Which recruitment agencies you would recommend

chocolatechipcookies

I'd recommend Office Angles to anyone looking for (duh) office work. They're fabulous! I've signed up for so many recruitment places and never heard back from any of them. With Office Angels I got calls about once a week with jobs they wanted to put me forward. They got me an interview with a really good company and I got the job. They didn't stop there! On my first day, the lady who I signed up with stopped by to say hello and to see how I was. She dropped off a little goodie bag with office things in it; mug, pink pen, some sticky note paper and some mints with a congratulations card. They're very good. I felt like I was her only client, even though I knew she had loads. :money: They're the best recruitment company I've signed up with, and I signed up with almost every single one in town.

dmg24

Another vote for Office Angels.

For anyone around Nottingham, I would advise to avoid DK Recruitment and Express Recruitment.

DK Recruitment tried to pay me less than minimum wage when I had to end a contract early. They then refused to provide me with a copy of my contract, because 'I might show it to another agency' (eh?!). In the end I had to complain to the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate, who actually had to visit them to get any kind of response from them.

Whilst on a temp assignment with Express Recruitment, I had a severe asthma attack. This happened before work, so I rang the office and left a message. It was quite clear from the message that I was having (BIG!) problems breathing. I rang them again as soon as my breathing had calmed. They rang me EIGHT times that day to check when I would be back at work. When I didn't answer (because I was on a nebuliser!), they rang my emergency contact number! Because of their terrible attitude I did not return to the assignment. It was quite clear that they had no interest in my wellbeing, but only their assignment fee!

cazziebo

It's difficult to generalise as recruitment consultants move around so much - and it's a good recruitment consultant that gives the good service. Office Angels are very good - they look after their own staff well so in turn they look after their candidates. Reed are pretty good too. The other nationals can be hit or miss - they poach each other's staff all the time. Sometimes your independent local firm can be very good - they are closer to their clients and try that bit harder. Also, some companies will have expertise in one area so one might be great for long term call centre work but not so good for short term secretarial.

But bear in mind -it's the client who pays the agency, so they are working for the client. They are not there to find jobs, but to find people for jobs.

chocolatechipcookies

cazziebo wrote: »

But bear in mind -it's the client who pays the agency, so they are working for the client. They are not there to find jobs, but to find people for jobs.

But it's a win win situation. They find you a job and they find the company a person for the job. The job I got will give me the office experience I need. I had the admin experience, just not the office.

alant1000

Hi,

it really depends on the type of work you are after, but as a tip for any sales people / account managers out there, many companies pay slightly less salaries to those who have come from agencies to swollow the cost of using them - mine offers my role at £1250 less than if you apply directly.

I wouldnt say this is rule of thumb, but just worth pointing out that in some cases going direct to a firm looks better as it looks like you have an interest in their business rather than just being put forward by an agency, plus you may end up on a better salary.

but i have heard good stuff about office angels though.

Zarak in London are the pits, they are a sales agency, and offered me an interview at a company i am aware of with an extreme wide boy / cheesy / rip off reputation, so i politely declined. She asked the reason and i gave it to her straight... then she started getting all hostile and said i was being aggresive and "unemployed beggers cant be choosers" (even though i had just that day been made redundant). When i told her that i was after an account manager job, not a sales job, she told me "i have no chance they just dont exist these days"... so i blew her out... and got offered a £48k job a week later as an account manager with a company that was on her agencies books!! What a looser :rotfl: .

chocolatechipcookies

alant1000 wrote: »

Hi,

it really depends on the type of work you are after, but as a tip for any sales people / account managers out there, many companies pay slightly less salaries to those who have come from agencies to swollow the cost of using them - mine offers my role at £1250 less than if you apply directly.

I wouldnt say this is rule of thumb, but just worth pointing out that in some cases going direct to a firm looks better as it looks like you have an interest in their business rather than just being put forward by an agency, plus you may end up on a better salary.

but i have heard good stuff about office angels though.

Zarak in London are the pits, they are a sales agency, and offered me an interview at a company i am aware of with an extreme wide boy / cheesy / rip off reputation, so i politely declined. She asked the reason and i gave it to her straight... then she started getting all hostile and said i was being aggresive and "unemployed beggers cant be choosers" (even though i had just that day been made redundant). When i told her that i was after an account manager job, not a sales job, she told me "i have no chance they just dont exist these days"... so i blew her out... and got offered a £48k job a week later as an account manager with a company that was on her agencies books!! What a looser :rotfl: .

The job I got now was through an agency. I've mentioned it before, but the thing is, it will open doors. I always had the admin experience just not the office. I'm ok with being payed a bit less than if I would have gone straight to the company, because of the fact that it will give me some experience I need. I tried to apply to companies, but my lack of office experience held me back. I'll be there year and when this is done I will apply directly to companies. It pays enough to pay bills and debts, it's close so I can walk, plus I can get my provisional licence and I can start driving. I'm hoping that by the time I'm done I'll have my licence so I can expand where I apply. I have a master plan.

Congrats on the job though! :T

cazziebo

chocolatechipcookies wrote: »

But it's a win win situation. They find you a job and they find the company a person for the job. The job I got will give me the office experience I need. I had the admin experience, just not the office.

Yes - you're right - and consultants have to look after good candidates. But so many people expect the consultant to find them a job, and they aren't career counsellors. As Alan T says - you can't just rely on them to find you work - use agencies along with other jobhunting tools.

alant1000

chocolatechipcookies wrote: »

The job I got now was through an agency. I've mentioned it before, but the thing is, it will open doors. I always had the admin experience just not the office. I'm ok with being payed a bit less than if I would have gone straight to the company, because of the fact that it will give me some experience I need. I tried to apply to companies, but my lack of office experience held me back. I'll be there year and when this is done I will apply directly to companies. It pays enough to pay bills and debts, it's close so I can walk, plus I can get my provisional licence and I can start driving. I'm hoping that by the time I'm done I'll have my licence so I can expand where I apply. I have a master plan.

Congrats on the job though! :T

oh i definitely agree that recruitment agencies are useful, in fact some of the bigger companies wont take direct applications as the agencies do the first round of interviews to sift through the talent for them. I have used plenty in the past early in my career and wouldn't be where i am without them. You get good ones and bad ones.

You'll find that when you start working in offices your eyes will open to loads of roles you never even know existed... you'll try them out, then before you know it you have the experience with a couple of companies in specific roles, and then you'll be able to confidently approach new companies directly and will be in demand. Its taken me 10 years to get to where i did today and lots of tough interviews... and without some of the agencies i'm not sure if i could have done it as they got me in front of the big companies. However further in your career you will be able to call the shots a bit more (just wait until you start to get head hunted )

all the best
ALANT100000000000000000000000000000000