Job Seekers should use a Recruitment Agency


Posted By: Thomas Shaw, 9:22pm Tuesday 07 July 2009

There are lots of things to take into account when choosing which Recruitment Agency you should use. In response to the 10 Things We Hate About Recruitment Companies article, let's take a look at why job seekers should use a Recruitment Agency.

Looking for a job can be a time consuming and frustrating experience... Searching for jobs, telephone interviews, responding to selection criteria, in-person interviews, psychometric profiles, waiting for a call that sometimes doesn't arrive can all add up to stress, that makes it hard to focus and find that job you want!

Job seekers need to realise that in this current environment; it will take longer to find the job you want. Recruiters are currently experiencing a candidate overflow where supply of labour is greater than the demand in most industries.

Independent Recruitment Agencies or large multi-location chain

Both have their pros and cons. You're much more likely to get a more personal and better quality of service from a smaller recruitment agency than you are from a large chain, but the quality of roles handled by the smaller agency may be less high profile.

This is not always the case but large employers generally use one (or more) recruitment agencies to handle their affairs, and they tend to be larger agencies because it is believed they attract better candidates. Also margins are usually lower - cost effective.

Smaller agencies will remain in more regular contact with you, which makes you feel more like a valued customer than just another number.


Recruitment Consultants

It's important that you trust the person who represents you at the recruitment agency you choose. This is the person who could potentially help you land your dream role so you need to feel comfortable in their company. You need to be up front and honest with them and that they have your best interests at heart.

Usually a recruitment agency will have one consultant who specialises in recruiting for a certain sector, unless it's a very big organisation in which case they may have more than one, so if you don't feel happy dealing with the consultant who is assigned to you it may be better to go elsewhere.

You need to feel comfortable with the consultant you deal with. Also they are competent, understand the kind of positions that you are looking for and able to offer you those kinds of roles.

Of course a lot of people aren't fussy and register with every recruitment company they come across. The problem with this choice of tactic is that it can lead to your resume being submitted to the same company multiple times, which reflects badly on you and the agencies being employed by the recruiting client.

A client will often enlist the services of a number of recruitment agencies/consultants to find them candidates, with the successful provider winning the $$ commission. This is where problems of duplication can arise.

Whichever type of agency you choose, make sure that they have a good range of jobs available, so that you can always be sure of securing employment. Things are tough at the moment, which means that there are fewer jobs around, so don't end up picking a recruitment agency that is lazy about getting new positions in: you want one that really will work on your behalf.

A recruitment agency should also look after you and check that everything is going OK, so again, you need to feel able to communicate with them and as if you can easily establish a trusting relationship. Sometimes it can help to choose an agency that has been around for some time and so you can be sure they certainly know the ropes.