Inspiring Perspectives – Finding a Job in Tough Times

I had never ever dealt with recruitment agencies before, when I first came to the UK 6 years ago. The whole idea seemed great. I saved my CV on a website and then simple only hit the “Reply” button when I saw something suitable. Needless to say, I never got a job through the agency that way, although I applied for at least 300 of them.

Over the last couple of years my strategy has changed and become more successful. I found good recruitment consultants and bad ones out there. Here are my 12 tips of how to deal with recruitment consultants – they worked for me and some of my clients, but they are not commonly accepted truths – so ensure you find your own way.

• Take responsibility for your career. It’s not your recruitment consultant’s responsibility to get you a job. Recruitment consultants are sales people. They are keen to hit their sales targets, not to hold your hand. Don’t rely on agencies and keep your expectations low.

• Register your CV on Job Sites such as Monster.co.uk… especially if you have special skills. These databases are often searched by recruitment agencies. You will thus have a chance of the job finding you rather than the other way around.

• Build a relationship with your recruitment consultant: I once found a really good consultant when I actually went from agency to agency and met them personally. I would regularly call them and drop by – and had a job in no time. The Guardian career website says “If the agency tells you to simply fill in a form and they’ll put you on the database, the chances are you are wasting your time.” So true from my experience.

• Ask your recruitment consultant how they would like to work together. Some want to be called every day to see that you are keen, others only once in a while. My experience is that it’s good to contact them fairly frequently to remind them that you’re keen.

• Save yourself time: Call the agency to enquire what the job is all about before you prepare and send your CV and a cover letter. That can literally save hours and hours of time – jobs are sometimes advertised incorrectly!

• Get feedback: Call the consultant once you have sent the CV to enquire whether they received it, whether they think you’d be suitable for the job. Whenever I have been told that I was not, I asked: “Do you have a minute to give me some feedback on why this role is not suitable?” That gave me some indications as to what roles to apply for in the future.

• A friend of mine once got a job by simply persisting. Although her recruitment consultant did not want to send her profile to the client, my friend talked him (almost coerced him) into doing it anyway. He finally gave in and my friend had a job within a week.

• Remember, recruitment consultants are sales people. They won’t find you the job that you really want to find, but the one they can best sell you for. Exceptions may apply.

• Some recruitment consultants are cheeky: once you’ve made contact with them, they’ll try to be added as your LinkedIn contact. If you allow them in, they’ll have access to all your contacts and know who is in which position in which company. Needless to say, it might not be you they are interested in anymore…

• Specifically search for agencies that work in your area of expertise. An overview or agencies in each field can be found on: http://www.agencycentral.co.uk

• In spite of all the bad press they are receiving, remember that recruitment consultants a) are only doing their job and b) are working for your potential employer. Treat them with respect and be friendly and professional. At the same time, if you bump into a bad one, consider making a complaint or simply move on.

• There is a book called “How to handle your recruitment consultant”. I only read a couple of pages on Google books. I liked what I read. Also, a book that I’ve recommended previously is “The Brilliant Job Hunter’s Manual”… it also contains a section on how to deal with recruitment consultants. Have a look at the preview in Google books yourself and decide whether it’s worth buying.

Many people overestimate the amount of jobs that are filled through recruitment agencies. It’s a better strategy to apply for jobs directly. You’ll have a much higher chance of being accepted! By the way, a lot of Job Sites such as Monster.co.uk are mainly used by agencies, not by employers themselves.

If you are looking for a job at the moment, please read on in the Free Advice for Jobseekers. If contains information on why you should customise your CV and cover letter and some more tricks and tips.