How To Get The Job You Really
Really Want - Where To Find Jobs - Recruitment Agencies
What is a Recruitment Agency? Funnily enough, this
is a very good question. Recruitment Consultants, en masse, seem to
believe that the job hunting public understand exactly what they
do. Unfortunately untrue! Unless you are a temporary worker, and
therefore in touch with your agent regularly (hopefully), you
probably do not have much cause to be in contact with the
aforementioned Recruitment Agencies.
Recruitment Consultants have been called many things, ranging from
the good to the downright ugly. In some cases the "bad" reputation
(ie; just out to make a quick buck and who gives a damn about the
applicant, or possibly even the client come to think of it!) is
warranted. However, there was a big shake out in the last
recession, and for a long while most agencies
adopted a
professional attitude and did genuinely seem to want to do what
is best for the applicant. However, there has been some slippage
in the last couple of years (in my humble opinion).
As an initial
check on an agents reliability, it is worth finding out if they are
members of REC. That is the Recruitment and Employment
Confederation –
www.rec.uk.com They are the nearest thing to an
industry watch dog now that recruitment has been deregulated (you no
longer need a licence to practice). All members have a code of
conduct which they have agreed to abide by.
This code will ensure the professional and
confidential service that you have a right to expect!
Under the code the agency will undertake
to do the following;-
-
Offer a personal
interview with you wherever possible
-
Make any interview
arrangements
-
Keep you informed of
progress on any job applications
-
Ensure your information
is kept confidential
-
Only present you to
positions for which you are both qualified and WANT to be put
forward to. It is extremely unprofessional for an agency to put
your CV to a client without your permission, no matter what the
situation - DO NOT PUT UP WITH IT
-
Undertake to not give you
any information that might be misleading
There are also undertakings given to the clients from
the agencies, such as no poaching agreements, and advertising
guidelines.
You can also contact the REC at the
following address.
15 Wellbeck Street
London
W1G 9XT
0207 009 2100
If you have any doubts whatsoever, contact REC,
they are very helpful. They are also a good starting point if you
do not know which agencies serve your market area. They will only
be too pleased to give you a list of relevant member companies that
may be able to help.
Another good
source of agencies is the trade press that I mentioned earlier.
Most of the larger agencies representing any market area will be
present in the trade press.
O.K., back to the original question, what is a
Recruitment Agency? Quite simply, a Recruitment Agency has a client
base from which they get job vacancies by marketing their services.
They find applicants (by advertising, networking, referral and from
their existing database), send them to the relevant client
vacancies, arrange interviews and then finally (hopefully) arrange
for you to start your new job! Simple isn't it? Or is it?
Well, after many years in the business, I can tell
you that the recruitment process is very simple, but the actual
doing is not so easy. So, how do you go about deciding which
agencies are best suited to helping you meet your job search goals?
Next Page -
Choosing An
Agency
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