Recruitment agencies

Like anybody/everybody else that’s unemployed and looking for work, I’m finding that there is a whole load of difference between the quality of the best and the worst recruitment agencies. Finding jobs via email alerts or simply searching the web sites invariably throws up an opportunity to apply online using a web link or an email link. So that’s what you have to do. It’s the first of the hoops a job seeker has to jump through. But, and it’s a big BUT, all this does is put your interest into somebody’s electronic In Tray. And if they are busy, that’s where it stays. Yes, you will probably get an automated receipt for your application, but, it will state that if you haven’t here by a specified date then you are to assume your application has been unsuccessful.

But, if they can be bothered then the application may be quickly browsed and assessed. If like me you don’t possess a degree (no matter how obscure the subject) then there’s a good chance your application will go straight into the recycle bin. Basically they will be looking for essential criteria, and if lady luck is smiling on you then you may find yourself on the receiving end of a phone call for “further information” which may result in them submitting your CV to the recruiting employer.

And then they will repeat the whole exercise to arrive a t a decision as to whether or not they will test and/or interview you. Then, you have an opportunity to present yourself and respond to their questioning, which is sometimes quite easy, but, sometimes it isn’t. I find that gut instinct is usually a reliable guide and if you think it went badly then there’s a good probability that it did. However, if you think it went well you stand a good chance of finding out that their perception of the event isn’t in line with yours. Then there’s the recurring situation that I am currently finding where you think you did well, they think you did well, but, somebody else did better.

Of course, all of the above is written on the basis that you actually get feedback of the interview event via the agency. Like everything else in life, some recruitment agencies are better than others, and it’s not until you find that you can’t get any feedback on your performance that you find out which are the good ones and which are the also rans. I’m starting to compile quite a list now and the good can be counted on the fingers of one hand, then not too bad take all your fingers ( but not your toes) and the really terrible…. like flies on a dead carcass, too many for comfort.