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Good recruitment agencies?

My advice for anyone wishing to get into a particular area (eg mine was software development, and it took me over ten years to get where I wanted but replace with your vocation of choice):

Don't:

1. Rely on recruitment agencies too much - do some employer research of your own.
2. Put too much emphasis on qualifications
3. Expect to walk into a high-paying position overnight.
4. Lie or bullshit on your resume.

Do

1. Turn down offers if the interview didn't feel right or you just didn't gel with the guy.
2. Learn everything you possibly can about a skill of your choice.
3. If you can't find work in your chosen skill, do it in your spare time. You then find out
if this really does float your boat or not. Just DO something - create a blog, build/fix something, whatever.
(This I found was of inestimable value in interviews as it enables you to talk lucidly and in detail about a skill you have -
or a project you once did - employers dislike vagueness and insincerity).
4. Once acquired, and not before, put any skills you acquire on your resume.
5. Keep repeating steps 1-4 for the rest of your professional life
6. Get a job.
 
"I am currently recruiting for Permanent positons Land, Air and Weapon Engineers for our Global defence client in Bristol, Ideal candidates will have experience in Aeronautical / Aerospace engineering and will be from a defense background although other experience will be required. Excellent Rates of pay and salary package"
 
Hire the Hero charity. is one route

I kid you not : when unemployed in the 90's I set up a spreadsheet of 80 Agencies in London to call , email etc for work. Agencies are good but in my experience its being their on the right day . I have had a couple of great contracts when I have popped in to agencies to let them know that I am still alive and they have taken a call that day to find someone like me. Finding a job became a full time occupation.

That said on Wednesday THIS WEEK i GOT AN EMAIL FROM AN ACCOUNTING AGENCY LISTING A WHOLE WADGE OF REQUIREMENTS FOR A CANDIDATE FOR A years WORK THAT WAS PAYING THE SAME MONEY THAT i WAS EARNING 12 YEARS AGO !
I went for an interview years ago for Dannone /'Amoy Sauces , this yank spent 45 minutes telling me how making sauces was like printing money then he tried to knock me down on the Salary he advertised with the agency ! It seems the bigger the company the less they want to pay and think you should be grateful to them.

Best thing is to take your time look at the work environment , even chat to the receptionist if you can because they are a great indicator of the ethics and culture of the business.

I put my hands up , i never ever ever said that typing was one of my skills.
 
As mentioned in previous posts it depends on which sector you are looking at, Here are a couple of agencies which someone may find helpful:

http://www.nato.int/structur/recruit/nato-bodies.html
http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/recruit-wide.htm
Bauhaus

Bluefire Consulting
Capital Outsourcing Group
Census Contracting
Darwin Recruitment
Eures
Roevin Engineering
Spectra Group
Spring Recruitment
Sprite Recruitment
Tangent International
Technical Resources
united nations system employment opportunities
 
I saw this on Linked-In - and I have to say it rang bells, even if written for an American market by a go-getting American HR Jilly:
:

Recruiting is the most broken process we have in the business world, but it is not the only process that needs a drastic overhaul. Most corporate and institutional practices were built on an Industrial Revolution frame and are ready for the dustbin, from performance management and appraisal to the carrot-and-stick model that drives motivation and incentive programs nearly everywhere.

All of it is broken. That's why we started our company, Human Workplace - to fix these broken systems, from the inside out in collaboration with employers, and from the outside in, from the job-seeker's side of the equation.

As a job-seeker, you can't rely on the traditional recruiting system. It will fail you every time. I mentioned that there are two reasons smart people don't get hired as easily as they should. The broken recruiting system is just one of those reasons.

The other reason is that when you show up for a job interview, bright-eyed and full of vigor and the self-assurance that your formerly upwardly mobile career conferred on you, not everyone will be happy to see you. Fear is rampant in organizational life. Not every hiring manager wants to hire someone who could perform the job asleep and blindfolded.

You can be as accommodating as you like, and it won't help you become more acceptable to people who are afraid of your very confidence and life force.

You might be excited to step in and start making things happen at your new job.

That might be very satisfying for you, even if you've done the same thing many times before. Each situation is different and full of learning.

That makes sense for you - but try telling a hiring manager that s/he should hire you, a candidate who has already surmounted the obstacles the hiring manager faces.

A confident manager will hire the best candidate. A fearful manager will hire the most compliant one, the person who begs for the job and is happy to crawl over more and more piles of broken glass to get it.

We can solve the first problem -- the Broken Recruiting Process problem - without much trouble.

As for the second -- the Fearful Manager Problem -- that's where you have to trust your gut. If your Spidey Sense tells you that you're too much for a hiring manager to handle, don't stick around. Don't try to be less than what you are. It probably won't work, and if it does work, you'll never be happy in the job. Wish everyone in the organization well, and get out of Dodge.
 
It all depends upon which industry you specialise in, there is some crossover but usually they are pretty specific. I use the mobs on Railway people as that is my core employment but we do see occaisional adverts for environmental, marketing, IT etc as they are needed in the industry. Often they will come from specialist agencies or consultancies.
The best are the ones who pay on time, all of your money and dont fob you off with jobs in the pipeline when you really need work.
Also ones that dont hold a grudge if you leave for a better job are good. The ones that will let you settle in and get the contract sorted without pestering you to justify their jobs.
I have had both contract and perm from some agencies and with permanent they usually have a 6 month retention bonus for the agency. After that you find they will either leave you alone or head hunt you for another juicy fee.
 
I have found an interesting game recently. Having grown increasingly threaders with some of the antics and timewasting I have been subjected to, I have found raising the issue with the client can have some interesting results.

A poor recruiter reflects badly on the client and it seems some companies do really care about their reputation.

Glassdoor.com is also an interesting website, its a shame there isnt a checkatrade.com website for these outfits.
 
Recruitment agencies work well for good applicants that can be placed. Sadly Mr/Ms/Mrs Punter who is outstandingly average/mediocre will probably not get a job via an agency, but having worked in recruitment for over 30 years (when dinosaurs roamed the earth!) I have proved that wrong as well.

So I would pose the question: If you are very average and incapable of getting a job off your own bat why expect an agency to break their back for you? Just asking!
 
I don't expect them to, I didn't contact them and ask them too. You ring me and and say you are going to do something I expect you to do it. Don't promise what you can't deliver.
So when someone rings you up, talks at length about your CV, achievements etc etc.
Then invites you to meet, either at their office or some random Costa, that is quite a bit of effort from both parties.
But sadly it is all to often a waste of my time as you then hear nothing. I have had to learn to be VERY selective.
I like your "average" comment, nice try. However these are not £30k jobs, this is senior stuff i.e. £80k+.

I am extremely good at what I do and well compensated for it. I am also professional and work to and expect high standards. Is this too much to expect from their industry? Especially if you are trying to lure me to your client.
This also includes them emailing me, unsolicited, possible candidates for vacancies, that I don't have; who would be unsuitable in any case. They seem to share their DNA with used car salesmen and estate agents; so you would be wise to treat them in the same way.

Out of the probably hundreds of recruiters I have dealt with there are 4 I would actually recommend.

Its probably also worth noting that even in house recruiting teams can be pretty shoddy.
i.e. Amazon.
 
I have responded to an agency that were looking for a shift manager. They called me and we had a long telephone interview. At the end of which the recruiter informed me that I appeared to be an ideal candidate and that he would progress my CV. He then told me the name of the company that he was recruiting for. It is a very large well known UK business. A week went by without any news so I gave him a call and he said that the HR manager was new so things were a bit slow.
I thought this unusual but as he had named the company I thought it must be OK. Then I bumped into an old friend who works a the company so did a bit of subtle digging. It turns out that they are not currently recruiting and that the HR manager has been there for a few months. Why would a recruitment company be trawling for candidates for a position that apparently does not exist ?.
@pimpernel tagged you as you have worked in recruitment.
 
I have responded to an agency that were looking for a shift manager. They called me and we had a long telephone interview. At the end of which the recruiter informed me that I appeared to be an ideal candidate and that he would progress my CV. He then told me the name of the company that he was recruiting for. It is a very large well known UK business. A week went by without any news so I gave him a call and he said that the HR manager was new so things were a bit slow.
I thought this unusual but as he had named the company I thought it must be OK. Then I bumped into an old friend who works a the company so did a bit of subtle digging. It turns out that they are not currently recruiting and that the HR manager has been there for a few months. Why would a recruitment company be trawling for candidates for a position that apparently does not exist ?.
@pimpernel tagged you as you have worked in recruitment.

1. It increases their database of candidates
2. It allows the 'Recruiter' to look busy
3. It markets the agency as having loads of positions
 
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