Apply through agency or not?
Discussion
Hi All,
I'm in a quandary. I spoke to an agency about finding a job a few days ago. Today I was informed of a position to apply for and given a contact by colleague who knows someone who works there.
I was going to call the contact tomorrow, but the agency phoned me this evening and told me about the same position. I told the agent what had happened and he has recommended I apply through him as he thinks he can negotiate a better salary and says he has a good relationship with the manager there.
My thoughts are that the agency would be taking a cut of, I don't know 15%? So going solo would make me a more desirable candidate and possibly yield a better salary?
I haven't seen the job advertised, so I'm not exactly clear on what the potential salary is other than what the agency told me.
I'm in a quandary. I spoke to an agency about finding a job a few days ago. Today I was informed of a position to apply for and given a contact by colleague who knows someone who works there.
I was going to call the contact tomorrow, but the agency phoned me this evening and told me about the same position. I told the agent what had happened and he has recommended I apply through him as he thinks he can negotiate a better salary and says he has a good relationship with the manager there.
My thoughts are that the agency would be taking a cut of, I don't know 15%? So going solo would make me a more desirable candidate and possibly yield a better salary?
I haven't seen the job advertised, so I'm not exactly clear on what the potential salary is other than what the agency told me.
I owned and managed an agency for 23 years.
In this instance you are better off applying direct, the agency is obviously looking for its fee. Just make sure that the agency hasn’t already made an application on your behalf. They should never do so without your consent but a few still do.
In this instance you are better off applying direct, the agency is obviously looking for its fee. Just make sure that the agency hasn’t already made an application on your behalf. They should never do so without your consent but a few still do.
Adding to the chorus, go direct.
Of course the agent is going to tell you to go through him - that's his job. He'll say literally anything to get you to use his services. Once you're on the books though he will have very little interest in getting you a better salary as his commission will be impacted only a tiny amount by even a fairly significant uplift in your basic.
The very worst case is that the company's policies don't allow them to do direct recruitment and they'll insist you use the agency, but that would be unusual.
Of course the agent is going to tell you to go through him - that's his job. He'll say literally anything to get you to use his services. Once you're on the books though he will have very little interest in getting you a better salary as his commission will be impacted only a tiny amount by even a fairly significant uplift in your basic.
The very worst case is that the company's policies don't allow them to do direct recruitment and they'll insist you use the agency, but that would be unusual.
Dromedary66 said:
Now the agent knows that you have a direct in to the company as well, he will have most likely have sent your cv to them speculatively. This will allow him to claim the commission as per their introductory t&c's in the event you join.
That would be illegal under data protection laws, the agent should never send a CV without permission from the candidate. I’m not saying it never happens but it shouldn’t.Olivera said:
AlexC1981 said:
Thanks, I'll give it some thought.
Don't give it any thought - apply direct and don't answer the agent's calls.HantsRat said:
You can usually find out the employers by googling the job spec from agent websites to circumvent them and apply direct.
Where is everyone getting 15% from? We charged between 17.5 & 22.5%, some were higher but 15% would be considered cheap.
k their holes. Apply directly.
TIGA84 said:
Not if they've got an RPO or MSP you can't - you'll be going through an agency regardless or how much of a sleuth you are.
They may have an RPO or a MSP or they may prefer plain English. WTF is RPO or MSP? All these abbreviations can be a PIA IMO. 
Edited by bad company on Friday 19th October 15:37
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