Alex Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 [RANT-O-TRON-2000-MODE] So then, Employment Agencies…. Are they; a) Staffed by people who are far too busy arranging their social lives to actually read a C.V. or their own records about a person to stop them looking like idiots when they phone you up to discuss a role or your requirements? b) Staffed by people who seem to think that arrogance is a good trait to possess…and excel at it. c) Staffed by people who think that “You should be grateful for any job we offer you”, even if it is £10k below the market rate. d) Staffed by people that make HR departments look good at their job. e) Staffed by people that could power Britain with the amount of hot air they spout as they talk out of their arses. f) All the above. I personally believe that Employment Agencies are one of the biggest drains on UK businesses and commerce. Getting paid for example £12 an hour to supply a temp who sees just £6 an hour… how on EARTH is that good value for money or doing their best for both parties... I really do despair at these agencies and the way they treat us like cattle…they are only middle men and yet they seem to think we should worship the ground they walk on. How hard is it to send the right C.V. to the right customer? Very hard if the local numb nuts are anything to go by. I think I hear a career calling me….anyone know how to set up one of these agencies…I’m happy to get paid to phone people up to tell them their sh1t and send their C.V. to completely the wrong people and then ask dumb questions like “How many years experience do you have?” … “Oh yes it is on your C.V. isn’t it” FFS EA’s. Worthless, scum sucking, amoeba’s who insist that they are gods gift to the business. OR Great people that really do care about getting the right person in the right job? Discuss. FWIW my anger is mainly directed at Hays and Reed. They are THE fcukwits involved in my own personal saga…my advice is to never ever go to the “Big” agencies. They don’t give a sh1t about anything bar their sales targets (Sales Targets!!! HTF can you have Sales Targets in getting people jobs?) Think I best there... [/RANT-O-TRON-2000-MODE] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
how_supra Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 Register your CV on totaljobs.com. Agencies small and large use it, and you get a far better response imho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbeh Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 Agreed. I was lucky I made a mistake on mine, and rang up the agency to say it was missing x,y & z etc, and they picked it up and thought, oo wait a minute you have the skills we're after for the job.. well no shit, thats why I applied for it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motley Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 What sort of position are you looking for? For the larger companies the recruiters are targetted on the amount of calls, visits they make and are so busy chasing there tail they don't have time to consider the candidate. I worked at a recruitment company for 4 years and have a good idea of the ins and outs of there workings. But don't shout cause I dont work for one now. If you can tell me what sort of position you are looking for I may be able to steer you in the right direction thou. What website you register on kind of depends in what job you are looking for. Totaljobs is good and also try Jobsite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
how_supra Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 What website you register on kind of depends in what job you are looking for. Totaljobs is good and also try Jobsite. Yeah I've got all of my past jobs from totaljobs and any interview has been from positions I have applied for from this website. Also if you want try agencycentral.com - that's a good website aswell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Posted March 23, 2005 Author Share Posted March 23, 2005 The role required is a Credit Controller or Accounts Assistant based in Norwich. (PS it't not for me...it's my g/f who's being jerked about by Hays and Reed) I'll try the two websites...but a lot of the jobs I see seem to be...made up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 FWIW my anger is mainly directed at Hays and Reed. They are THE fcukwits involved in my own personal saga…my advice is to never ever go to the “Big” agencies. It could have been worse, you could have been with Aristotle and be wondering where all your money is! http://www.computercontractor.net ('Agency Talk' on the forum is usually good for a laugh) I definately made a lot more cash when I worked in recruitment but the smarm didn't suit me - it's changed a lot though, I note your rant mentions actual people - you are lucky to be dealing with those these days and not just getting an OCR of your CV added to a database so that it can send you automated emails In my experience you'll only find a handful of recruiters who are willing to do any legwork to get you a job, the rest just play snap with open positions from contracted clients and their automatching database that doesn't know anything beyond hunting keywords. I doubt it if the majority of agents have read a whole CV at any point this week Bless them with their big tie knots and hair gel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motley Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 I may know some more helpful people. I will PM you tomorrow with who to contact. PM me with some more details of what she is looking for e.g. last place of work and salary required and how far she will travel. I dont need full details they are personal but it will help me find the right people for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 We've made it company policy not to deal with agencies. They're akin to estate agents and double glazing sales people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motley Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 To be honest as a general rule pick the top companies in your area that you would want to work for and send your CV. The worst they can do is say no, not interested. In terms of recruiting as a company it is always better to advertise. Much less cost involved and if it doesn't work out you haven't lost anything other than the advertising fee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Posted March 23, 2005 Author Share Posted March 23, 2005 PM sent We're already working on a list of companies to target...so no worries there. If I can cut out the middle man I will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 They're a necessary evil in my business as the client very rarely takes on a contractor direct. They're sharks, the lot of them. Funny thing is, in 7 years of contracting I've never once gained a contract through and agency ! Every contract has been through a personal recommendation and once we've reached an agreement I've been told to choose one. I'm direct at the moment and smiling because their cut is going straight in my pocket Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motley Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 They're a necessary evil in my business as the client very rarely takes on a contractor direct. They're sharks, the lot of them. Funny thing is, in 7 years of contracting I've never once gained a contract through and agency ! Every contract has been through a personal recommendation and once we've reached an agreement I've been told to choose one. I'm direct at the moment and smiling because their cut is going straight in my pocket GOOD FOR YOU Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martynb Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 Bunch of vultures the lot of 'em. I love it when one finally gets through the switchboard to me by lying through their teeth as I get to yell "f**k off" and slam the phone down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J4CK50N Posted March 23, 2005 Share Posted March 23, 2005 Maybe try finding some of the smaller, local agencies, who need to trade off reputation and not on quantities and shedloads of cash. You may be pleasantly suprised. Big agencies get bad reps coz they just want the proverbial bums on seats and tend to have high staff turnover. Whereas the smaller ones tend to keep their staff and therefore begin to understand things a little better etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Posted March 24, 2005 Author Share Posted March 24, 2005 Ahh yes the smaller agencies...they are better...unfortunately because it seems that every agency talks to the other and they know who is being sent where the big agencies put the boot in and talk to the companies and give them an incentive not to deal with the smaller agencies... Kill or be killed I guess but it's ruining other peoples lives... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supragal Posted March 24, 2005 Share Posted March 24, 2005 I'm with Personnel Selection and I have to say they are fantastic. I've never been paid wrongly or late, my account manager is friendly and helpful she always lets us know when she's going to be away and so on and even reminds us if we've forgotten to submit timesheets. Organises a little xmas get together every year, an award scheme, fights my corner when needed. She's a total star!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRoy Posted March 24, 2005 Share Posted March 24, 2005 I spent 6 years in IT recruitment and it paid the same as bank robbing:D I love agencies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lez Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 I have been looking for work for nearly a year now. I would love to tell you my roller coaster ride I've had in this time with recruiters, but it would take up to much room on this thread. Sufficed to say I am registered with 100+ agencies and 50+ search engines supplying me with over 40 odd potential jobs per day to look at. I had to put it all into a spreadsheet to keep a track of the jobs I've applied for. Out of the 100 agents I have only 5 who personally know me, at the moment. Others in the past, that I have spoken with, sing my praises and say they have the perfect job for me, then string me along for a week or two and then make some excuse why I wasn't selected for interview, then I don't hear from them again. Even when I ring them up to see whats going on I can hear in thier voice 'who am I talking to' The other thing with them is that if they don't place you on the first attempt then they give up and hope the computer database will hopefully make a match. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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