Recruitment Agencies
Author
Discussion

Shambler

Original Poster:

1,220 posts

173 months

Tuesday 23rd April 2013
quotequote all
Is it normal for recruitment agencies to contact you for a job and then promise to get back to you by the end of the day and then hear nothing. This is happening all the time for me. When contacted they say they I will hear the next day, and then the next day and so on. Do these people know what its like to be unemployed and wait around all day for a phone call only to receive an email at 5pm stating that a job is "in the bag" or "your looking very good". I don't know if this is the norm but it is very unfair and pretty stressful.

sunoco69

5,274 posts

194 months

Tuesday 23rd April 2013
quotequote all
Yep. Sadly these agents lack a certain amount of common good manners and will stall, lie and fob you off whilst promising you the world.

In a word they are, how can i put this nicely? Oh hang, I cant, they are "stE"!

rich_mkii_rs2000

40 posts

211 months

Tuesday 23rd April 2013
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Very much the norm, going through a similar process myself

Streetrod

6,483 posts

235 months

Tuesday 23rd April 2013
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Sorry guys but this is all too common, but the agents excuse will be that that are inundated with applicants and it is almost impossible to personally keep in contact with everyone. To a certain extent this is true.

Also be aware that employers are now looking for almost exact fits to their job descriptions because they feel the market is playing in their favour.

Therefore make sure you tailor your CV as closely to the role you are applying for as possible, in other words don’t give them an excuse to say no. Yes this is a lot of work but the current market demands that you do

sunoco69

5,274 posts

194 months

Tuesday 23rd April 2013
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I place these agents right up there with estate agents. Come the revolution there is a wall that will be like a sieve brother!

MagicalTrevor

6,481 posts

258 months

Tuesday 23rd April 2013
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I'm afraid you have to take what they say with a pinch of salt

MitchT

17,114 posts

238 months

Tuesday 23rd April 2013
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sunoco69 said:
I place these agents right up there with estate agents. Come the revolution there is a wall that will be like a sieve brother!
F'king love it biggrin

Was going to say something similar. The OH spent two years dealing with recruiters, the place where I work has used recruiters to get staff... All I can say is that they're just like estate agents. They don't give a st about people, only their money, and will do as little work as they possibly can to get it.

sunoco69

5,274 posts

194 months

Tuesday 23rd April 2013
quotequote all
MitchT said:
F'king love it biggrin

Was going to say something similar. The OH spent two years dealing with recruiters, the place where I work has used recruiters to get staff... All I can say is that they're just like estate agents. They don't give a st about people, only their money, and will do as little work as they possibly can to get it.
They will also say anything they think you want to hear just to keep you dangling and then when it goes pete tong they will blame the client. Makes you wonder what they tell the client about you!

Shambler

Original Poster:

1,220 posts

173 months

Tuesday 23rd April 2013
quotequote all
Well funnily enough I was promised I would definitely find out about a position today that I was originally told I would find out on Friday about. Guess what? No phone call and no email. I have been informed of the company that I am being recruited for is it worth me phoning them direct?

MagicalTrevor

6,481 posts

258 months

Tuesday 23rd April 2013
quotequote all
I wouldn't call them personally, there may be genuine reasons for the delay and calling them may alienate you.

Shambler

Original Poster:

1,220 posts

173 months

Tuesday 23rd April 2013
quotequote all
MagicalTrevor said:
I wouldn't call them personally, there may be genuine reasons for the delay and calling them may alienate you.
Thanks appreciate that.

extraT

1,876 posts

179 months

Tuesday 23rd April 2013
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You need to remember the RA is in the middle, while under pressure to hit targets. When they say they will call you by the end of the day, they probably have every intention to do so, but for whatever reason cannot get hold of their contact.

Of course if it happens every day for a week.....

dcb

6,064 posts

294 months

Tuesday 23rd April 2013
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sunoco69 said:
I place these agents right up there with estate agents. Come the revolution there is a wall that will be like a sieve brother!
Oh I dunno.

Estate agents, used car salesmen and recruitment agencies are all
middle men, matching up buyers and sellers.

Personally, I avoid all of them at all costs.

Some, but not all of them, make the Mafia look ethical and the
Taliban a reasonable bunch of chaps.





Vince70

1,944 posts

223 months

Tuesday 23rd April 2013
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Yes it seems very much the norm, another favorite stunt is to offer a non exsistant job offer just to keep you on the books which will last for years and will pay good money but it will always be next week.

In reality it means you may get one Saturday night working in some stinking factory in about 3 years time on minimum wage as no one else will take the job.

Lying is the only criteria you need to work for a recruitment agency.

Pothole

34,367 posts

311 months

Tuesday 23rd April 2013
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Streetrod said:
Sorry guys but this is all too common, but the agents excuse will be that that are inundated with applicants and it is almost impossible to personally keep in contact with everyone. To a certain extent this is true.
That is NOT in any way an excuse for promising to contact people and then not bothering. We would all prefer honesty.

bigunit00

890 posts

176 months

Tuesday 23rd April 2013
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On the whole they are very sh&t. My current agent is better but only as he has been in the game for ages and now runs his own RA so he has incentive to be better. Most of the high volume agencies in banking define rubbish

Shay HTFC

3,588 posts

218 months

Tuesday 23rd April 2013
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I always have recruitment agents down as those bellends you see in swanky London nightclubs trying to look cool. All image and illusion, no content.

sunoco69

5,274 posts

194 months

Tuesday 23rd April 2013
quotequote all
extraT said:
You need to remember the RA is in the middle, while under pressure to hit targets. When they say they will call you by the end of the day, they probably have every intention to do so, but for whatever reason cannot get hold of their contact.

Of course if it happens every day for a week.....
So a simple, good mannered call to the individual to apologies that you cant get the contact and will try again tomorrow. This is not hard, it is called passage of information and communication. Or in plain English it is called "giving a fk about people"!


Sorry, I should of added I fecking hate RA's with a passion you can barely imagine.

Edited by sunoco69 on Tuesday 23 April 20:29

Countdown

49,273 posts

225 months

Tuesday 23rd April 2013
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Just drop them an email which vaguely hints/suggests you are applying for another post.

They will phone you quicker than A quick thing, asking where you're going / what the job is / who your contact is / who your current boss is / how they will be recruiting to fill your vacancy.

Bunch of sharks.

Gargamel

16,349 posts

290 months

Wednesday 24th April 2013
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Been at least a month since we had one of these.

Sometimes I feel I should prepare a standard response and leave it as a wiki.

At the end of the day for all recruiters, they are paid by the Client, you as the candidate are getting an entirely free service. Recruitment is a tough business, it is ruthlessly competitive an low barriers to entry mean lots of people (who failed in other agencies) enter the market on their own and indulge in all kinds of poor and unprofessional behaviour and there is nothing you can do to change that. The exist as an expression of the free market economy.

If you don’t like them, don’t use them.

Why not research the companies you are interested in, contact them directly, or write to the MD/CEO yourself.

Whilst I agree that not all Recruiters demonstrate the “ my word is my bond “ principles, they HAVE to prioritise the activities which mostly closely lead to making a fee. In an ideal world they would call every candidate with feedback good or bad, but sometimes they are still waiting, and sometimes they suddenly have another position that needs to be worked on. It is a very demanding role, but not intellectually challenging.

Anyone who says there is no added value in well run, professional and successful recruitment process is talking out of their hat, and this thread with the various moans proves it !