Agency/recruiters or direct?

hargi

hargi

hargi

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Joined
19 Jul 2006
Posts
1,847
Looking for some advice, I normally have long term jobs and have only moved when I have seen an advert in a paper normally and applied direct to the company.

It looks like it it time for me to move on. I have been looking at job sites reed and cwjobs etc and have seen jobs on there, through a little bit of research I have found the proper company and the job listing on their own site.
Im assuming its bettter to apply directly to the company then through a 3rd party?
Am I correct?
 
One advantage of going via an agent is they can give you advice on interview preparation and suchlike (i.e. what the hiring manager is looking for and things you should look to focus on).

I'm not suggesting that outweighs the disadvantages, but for example I did find it useful in my current role compared to going in blind.
 
Started work last week through an agency and a very helpful chap is great to have on the other end of the phone. Clocking in machine has been broke since i started but they quite happily logged my hours and payed me just fine really smoothly. Though this likely would have been the same occurrence if i was employed direct.

You will find a lot of employers in certain circumstances ( if you are really good ) will take you on as a perm off the agency.

I have been told some horror stories about agency however where i am currently with seems just fine and would have no problems finding work through them again.

It can also be beneficial as they will have their fingers in many pies. For example when i went for my interview with the agency it was regarding a job at a carbon fibre place despite the fact carbon fibre isn't great for my health i really needed the money needless to say the gent checked over my cv and noted i had worked in a plastics factory for years and he had 5 locations nearby that were plastics and he would get me into one the next week. Been working in one since and it's been great.

sorry for unscripted post.... tired.
 
harry5522, you've got your wires crossed I think - OP is talking about finding a job and whether to approach an employer directly or via an agent, you're talking about working via an agency

@OP - it depends, if the roles is on the website it might well be worth a shot - agents can sometimes be useful if they've got a good relationship with the hiring manager - your CV is more likely going to be seen then rather than end up in some pile/database to be filtered by HR

whatever you do only pick one method of applying for any particular job - if you apply via more than two agents or you apply directly then an agent also sends in your CV it could lead to you being excluded as the company/hiring manager won't want the fuss of some agent claiming a fee for you when they have paid one to a different agent or initially thought you were a direct hire
 
Yeah I assume that when i see a job on reed.co.uk and it says something like "Premier are acting as an employment agency" that they are acting as a recruiter and I would be employed by the proper company not by premier.
 
For me it depends on the company,

Large traditional companies (which can be great places to work) are more often than not, completely bloody awful at recruiting people. I've seen big companies relying on their internal recruitment, take almost 12 months to hire people before.

If you go with an agent, provided you're the right person for the job - you'll have someone chasing them, pushing to get the deal done, resulting in a much faster process.

(obviously this doesn't apply to all companies, but it's something I've noticed, particularly in the technology sector)
 
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