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

cavework

Andy
I could agree with you but then we would both be wrong

cavework

andy46 wrote: »

Priorities of Recruitment Agencies in order.
1) Make money for the consultants
2) Service their clients need
3) Place people in work placements

Don't know what the ratio of people who register with agencies is to the people you would place in work but their is obviously a very high amount of people that you don't find placements for as opposed to people that you would. so obviously one or two would strike it lucky.
It doesn't take a genius to work out that the people you would find placements for would be due to all the leads you get out of the unsuccessful ones that register.

As for your point about Agency making money, perhaps at the moment they don't. In my town over the past couple of years we have gone from about 15 Agencies to about 7. It would be nice to think for me that employers are no longer using them but it is the current economical situation.

I personally don't find placements anymore
as for the ratio of success to failure of applicants ?
That would depend on whether the vacancies to be filled are temp temp to perm or perm positions.
Please believe me if the outcome was one or two 'striking it lucky' there would be far less than 7 agencies left in your town

1984ReturnsForReal_2

andy46 wrote: »

Priorities of Recruitment Agencies in order.
1) Make money for the consultants
2) Service their clients need Wrong
3) Place people in work placements

Don't know what the ratio of people who register with agencies is to the people you would place in work I do but their is obviously a very high amount of people that you don't find placements for as opposed to people that you would. so obviously one or two would strike it lucky.
It doesn't take a genius to work out that the people you would find placements for would be due to all the leads you get out of the unsuccessful ones that register. It takes a particular type of person to be successful at the job though. Most people would fall flat on their faces because they haven't got a clue, like the posters on this thread

As for your point about Agency making money, perhaps at the moment they don't. In my town over the past couple of years we have gone from about 15 Agencies to about 7. It would be nice to think for me that employers are no longer using them but it is the current economical situation. I think you will find its both but nice try

You just guess everything even though you have had 4 recruitment consultants tell you different on here.

Will you ever pay attention to people that know what they are talking about?

I have added a couple of pointers for you.

CCFC_80

1984ReturnsForReal wrote: »

You just guess everything even though you have had 4 recruitment consultants tell you different on here.

Will you ever pay attention to people that know what they are talking about?

I have added a couple of pointers for you.

I am certain by the tone of your comments and overall attitude on this thread that more people then ever will stay away from recruitment agencies. You have never given a straight answer to a straight question concerning the OP's original issues and whenever you do respond it is always continually in an arrogant and sarcastic manner.

Some of the people representing the agencies have tried to use valid arguments defending their practices like Cavework ,although we strongly disagree with each other.

If you represent the voice of the recruitment agency business then heaven help us all.

dickydonkin

andy46 wrote: »

Agencies do advertise fake jobs and please do not tell me they don't. I applied for one a couple of years ago with a leading High Street name (1st word starts with an "O" and 2nd word starts with an "A")
The young consultant actually admitted to me it was a Phantom job in an attempt to get people to register as they might get similar roles in the future. Maybe she shouldn't have told me that but she did.

Just after I was made redundant over 3 years ago, I was sent for an interview via an agency for a safety position in the automotive sector. Following the first interview with the client, I was called a couple of days later for a second interview - which seemed promising.

After a protracted interview with the MD of the company, it was then I was told there was no actual position available at that time - but there may be later! - unfortunately, along came the recession.

My point here is that the agency were also unaware that the position did not exist - they were as angry as I was as it seemed we had both been used.

I know that agencies advertise phantom positions, but in this particular instance, it was the client, however, the most disappointing aspect of this practice is that it is always the candidate who gets their hopes built up and is ultimately dumped on.

valos_mummy

At one point, I was signed to every agency going, and they did FA for me, had a call once in a blue moon to check on my employment status and that was it. I did apply for a job on reed and it was another agency who put their ad on reed who called me back and arranged an interview.

As it was I temped there for 2 years before they had to let me go due to staffing cutbacks. I had a month being unemployed and chasing up jobs with all the agencies (as well as going on websites and the local press), they were all too happy to sign me onto their books and then I'd hear nothing before the initial agency called me to say the company had another vacancy in a similar team - however, this was as they specifically asked for me and I didn't have to interview for it. I now have a permanent role with them so it all ended well.

It may just be I was lucky with that one agency, but all the others were a waste of space, and I came across more than one with fake adverts in the window :mad:

williacg

LilyDeTilly wrote: »

Still on a mission to try and make ME look like that bad one aren't you.

And are you honestly suggesting that I am such a powerful candidate that I could hold an recruitment agency to ransom :rotfl:

At the end of the day, THE RECRUITMENT AGENT stabbed me in the back by going directly to the company I had received an offer from and tried to push his candidates for a role that he knew had not yet been accepted. You can try and discredit me as much as you like, if you honestly think his behaviour is acceptable (which, it seems, you do) then we will never agree.

My new job is going well so hopefully I will not have to be in the position of needing an agency again but, if I am, I will ensure that I do not give any information to the agent regarding other jobs that I am applying for. This is the lesson I have learnt, and this is my warning to others.

LilyDeTilly wrote: »

Still on a mission to try and make ME look like that bad one aren't you.

And are you honestly suggesting that I am such a powerful candidate that I could hold an recruitment agency to ransom :rotfl:

At the end of the day, THE RECRUITMENT AGENT stabbed me in the back by going directly to the company I had received an offer from and tried to push his candidates for a role that he knew had not yet been accepted. You can try and discredit me as much as you like, if you honestly think his behaviour is acceptable (which, it seems, you do) then we will never agree.

My new job is going well so hopefully I will not have to be in the position of needing an agency again but, if I am, I will ensure that I do not give any information to the agent regarding other jobs that I am applying for. This is the lesson I have learnt, and this is my warning to others.

This is a lesson I also learnt, as an employer, and one which I will never forget, and I felt such sympathy for the candidate involved, as I felt the candidate was excellent for the role, which she had been carrying out for some months, but I was in the fortunate position to hear the story from both parties, and although I felt an element of sympathy also for the RC, who had quite clearly and unfortuately, been placed in the position of trying to 'bump up' the Finders Fee, by his own superiors, we subsequently withdrew the offer of permanent employment.

I would never be so arrogant as to suggest that all RCs behave in such a manner, and in fact, many many moons ago, when I was a temp, one of the agencies I used had a policy of holding mini bufffets on a Friday afternoon, whereby all temps could collect their wage slips (if they wanted to) but at the same time touch base with the agency in a relaxing setting, and discuss any concerns they had.

I am no disgruntled temp with an axe to grind, but I can only speak of my own experience, and believe me, I could sit here all day writing of similar events, however, it is not my intention to make personal attacks on individuals, and will not do so.

CCFC_80

williacg wrote: »

This is a lesson I also learnt, as an employer, and one which I will never forget, and I felt such sympathy for the candidate involved, as I felt the candidate was excellent for the role, which she had been carrying out for some months, but I was in the fortunate position to hear the story from both parties, and although I felt an element of sympathy also for the RC, who had quite clearly and unfortuately, been placed in the position of trying to 'bump up' the Finders Fee, by his own superiors, we subsequently withdrew the offer of permanent employment.

I would never be so arrogant as to suggest that all RCs behave in such a manner, and in fact, many many moons ago, when I was a temp, one of the agencies I used had a policy of holding mini bufffets on a Friday afternoon, whereby all temps could collect their wage slips (if they wanted to) but at the same time touch base with the agency in a relaxing setting, and discuss any concerns they had.

I am no disgruntled temp with an axe to grind, but I can only speak of my own experience, and believe me, I could sit here all day writing of similar events, however, it is not my intention to make personal attacks on individuals, and will not do so.

Wow that is good news I am pleasantly shocked. You mean an agency that actually wants to listen to the concerns of their workers in the role instead of always appearing to be up their clients backsides. Nice to hear a rare pleasant experience for a change.

danothy

A hundred+ posts on from my last input and the argument is still rumbling on ...

Those that dislike the way they are treated by agencies are still saying there's enough of the bad ones out there to warrant a blanket policy of assuming that any given agent is going to screw you and you need to subsequently protecting yourself from this by limiting the information you give them. Then there's those that appear to be suggesting that these negative experiences simply don't happen, have been misrepresented by the candidates reporting them, or in some cases (and this is the bit I find hateful) that the candidates deserved to be treated like that for some personal or professional reason. I will stress this again: because someone treats you badly does not make it all right to treat them badly.

Personally (and I realise I am restating myself here) I believe that there are significant instances (i.e. not just one dodgy haircut) of bad treatment by recruitment agents and that warrants treating them all like they might burn you in order to protect yourself. I also think that anyone with an axe to grind against an agency is far more likely to have a reason based on the treatment they have received (even if some people think that treatment is acceptable) rather than misplaced anger at their own inadequacies (although I acknowledge that this can happen).

Some people seem to have taken this discussion as an attack on the industry, (and in some way it has been I suppose, although primarily an attack on the assertion that the industry is not prone to taking advantage of the candidates, as a lot of people's experiences appear to have taught them otherwise) and some people seem to have taken this as a personal attack which I don't believe is the case. Because of the reactions I have read here I will again highlight my distaste at the instances of personal criticism of others in this thread, there's no need for this.

I think Jimavfc82 said it best when he said:

Jimavfc82 wrote: »

Recruitment Agents get many people great jobs and also leave many people angry and frustrated. If you take them as a free service that may help you, don't give away any information that may cause the odd consultant to be malicious, then you can't really lose

It seems that a lot of the hostility in this thread has hinged on the sentiment of what 'the odd consultant' might quantify as.

1984ReturnsForReal_2

LilyDeTilly wrote: »

I recently went for an interview for a role through an agency (company 1). I also went for an interview for a role which I found myself (company 2). Both called me back for second interviews however company 2 offered me the role before I got to the second interview for company 1. I delayed giving them an answer and went for the 2nd interview with the other job.

That afternoon, I called the agency and said that I would need an answer that day as I had been offered another role and had to also give them an answer. The agent asked me where the role was so I told him. Within one hour, he was on the phone to company 2 to tell them he had a number of candidates suitable for the role they were trying to fill :mad:

Luckily, I knew someone at company 2 and she knew that I was using this agency so she told me. I called them and accepted their role and emailed the agent to tell him that I didn't want his role and that I knew he had called!!

This is just a little warning to others who are using agencies - do not tell them ANYTHING that they do not need to know. They are ruthless and will stab you in the back.

Addition to the above, added 12/12/10
You may not have time to get through the large amount of posts on here so I will summarise for you.

Recruitment Agencies are there to make money from you. This may seem obvious but if you keep this in mind throughout your dealings with them, you will keep one step ahead.

When they question you about your other job applications, they are going to use this information to send other candidates to that company, possibly for the role you are applying for.

They are not asking you because they are interested in you - they are NOT interested in you.

Recruitment agencies can be useful, especially for temporary work, but they DO NOT need to know about your other job applications to put you forward for jobs with their clients. So what if your CV gets submitted twice? The client is intelligent enough to know that if they use agencies and also advertise, they will get repeat CVs. This cannot be of detriment to you so do not let anyone tell you otherwise.

Give the agencies only essential information needed to register and apply for jobs. Any other information that they try and coax from you is purely for their benefit, not yours.

Keep this in mind and you should not find yourself in the position I did.

:rotfl:


That has got to be the worst piece of advice I have seen on the original post.

Normally it gets to to bit where people call each other Nazis before it gets that bad.

Congratulations on helping the unemployed remain unemployed & the soon to be unemployed be unemployed for longer.

You must be very proud.