completely unfair way .
They have been judged personally by some who have had no experience in the field of recruitment or who have an axe to grind because of one or two bad personal experiences.

Cavework, it is unfortunately true that the advice given in this thread is best applied to all recruitment consultants. The actions of what I sincerely hope are a few bad apple agents mean that caution in dealing with any agent is required. But it appears to be a lot more than one or two bad experiences now, doesn't it?

Some of the agents who have posted have given considered responses, which have been appreciated. Others have resorted to sarcasm, arrogance and personal attacks and have been responded to accordingly.

As the OP has pointed out, she trusted her agent. That is probably why she feels so betrayed.

I had an agent (not Hays) that I really trusted and had worked with exclusively for some time. I knew the score, played ball and gave him tips on employers I knew were recruiting or really good staff I knew were thinking about changing jobs. Yet eventually he betrayed my trust in him for the sake of a larger fee.

We are talking about jobs here, a major factor of our lives. It is sad that we have to share tips on protecting ourselves from possible deviousness from recruitment agencies but it is important that the basic guidelines set out here are made available to all who care to read them.

Please don't forget that many of us started out trusting our recruitment agents and learned the hard way that our trust was misplaced. It is a great shame that many very good agents are being tarnished by the actions of the less scrupulous ones, but that is the industrry's problem to sort out, not ours.

At the beginning of the recruitment process candidates can't know if their agent is one who can be trusted or not. Can you blame us for being cautious when dealing with such an important issue in our lives?

1984ReturnsForReal_2

RacyRed wrote: »

Cavework, it is unfortunately true that the advice given in this thread is best applied to all recruitment consultants. The actions of what I sincerely hope are a few bad apple agents mean that caution in dealing with any agent is required. But it appears to be a lot more than one or two bad experiences now, doesn't it?

Some of the agents who have posted have given considered responses, which have been appreciated. Others have resorted to sarcasm, arrogance and personal attacks and have been responded to accordingly.

As the OP has pointed out, she trusted her agent. That is probably why she feels so betrayed.

I had an agent (not Hays) that I really trusted and had worked with exclusively for some time. I knew the score, played ball and gave him tips on employers I knew were recruiting or really good staff I knew were thinking about changing jobs. Yet eventually he betrayed my trust in him for the sake of a larger fee.

We are talking about jobs here, a major factor of our lives. It is sad that we have to share tips on protecting ourselves from possible deviousness from recruitment agencies but it is important that the basic guidelines set out here are made available to all who care to read them.

Please don't forget that many of us started out trusting our recruitment agents and learned the hard way that our trust was misplaced. It is a great shame that many very good agents are being tarnished by the actions of the less scrupulous ones, but that is the industrry's problem to sort out, not ours.

At the beginning of the recruitment process candidates can't know if their agent is one who can be trusted or not. Can you blame us for being cautious when dealing with such an important issue in our lives?

What advice?

Oooooooooooooh your extremely poor advice.

Very poor show for MSE.

But like I said before, its a rubbish thread through & through.


& yes, your behavour & the OPs behaviour has been awful & just because you get a little back you throw the dummies out the prams.

1984ReturnsForReal_2

cavework wrote: »

Thanks ..
So you went for 2 jobs ? one through the agency and one you sourced yourself
The one off your own bat offered you the job , but you still waited for the second interview through the job agency before accepting their offer?.
You then (after holding back on accepting the job offer from company number one) attended the second interview through the job agency after which you phoned your consultant and insisted you needed a response to the interview with company 2 that same afternoon?
If job number one was so acceptable , why did you then attend a second interview for job number two through the agency?
You tried to hold the agency to ransom and it back fired on you. I think you told the agency you would accept the offer from the company you sourced yourself if you did not get a satisfactory response from the company the agency had put you forward to and you insisted on a totally unreasonable deadline for this.
TBH you stamped your foot and insisted you wanted to know that day if you had been successful or not!
You really are taking the ***...

That is indeed a distinct possibility.

However, you will not get the OP to admit it & the rest of the band wagon pack couldn't even comprehend the possibility of such a thing being done by a complete stranger on the internet.... :rotfl:

dickydonkin

I suspect that such a situation that the OP has experienced is commonplace and likely not discouraged by many agencies. It is a cut throat business and candidates should use an agency in the same way an agency uses a candidate.

I did see poetic justice recently when an agency undercut other companies (significantly) when tendering for a high volume contract at a local factory. Unfortunately for the many employees, the factory gates were shut one morning without warning - never to reopen - which resulted in a massive hit for the agency involved.

As for this thread, the main point the OP is making (and one I fully concur with) is to assume that all agencies will sell you down the river (not that all will of course) and be cautious of what information you give them which should be on a 'need to know' basis and only be relevant for registration or for any position offered.

Other positions applied for or for what organisation is of no business to anyone but the candidate and the recruiter/employer involved.

Some of the agents who have posted have given considered responses, which have been appreciated. Others have resorted to sarcasm, arrogance and personal attacks and have been responded to accordingly.

Absolutely - and these are the same people who we are supposed to trust when applying for jobs with agencies - if these same people respond to a poster with a valid issue in the same way they deal with their candidates, is it any wonder why recruitment agencies are treat with contempt?

One only has to look at the many other agency related threads on this forum to confirm my assertion, although I do accept that there will be some respectable organisations out there and there will always be some bad candidates.

RacyRed

1984ReturnsForReal wrote: »

What advice?

Oooooooooooooh your extremely poor advice.

Very poor show for MSE.

But like I said before, its a rubbish thread through & through.


& yes, your behavour & the OPs behaviour has been awful & just because you get a little back you throw the dummies out the prams.

I've begun to wonder if you really are involved in recruitment. Your posts do more to show recruitment agents in a bad light than anythng else posted on this thread.

Your lack of judgement and apparent inability to understand points being made to you make me sincerely hope I never have the misfortune to have to deal with you professionally.

When you are working do you listen to what employers tell you they want? Or are you so sure you know better that you tell them what YOU think they want?

I once asked some recruitment agencies to find me a candidate with specific experience and post graduate qualifications for a well paid career progression role. One agent bombarded me with CVs for people who didn't have any experience or qualifications relevent to the role. Was that you?

RedSoleShoes

cavework wrote: »

The OP after attending the second interview for the job through the agency seems to think that the agencies client should make a decision on the same day as the interviews were held.
I still have a feeling that she gave the consultant an ultimatum .. tell me now or I will go work for ...

Actually cavework, BEFORE I went for the second interview with the agency's client, I told the agent about the first job offer and ASKED him (no demands or ultimatums involved) if he thought the client would make a decision that day. He assured me that they would as they were only interviewing myself and one other person for 2nd interviews.

Therefore, your assumptions and "feelings" are incorrect.