Recruitment Agency

Mrs Seabiscuit

Mrs Seabiscuit

Mrs Seabiscuit

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Wondering if someone can answer a question for me.
What is the point of a recruitment agency?
The reason I ask is I have just popped into one, who has put me forward for a job, however its the same job as I have applied for of my own accord. So what is the point? Thanks in advance GD
 
Recruiter takes a cut if they place you.

You should have notified them that you have already applied for the role, you've probably put yourself in a worse position now.
 
Some recruiters have exclusive agreements with companies whereby they will be the only agency used for vacancies. Often they have good relationships with the company and can therefore try and get candidates they put forward fast tracked for interview stage.
 
Windle said:
Some recruiters have exclusive agreements with companies whereby they will be the only agency used for vacancies. Often they have good relationships with the company and can therefore try and get candidates they put forward fast tracked for interview stage.
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This.

They can also take the legwork out of job hunting, contact you about roles etc.
 
The employer will be paying them. For contract roles 10-15% of your daily rate is not unusual, likewise a year's salary for senior permanent roles isn't unheard of.

Unless explicitly told by a prospective employer to go through an agency, always go direct. By involving the recruiter you may now have taken the option of them employing you direct and thus not paying the recruiter off the table.
 
Estate Agents and Traffic Wardens needs someone to look down on ?

The less obnoxious answer is that many employers don't have the skills or time to filter CV's or go hunting for candidates so use a recruitment agency to handle it. A good recruiter is really worthwhile - unfortunately 99% of them are not in that category.
 
peterwalkley said:
Estate Agents and Traffic Wardens needs someone to look down on ?

The less obnoxious answer is that many employers don't have the skills or time to filter CV's or go hunting for candidates so use a recruitment agency to handle it. A good recruiter is really worthwhile - unfortunately 99% of them are not in that category.
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I used a recruitment agency to find a person to replace a senior role, wanted to find the new person before telling the incumbent to leave. I wanted it done all discretely and told the recruitment company so. They advertised the job all over the internet. Didn't mention our company name but since we are the only company in the area that manufactures chemicals it was pretty obvious. They were certainly one of your 99% :rolleyes:
 
Agreed there's lots of awful recruitment agencies out there. That's because you can set up an agency from your mum's living room if you need to and all you need is a telephone and half a brain - that doesn't mean your going to make any money and have companies asking you to help them out though.

On the other hand there are some very good recruiters out there who make an honest living by finding employers people who add value to their business.

If it was a waste of money and a redundant service then it wouldn't be a £25bn+ industry.
 
mid_gen said:
Recruiter takes a cut if they place you.

You should have notified them that you have already applied for the role, you've probably put yourself in a worse position now.
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they should have notified the OP really, I'd be very very annoyed if a recruiter put my CV forward for a role without first asking me
 
Despite all the negativity here, agencies can actually be quite handy for job seekers. If they think they can sell you they will try Damn hard to because it's in their interest to do so. If you have no marketable skills or personality then don't bother though.

At least an agency can open a dialogue with the recruiter whereas all you have is your CV. They will also coach you for the interview if they are not retarded.

That said, there are plenty of sharks who will just pump you for leads ("so how have you done so far in your job search, where have you applied to so far?" means "who can I sell my good candidates to" ). They'll save their good candidates for the highest bidder and will dump their useless ones on the low price contracts. One of my clients told me today that an agency told them it "wasn't worth their while" to interview the candidates before putting them forwards. And he would have paid £2k for that!
 
dowie said:
they should have notified the OP really, I'd be very very annoyed if a recruiter put my CV forward for a role without first asking me
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But that is what the 99% will do. They'll cast your cv out to every company possible and will only let you know once they have a 'bite' from a potential employer.
 
Had nothing but bad experiences from recruitment agencies. From being paid late, to sending me for shifts that just didn't exist. I steer well clear these days.
 
Thekwango said:
But that is what the 99% will do. They'll cast your cv out to every company possible and will only let you know once they have a 'bite' from a potential employer.
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most of them don't, it would burn them too when so many of the candidates they put forward then aren't available for interview

often a recruiter is working to fill a particular vacancy
 
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