Etiquette of using Recruitment Agencies

User_Bob

hello eveybody,

I am pretty new to the world of job seeking, having never been unemployed since ..erm....70's. So this world of the Recruitment Agency is pretty new and scary to an old f**t like me. I have put my cv with a few Agencies and have a few questions:-

• When I apply for a job, how much time do I leave before I ring the Agency and ask how I have got on. Or is it best to leave them to it. so I dont look desperate (which unfortunately I am)

• If I do speak to them, and they pester me for information on who else I am with, and who is recruiting, should I tell them? (I am not good at bluffing or lying)

• I have a feeling I blurted out a name of a Company I knew was recruiting and the Agency I was speaking to then went and contacted them and took their business, so am I now in the bad books with the original Agency who got me the interview? If so, what should I do?

• How long do they keep your cv on file? How often should I re-post it?

Any other do's and dont's?

Many Many Thanks in advance.

User Bob

InsideInsurance

I dont know how specialised the type of work you do is or how general? The more senior/ specialised the work the more the agencies will put the effort in. If your going for more general/ admin/ manual type work then agencies are more of a pain to deal with.

1) Phone them when you want. Agencies truly only work for themselves and are as bad to the employers as they are the prospective employees. You do want to look keen and you do want to stand out from the crowd, its generally easier to do it on the phone than it is via email

2) You should certainly say your with other agencies/ looking at other roles. Personally I just bluff them off saying there are so many its hard to name names, you certainly dont want to be giving names of companies you're applying for jobs with to them unless you've already got an offer on the table

3) Doesnt really matter, agencies have hundreds of sources for both employees and employers. It is not in your interest for another agency to get in on a job you've already applied for but that is because of you not because of the other agency thats involved.

4) Agencies tend to keep them indefinitely, I get calls from people occasionally who have a CV that is 4+ years out of date. Most however will filter the search results by the last time they've made contact with the candidate as the older the CV the less chances they have. Unless your circumstances change or you want to tailor your CV to a role then its more about keeping in contact than resubmitting the CV

Anything else? Don't trust them, they aren't your friends and don't care about you or the employer. They will stretch the truth to both you and the employer. If there is something they've said that is important to you always confirm it directly with the employer themselves rather than making your decision based purely on what the agency said.

That said, there is no harm in also pretending to be their friends as being high profile does get you higher up the list when a good opportunity does arrive and you'll possibly get a few drinks or meals out of it too

julesds

InsideInsurance wrote: »

Anything else? Don't trust them, they aren't your friends and don't care about you or the employer. They will stretch the truth to both you and the employer. If there is something they've said that is important to you always confirm it directly with the employer themselves rather than making your decision based purely on what the agency said.

That said, there is no harm in also pretending to be their friends as being high profile does get you higher up the list when a good opportunity does arrive and you'll possibly get a few drinks or meals out of it too

Don't trust them part - very true. You have to think of them the same way that estate agents are typically seen as (sorry about blatant stereotyping), this has just been my experience. They tell you what they think you want to hear, rather what you actually want - honesty.

It is a rarity that they will contact when they say they will. When this happens I always ring them to get answers. You've got to look after yourself and your interests

Sorry, these are all the negative aspects. I have dealt with some helpful recruitment consultants as well

CCFC_80

Excellent post by InsideInsurance,

You will have to keep chasing up the role with them regularly and be prepared for the unreturned phone calls,no replies to emails and when you do get through they all appear to be in meetings.

Just to emphasise, never ever tell them of any ongoing applications you have with other companies. They do not need to know this. Their candidates can easily become your competitors as they would probably contact the company concerned and ask if they will consider their candidates also for the role.

They will keep your CV and personal details on file for ever and you will have to ask them to remove it from their records whenever you no longer require their services.

Reverbe

CCFC I have to take issue with your last sentence. I recently went through a touch base exercise with the agencies I am registered with (of course you never hear a dickie bird from them)A lot of them had ditched my cv/couldnt find my details assuming I was no longer interested without asking me and despite my being in contact.

vyle

Nowadays I will not touch employment agencies.

Normally, you will apply for a job and they will ring you the next day (or even that same day) and tell you that they've got a perfect job for you.

It's nothing like the job you applied for, and they claim that the job they are advertising doesn't even exist.

they will then send you a an awful place to work, with no communication other than the location.

Because I suffer from a disability, I have to be careful where I sit and how long I'll be at a desk etc. The last agency I used assured me that the work would be part time and that they had taken my needs into account.

I got there to find it was a full time job, that was nothing but intense data entry, on a chair with a broken back and no cushion or anything.

When I notified the agency and said I couldn't do the job, they claimed that I had not told them I had a disability (conveniently, they lost the copy of my form which stated my needs. Luckily I had a copy, too) and tried to dock me pay for the day I did do, and then blacklisted me.

So yes...agencies suck.

paddyrg

Agencies want to place people - that's when they get paid. Decent agencies will match candidates closely to the job spec, rubbish ones will do the least work possible and just forward on a stack of CV's letting the recruiter do all the work. Sadly, most agencies are pretty rubbish, so it ends up being a numbers game and getting lucky.

Try a site like jobserve.com where you can upload various versions of your CV, and apply for each suitable job. It can take a while, but there's nothing wrong with hassling an agent after a day or so to find out if they put your CV forward.

Agents are a necessary evil in the foodchain

Pupnik

I have also found that agencies scrap your CVs after a certain amount of time- and some of them let you know upfront that they keep you on record for 6 months. I've certainly never been contacted by them years after, but I suppose this varies from agency to agency.

Personally I would avoid them at all costs unless they are one of the more specialied ones, but for general admin stuff I don't find them useful. If you see an agency ad that looks interesting copy and paste the description into Google and see if you can find the company advertising (they will probably have it on their own site) and apply directly to them.

donquine

User_Bob wrote: »

When I apply for a job, how much time do I leave before I ring the Agency and ask how I have got on. Or is it best to leave them to it. so I dont look desperate (which unfortunately I am)

Speak to them at the time and ask how long it will likely be before you hear anything. (It may be that the person at the company in charge of making recruitment decisions is going on a 2 week holiday and the agency is well aware of this.) Having established when a decision will be made, ring the the agency.

If you are unsuccessful, chances are, the agency won't tell you unless you push. Be positive and ask them to keep putting you forward for similar roles, because you did think that one sounded interesting.

Don't be afraid to keep calling up about other opportunities, whilst you're still waiting to hear back on a specific role.

User_Bob wrote: »

If I do speak to them, and they pester me for information on who else I am with, and who is recruiting, should I tell them? (I am not good at bluffing or lying)

If you are signed up with other agencies, don't lie about this. Be vague though - "one or two others over in the neighbouring town" - don't name names if you can help it.

Regarding who is recruiting - never name names! You can say another agency has put you forward for X roles with Y employers, but don't say who those employers are! If pushed, you can say something along the lines of unfortunately you are not at liberty to say, because the client company has asked for confidentiality at this stage and of course you're sure the agency understands why you can't divulge anything, etc. Be vague but firm.

Now, if an agency calls you about a role that another agency has already discussed with you, at that point you can say you already know about the job and either you've declined the opportunity or you're already in the recruitment process through another agency. In the event you're hired, it's important to make clear which agency was responsible and should get the fee from the client.

User_Bob wrote: »

I have a feeling I blurted out a name of a Company I knew was recruiting and the Agency I was speaking to then went and contacted them and took their business, so am I now in the bad books with the original Agency who got me the interview? If so, what should I do?

Nothing you can do, really. Learn the lesson and move on.

User_Bob wrote: »

How long do they keep your cv on file? How often should I re-post it?

They'll keep your CV on file as long as you remain in contact. So keep calling every few days to get your name remembered.

User_Bob wrote: »

Any other do's and dont's?

Do stay positive, agencies often know of jobs that aren't advertised anywhere, because some of their clients do not do direct recruitment. A lot of people who hate agencies often gloss over this point - many companies do not have a HR function of their own and therefore outsource the hiring to agencies who can screen out all the bad candidates and send them a couple of people to choose from.

Don't listen to the popular myth that all agencies are crooks and try to entice you with jobs that never existed.

fedster

1 thing that sticks in my mind was a couple of years ago, i was asked to come in to a local agency to complete some paperwork in regards to a job they wanted to put me forward for,apparently i was a "fantastic candidate" i walked into their office, all i could see was a small room, a few chairs, and 2 Ladies laughing as they were huddled round a Magazine, as i walked in 1 of the Ladies signalled for me 2 sit down, and asked my name etc, as i filled my paperwork in, and gave them my passport, the Lady start asking me which client was i working for before this and which Agency represented the Client, i told her everything, i was extremly naive, i must have given her contact details for 5 clients and the 5 Agencies who were representing them, she noted everything down.

After this i was asked to ring later on, and she would have news if i had got the job, so i rang later that Day, and needless to say i didnt get the job!!!!!

RedSoleShoes

Speaking from experience with the more generalised admin agencies - Hays, Reed, Office Angels - the one lesson I learned was NEVER tell them names of other companies you are applying to. I was offered a role (from direct application to the company) but was debating whether to take it or not. I stupidly told an agent I had signed with that I had been offered another role and who it was with. Within 30 minutes, he was on the phone trying to sell other candidates to them. I found this out as I had a friend working for the company who offered the role and she told me they had called!

Agencies are ruthless and disloyal. Of course they want to place you in a job but they do not care if it is a job you want or not, they just care about their fee and increasing their contact list.

Also know that the more jobs you reject (for whatever reason), the lower you go on their list until you eventually do not hear anything from them again.

If you get as far as starting a job that an agency has placed you in and then decide it's not for you and leave (meaning the agency has to refund their fee back to the employer) then your name will be mud and don't be surprised if they spread this to their other agency contacts. Your registration will be over for good!!

A recruitment agent is a sales person, NOT a careers advisor