Dealing with recruitment agents

[mattc]

Ok, it's a bit late for a long post, so:

Any tips?

The whole relationship between applicant->agent->employer seems fraught with misunderstanding and conflicting interests. I find salary negotiations embarrassing/stressful enough without a 3rd party intervening.

I may have some awkward phone calls to make in the morning.

Cheers,
Matty

[rae]

Recruitment agents are scumbags who only have an interest in getting you into a job so that they can collect their commission.   They don't care about you, or the job, in the slightest.

Having said that, if you want pointers as to what the company wants, they will "groom" you well.   

Just go into the interview/call and do your best.    Determine what an acceptable salary is and ask for it.   More importantly, understand what the progression model is, and whether they are telling the truth.   The consultant will tell you what you want to hear, try and get hold of an existing employee.

[JJ]

Are you interviewing or being interviewed?

This advice is based on my experience in my particular little corner of the IT world.  It may well beprobably is utter b***ox in any other part of the employment espectrum.

Don't negotiate.  It sets you on a bad track later.

If you're the hirer, decide in advance of making an offer, what you think that person is worth to you, taking into ccount their qualifications and experience, the market, and what any other staff make.  Make the offer a take-it-or-leave-it.

If you're the hiree, decide in advance what you are willing to take the job for.  Be realistic, then if they offer you more than that, accept it.  If less, turn it down.  Be suspicious of any employer who offers much more than the market rate.  Gift horses sometimes are nags.

If you're the hirer, use the agency to chase for a response, but keep them out of the discussion.
If you're the hiree, try to deal directly with the employer.

JJ

[Analog Kid]

It's a simple relationship once you understand it.

Think of the job market as a Furniture Superstore.

The Recruitment Agent / Consultant is a Furniture Salesperson.

The (Potential) Employer is someone that has walked in off the street with a limited budget looking for a bargain item of furniture. They don't want to look at everything however, 'cos they (cough) "are too busy"

You are a sofa that has already been sat upon by an unknown number of people.

Hope this clears a few popular misconceptions.

[TheLurker]

The Recruitment Agent / Consultant is a Furniture SalespersonSlime Mould.

You had them slightly too far up the food chain.

[mattc]

You are a sofa that has already been sat upon by an unknown number of people.

Watch your mouth!

[vorsprung]

Let's see I have had 7 jobs since the 80s in the IT business.

Despite registering/answering hundreds of ads/showing an interest to many many recruitment agencies only 1 of those positions was via an agency

Last time I was unemployed I gave up using the agencies as they are utterly hopeless.  The best place for me finding jobs has been in adverts in local papers or their online equivalent.   Employers see agencies as a tax on their hires.  Potentials employees see them as a barrier to meeting someone relevant that can give them a job.

Hopefully the current downturn will see a lot of these companies scaling back / shutting down.  They really are a waste of time.

[ChrisO]

+1

As far as I can see they exist solely to fill the gaps in serviced offices.

Did you know that 32% of all contacts on Linked In are Recruitment Agents.*

As an employer I can't think that I have ever filled a job with anyone from a recruitment agency, and as a job-seeker I have found them utterly useless.

The only ones I've ever found worthwhile in either direction have been Executive Search agencies, who actually have an interest in matching the right candidate with the right job and do a good job of briefing you beforehand. They also spend a lot of time with you to work out what your skills are and where they can try to place you. My most daunting interview experiences have been with them - employers are easy by comparison.


*Just like 48% of all statistics are made up

[Analog Kid]

The Recruitment Agent / Consultant is a Furniture SalespersonSlime Mould.

You had them slightly too far up the food chain.

Sorry, my mistake

You are a sofa that has already been sat upon by an unknown number of people.

Watch your mouth!

Sorry ! Would  "chair - never raced or hunted" have been better?

[Thor]

It's a simple relationship once you understand it.

Think of the job market as a Furniture Superstore.

The Recruitment Agent / Consultant is a Furniture Salesperson.

The (Potential) Employer is someone that has walked in off the street with a limited budget looking for a bargain item of furniture. They don't want to look at everything however, 'cos they (cough) "are too busy"

You are a sofa that has already been sat upon by an unknown number of people.

Hope this clears a few popular misconceptions.

This analogy is slightly flawed because

the Furniture Salesperson may never have seen and has certainly not sat upon the item of furniture in which the customer may be interested.  He has no idea - and does not know how to determine - whether the sofa is covered with finest Italian leather, or with polyester.  For all the Salesperson knows, it is full of holes.

His only connection with the furniture item is that he is in possession of a piece of paper which describes it.  He can't vouch for the accuracy of the description - in fact he doesn't understand most of it.  His only sales tactic is to keep sending such pieces of paper to the customer, until one of them piques the customer's interest sufficiently that he will agree to try sitting on the described furniture item, to see if it is comfortable.  However the customer will be required to provide premises in which this trial may occur - for the Furniture Superstore is only conceptual - it does not really exist.

[cometworm]

I find the best way to deal with recruitment agents is to hang up, with or without saying "Not interested, goodbye" or even "Stop calling me you moron."

Every job I got that was worth having I got by knowing people who needed people, or knew people who needed people. Every job I got that I subsequently regretted taking I got from a recruitment agent.

[mattc]

Thanks for the replies - I knew it would degenerate into a rant!

[I've just had a phone call during which I learnt that holiday is classified as a "benefit". Hmmm ... ]

Will try to report back with progress.

[Gruff]

I suspect the usefulness of agencies varies with the sector in which you work.

By choice, I'm an engineering contractor. For many years now, all of the work I've accepted has come via recruitment agenices. I don't remember the last time I was attracted by a role on offer directly from an employer.

In my "field", these agencies are commonly regarded as an outsourced HR dept. When a new contract comes in, or a project has fallen behind and needs extra resources to push it along, management call the recruitment agent and arrange to have x number of men start on a convenient date. If they're prepared to pay the right rate, they get the men. When the requirement for some or all of those men passes, they're sent packing.

This method is common place and accepted. It works very well for me, and so I deal with agencies all through the year.

The actual agenices handling the administration/hiring are of very mixed standard. Most are competant enough, a minority are very switched on and a pleasure to work with, a fair few are morons/arseholes/arrogant wankers. It's simple to avoid the bad 'uns though, you just don't work for them.

[TheLurker]

This gem just landed in my inbox.

"My Client is currently recruiting extensively <drivel excised>. My client is offering salaries ranging from £25,000 to £50,000 (+ extensive benefits) depending on experience, technical knowledge and gravitas.

Hmmm wonder if I can get Microsoft certification for that?

[clarion]

Hell, that's the opportunity for me!  I've had a lot of gravity of late....