Recruitment Agents do get a bad press.
Like other candidates who have ever felt let down, disappointed, annoyed, ignored, lied to etc by an agent I have some measure of sympathy as we all need a level of help, honesty and professionalism. The current job market is swamped with candidates wanting a job or job change and it is the Recruitment Agents skills and judgment (selling ability) which we should be able to draw upon in our ‘season of need’.
But not all criticsm is fair.
Some aggrieved individuals have even got into naming and shaming and posting online the names of the Agencies they would advise you and I to steer well clear of… Not sure that helps much.
Of course some of the larger Recruitment companies deal with the very large clients and there is a tendency for them to number crunch in order to get their ‘candidate’ statistics up to please their bosses, who seemingly only care how many interviews are happening and how many placements their staff are succeeding in.
I suspect that smaller companies will be well aware of the pitfalls and will (and should) be offering their candidates a better and more tailored service, by actually responding to emails, phone calls and listening to your actual needs. And acting on them. In this scenario we are also more likely to get proper advice and feedback from any interview.
Over the last few years I have met and spoken to a number of different consultants/ agents, and yes, I’ve been sold the dream, lied to, left in limbo and ignored but I’ve also benefited from some of their wisdom and advice.
None of this is recruitment business is rocket science, all it needs is a bit of common sense, courtesy and good Communication! That is one of my biggest concerns.
It’s unfair to tarnish all Consultants in the same way as there will always be bad people in every industry (and that includes both Agents and candidates,). We, the job searcher still have to play our part too and be consistent and honest in our job searching. Bad experiences should not forgotten but learned from…
There are also some very good agencies around, who will give of their time, and take great pleasure in matching good applicants to good companies. Hopefully you and I will find the service and then the role we’ve been waiting for…
Frustrating it is at times, but we mustn’t give up!
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