Are recruitment agents jobless in their job too?

tosyn

Jimavfc82 wrote: »

For those of you who lambast recruitment agencies it is one of the easiest ways to start up a business. All you need is a phone and a computer. If it is that easy i ask why are you not doing it yourselves.....

That used to be the case about 3-4 years ago. Start your own recruitment agency place 4-5 candidates, you earn 20-25% of their base salary. Then you can go on holiday for the rest of the year especially if the candidates are £50K+

But now, the small/medium firms have stated to reap the benefit of professional networking sites like linkedin to cut down the agency middlemen and save them huge recruitment costs.

Wellery82

tosyn wrote: »

That used to be the case about 3-4 years ago. Start your own recruitment agency place 4-5 candidates, you earn 20-25% of their base salary. Then you can go on holiday for the rest of the year especially if the candidates are £50K+

But now, the small/medium firms have stated to reap the benefit of professional networking sites like linkedin to cut down the agency middlemen and save them huge recruitment costs.

That is my point though - it isn't easy to go and make money in the industry. People constantly criticise agents, but to do the job successfully is very difficult. It is still very easy and cheap to set up an agency, so if people think t is easy there is nothing stopping them

MissSarah1972

Jimavfc82 wrote: »

Thanks for the condescending "if you were good at your job" post. I outlined that often interview guidance is part and parcel of the service offered, especially when you are dealing at the more skilled end of any sector.

To convince an employer to exclusively look at CVs from your company isn't the easiest thing in the world, whilst it happens it takes a long time of relationship building, and mutual trust. Even if this is the case to cement that relationship you want to ensure that every individual going in front of the employer is well prepared and will impress, continuing to build that trust.

For those of you who lambast recruitment agencies it is one of the easiest ways to start up a business. All you need is a phone and a computer. If it is that easy i ask why are you not doing it yourselves.....

Yes if you were good at your job ie: sourcing the best candidates and making sure you supply the best to the employer, surely one of them WILL get the job or you haven't done what they want you to do.

What do you count as 'skilled end'? What level are we talking? Supervisors, mangers?

It's easy to start up a recruitment agency? Who said it was easy?

No ta, I'd like to be liked for the job I do thanks not hated.

My last company stopped using agencies as in 5 years they spent over £70k on recruitment and a lot easier to advertise themselves and recruit that way.

Wellery82

MissSarah1972 wrote: »

Yes if you were good at your job ie: sourcing the best candidates and making sure you supply the best to the employer, surely one of them WILL get the job or you haven't done what they want you to do.

What do you count as 'skilled end'? What level are we talking? Supervisors, mangers?

It's easy to start up a recruitment agency? Who said it was easy?

No ta, I'd like to be liked for the job I do thanks not hated.

My last company stopped using agencies as in 5 years they spent over £70k on recruitment and a lot easier to advertise themselves and recruit that way.

By skilled end i am generally talking salaries circa 50k and upwards.

Meeting people is part and parcel of a process to ensure you are transparent with them over the role they are going for, and also that the client understands the person you are putting forwards. This is making sure the people you put forward ARE right for the job. If i was sending someone for an interview i wanted to make sure it was a job they would accept it offered, it matched their own aspirations and preferences. I wanted to make sure that they were aware of the opportunities at that company, the culture in place, the scope of the role etc. If i was to send people who did not understand the person brief in detail it would be unfair on them and the company. It isn't about being bad at my job

I agree that often there is no need to use agencies. I rarely use them myself now i work "on the other side of the fence". That said i appreciate their value and would always consider them.

Regarding not being prepared to do the job because you don't want to be hated i don't really understand where you are coming from. Whilst i was aware of the stigma recruitment agents had when i worked in the industry this was only due to stereotypes, and certain bad industry practices. If you operate with integrity and honesty you can actually find it a hugely rewarding job helping people secure employment, interacting with large and dynamic businesses, and earning commission yourself.

MissSarah1972

Jimavfc82 wrote: »

By skilled end i am generally talking salaries circa 50k and upwards.

Meeting people is part and parcel of a process to ensure you are transparent with them over the role they are going for, and also that the client understands the person you are putting forwards. This is making sure the people you put forward ARE right for the job. If i was sending someone for an interview i wanted to make sure it was a job they would accept it offered, it matched their own aspirations and preferences. I wanted to make sure that they were aware of the opportunities at that company, the culture in place, the scope of the role etc. If i was to send people who did not understand the person brief in detail it would be unfair on them and the company. It isn't about being bad at my job

I agree that often there is no need to use agencies. I rarely use them myself now i work "on the other side of the fence". That said i appreciate their value and would always consider them.

Regarding not being prepared to do the job because you don't want to be hated i don't really understand where you are coming from. Whilst i was aware of the stigma recruitment agents had when i worked in the industry this was only due to stereotypes, and certain bad industry practices. If you operate with integrity and honesty you can actually find it a hugely rewarding job helping people secure employment, interacting with large and dynamic businesses, and earning commission yourself.

Oh that's why you spend time with the candidate as its a lot more ££ for you if they get the job.

You do not understand why people hate agencies? Oh dear, think about it.

I have never got a job via one and never will as they are all saying that since I am out of work they can not help me as I haven't worked in 8 months. I registered with a few and now 8 months on they do not want to know yet not put me forward for one job in all that time. They lie and talk !!!! to you when they register you and then you never hear from them.

No agency will actively help people like me as it's not good for them as a business. It's all about the £££.

Wellery82

MissSarah1972 wrote: »

Oh that's why you spend time with the candidate as its a lot more ££ for you if they get the job.

You do not understand why people hate agencies? Oh dear, think about it.

I have never got a job via one and never will as they are all saying that since I am out of work they can not help me as I haven't worked in 8 months. I registered with a few and now 8 months on they do not want to know yet not put me forward for one job in all that time. They lie and talk !!!! to you when they register you and then you never hear from them.

No agency will actively help people like me as it's not good for them as a business. It's all about the £££.

Well yes generally speaking that is why agents spend time with the candidate! Their job is to make money for the business or they will be sacked. It is a hugely cut throat industry. I do not see the problem with that. The candidate benefits, the company benefits and the agent benefits. There is also an added bonus it is nice to see someone get a job as well, however this isn't what you are paid to achieve and isn't a priority for most.

My observations from your posts are you are hugely anti agency, and i wonder if this comes across. They are there to make money, and if a candidate isn't cooperative, or is volatile, then they will simply be discarded. It is a harsh truth

And regarding why people hate agencies i don't really understand it. It is like any profession, there are good and bad, and any sweeping generalisation is born out of ignorance. I have left the world behind but am content i operated with integrity, and know that there are those who agree i did

MissSarah1972

Jimavfc82 wrote: »

Well yes generally speaking that is why agents spend time with the candidate! Their job is to make money for the business or they will be sacked. It is a hugely cut throat industry. I do not see the problem with that. The candidate benefits, the company benefits and the agent benefits. There is also an added bonus it is nice to see someone get a job as well, however this isn't what you are paid to achieve and isn't a priority for most.

My observations from your posts are you are hugely anti agency, and i wonder if this comes across. They are there to make money, and if a candidate isn't cooperative, or is volatile, then they will simply be discarded. It is a harsh truth

And regarding why people hate agencies i don't really understand it. It is like any profession, there are good and bad, and any sweeping generalisation is born out of ignorance. I have left the world behind but am content i operated with integrity, and know that there are those who agree i did

What do you mean by 'not cooperative'? I send an application, I hear nothing so I follow up with a polite email and IF I am lucky I get a 'oh you haven't been working and the client won't want to see you' or 'you do not meet the criteria' or 'you are over qualified'. Or the ones I am regsitered with I spend non stop hours looking on their sites for jobs where I thought they were their job once registered, not mine!

I am not volatile but always polite and take it on the chin what they say but in fact I want to say 'tell me then how I get a job if you will not put me forward'?

Wellery82

MissSarah1972 wrote: »

What do you mean by 'not cooperative'? I send an application, I hear nothing so I follow up with a polite email and IF I am lucky I get a 'oh you haven't been working and the clinet won't want to see you' or 'you do not meet the criteria' or 'you are over qualified'

I am not volatile but always polite and take it on the chin what they say but in fact I want to say 'tell me then how I get a job if you will not put me forward'?

Your approach sounds great then. It is worth remembering that everyone you deal with is an individual. Some will genuinely care how you are feeling, some won't give two hoots. The trick however is to remain upbeat and enthusiastic even with the ones you don't think care less about you. If they can sense a placement they will do

Job hunting is a strange game as up until the moment you get a job it is constant dejection. The moment you get a job everything is clear again. If you can keep a positive outlook this helps hugely.

Get some objective views on your CV from friends, former colleagues and family. Can they see straight away what you have done and what you want to do next?

Ask the agencies "What can i do to get my foot in the door with you, i am committed to getting a job, does it mean changing my CV, being more flexible etc".

Also see if you can by pass the agencies. Try a website like yell.com and get a list of 100 local employers. Get an e-mail ready to send and send some speculative e-mails out. Register your CV on Monster, Total Jobs, Reed, Jobsite etc and sign up for their job alerts. Sign up to Linked In and join a lot of groups, post on there what you are looking for. Ultimately it is a numbers game and the more places you get your details the more chance you have

And good luck. If you want any specific guidance i am happy to try and offer it for what it is worth, send me a PM if so.

MissSarah1972

Jimavfc82 wrote: »

Your approach sounds great then. It is worth remembering that everyone you deal with is an individual. Some will genuinely care how you are feeling, some won't give two hoots. The trick however is to remain upbeat and enthusiastic even with the ones you don't think care less about you. If they can sense a placement they will do

Job hunting is a strange game as up until the moment you get a job it is constant dejection. The moment you get a job everything is clear again. If you can keep a positive outlook this helps hugely.

Get some objective views on your CV from friends, former colleagues and family. Can they see straight away what you have done and what you want to do next?

Ask the agencies "What can i do to get my foot in the door with you, i am committed to getting a job, does it mean changing my CV, being more flexible etc".

Also see if you can by pass the agencies. Try a website like yell.com and get a list of 100 local employers. Get an e-mail ready to send and send some speculative e-mails out. Register your CV on Monster, Total Jobs, Reed, Jobsite etc and sign up for their job alerts. Sign up to Linked In and join a lot of groups, post on there what you are looking for. Ultimately it is a numbers game and the more places you get your details the more chance you have

And good luck. If you want any specific guidance i am happy to try and offer it for what it is worth, send me a PM if so.

I have done all you say above and a lot more on a daily basis.
My old company say I have a great CV and my old boss said he wouldn't change it, so do the agencies and have not told me to change it. All I changed was the lay out from the old CV I had 7 years ago.

Agencies say I have more chance going direct to companies so there is nothing they can say to help me 'get my foot in the door'

I am very flexable. Will travel 30 miles (each way) on public trasport and will work for NMW.

These are all the sites I have a CV on and use every day

www.reed.co.uk

www.hays.com

www.gaapweb.com

www.totaljobs.com

www.thecaterer.com

www.cityjobs.co.uk

www.jobsite.co.uk

www.monster.co.uk

www.gumtree.com

www.jobseekers.direct.gov.uk

www.totallylegal.com

www.careerbuilder.co.uk

www.hcareers.co.uk

www.cv-library.co.uk

www.retailchoice.com

http://www.indeed.co.uk/

http://myjobs.cimaglobal.com/

http://www.linkedin.com/home

http://www.euromoneyiijobs.com/index.html

www.accountancyage.com

http://www.charityjob.co.uk

http://www.secsinthecity.co.uk

http://www.efinancialcareers.co.uk/

http://www.officerecruit.com/

http://www.agencycentral.co.uk

https://www.accacareers.com/

http://www.inretail.co.uk/

http://jobs.bighospitality.co.uk/

http://www.incatering.co.uk/

http://jobs.catererandhotelkeeper.com/

http://www.myaccountancyjobs.com

http://www.charityjob.co.uk/

http://www.ledgerclerkjobs.co.uk/

I also look up streets on Google and zoom in to see what big companies are there and click on the web link provided to see if they have any jobs listed and if not send a CV and speculative letter. It's all just a total waste of time.

Treehugged

Try Harris Hill. I registered with them recently and they've been helpful. They specialise in Charity and NFP.