Recruitment Agencies Are Useless!!

Linda_D_2

i think we can all agree on how incompetent recruitment agencies are. It would be good to see the parasites banned for good.

BillJones

Linda_D wrote: »

i think we can all agree on how incompetent recruitment agencies are. It would be good to see the parasites banned for good.

If they are genuinely parasites, that means that they are not providing anything you need. In that case, simply don't use them.

If you need to use them, then obviously they cannot be parasites.

I can never understand why people use a service if they believe it is not worth using.

Linda_D_2

BillJones wrote: »

If they are genuinely parasites, that means that they are not providing anything you need. In that case, simply don't use them.

If you need to use them, then obviously they cannot be parasites.

I can never understand why people use a service if they believe it is not worth using.

I've never had anything to do with the parasites in my life nor would I ever

Darola

BillJones wrote: »

I can never understand why people use a service if they believe it is not worth using.

No choice, it's a disingenuous, dishonest, disrespectful and cowardly profession. Unfortunately it can be because we need it more than it needs us for the majority of the time.

Agencies have got me jobs in the past, and when things are going well for the agent they are great, but it all goes cold too quickly. I guess they sleep at night so why should they give a s**t that people might actually have feelings?

Like I say I've grown a thick skin and have accepted how they operate, but it doesn't stop it being crap.

IYKWIM

There are a few golden agencies. No doubt most are bottom scroungers, but some are above board and will genuinely work with you.

I've been 'with' one for 5 years, whenever I have free time in between contracts they have always found me a temp job. To my knowledge they have never told me anything which hasn't been true.

You can tell by the calibre of the jobs on offer. If large companies/councils/governments are going through that agency then they are probably legit.

What I do dislike is when you can't reach individual consultants. The !!!!!! ones tend to go to reception and 'oh they are busy, I will get them to call you back' which never happens.

Dreamscometrue

Linda_D wrote: »

i think we can all agree on how incompetent recruitment agencies are. It would be good to see the parasites banned for good.

I second that emotion! I've been an IT contractor since 1987 and I'm constantly having to explain job descriptions to them because they don't actually understand what they mean! I've also been advising them on the type of skills a candidate should have for a particular role! It's no wonder I haven't had a single interview for 13 months!

Cottage_Economy

Well, my opinions of agencies have mellowed slightly, as I have now had three decent ones get me interviews and now have a job I start Monday.

However, I had to wade through a lot of sh*t first.

I pretty much gave up on applying for jobs on the job sites if they went through an agency. Sounds awful I know, but I'd spend hours searching for jobs, ages making sure my CV and covering letter were spot on, only for it to disappear into an abyss and never get a response.

Instead I researched the people who were doing the jobs I wanted to do, mostly through linkedin and any cv sites that let me see candidate CVs. Then I researched keywords. Once i had a list of them, I put the ones most appropriate and relevant to my experience into my CV.

Then I uploaded that to as many different sites as I could find. It took about 4 weeks for me to start getting phone calls and emails from agencies who had searched the different CV databases.

The three agencies that got me interviews had all found my CV on the CV Library site. A few of the others who have rung with jobs I declined to apply for also found me on CV Library.

Hope this helps.

WolfSong2000

Interesting threat, this...I've had mixed experiences with agencies. Some have been okay, others have royally screwed me over and some just sit in the middle.

One thing that I have always wondered - I had a scenario in that a company I used to temp for called me directly a while after I had stopped working for them through agency and asked if I'd work with them direct, which I declined.

It did get me thinking, though - if employer called to offer a different position to the one you'd originally worked, would the agency still have grounds to complain?

In my case it was the same role (and I declined), but say if the company called to offer you a different role to the one the agency had put you forward for...is that a grey area or does the agency have a claim because it's still the same company?

BillJones

hardboiled wrote: »

I've come to the conclusion that I maybe expecting too much from rec consultants.

They aren't miracle workers. With the attitude that you display on here, it's not going to be easy for even the best to get you placed in a job.

Kudos to them for even speaking to you, given how you appear to view them.

makeyourdaddyproud

Dreamscometrue wrote: »

I second that emotion! I've been an IT contractor since 1987 and I'm constantly having to explain job descriptions to them because they don't actually understand what they mean! I've also been advising them on the type of skills a candidate should have for a particular role! It's no wonder I haven't had a single interview for 13 months!

Contractor for 27 years and you still can't get an interview?

That's worrying.