Recruitment Agency...

[KevinJB88]

Hi all,

Basically I have just graduated from uni with a BSc in Computing and now looking to get into IT, however in my area, there is not much in the way of IT graduate roles, so I was delighted when I had two phone calls from "Huntress", a sort of agency. However I now have to go to Maidstone, which is a hour travel, to "sign up". I have some questions as this is all new to me!

1. If I secured a job via these, will I lose out on pay?
2. Is it worth using these agencies, or just do it off your own back?

The website for them is: http://www.huntress.co.uk/

But it didnt give much away, anyway I hope someone can give me some useful information, as I am clueless about this next stage of my life and work.

Thank you,

Kevin

[Sanj[UK]]

I've never had to go anywhere to meet job agencies. All my stuff is done via e-mail.

Do what I did..stick your c.v on www.jobsite.co.uk

[Brydo666]

I recently took over recruitment for my company, job agencies are wankers.

Just salesmen - it's all about the commission.

I'd search hard and good on job websites, some even allow you to filter out agencies and such now which is good. Bad side is that many companies use them - even we do.

We have a couple of jobs in our place I could have sent you details over, but we're a good few hundred miles away.

[Simate]

over the 14 months I was unemployed I had about 12 or so agencies phone me up with the promise of work, I went out of my way to go to them to register with them and all for nothing, some were a good hour away and cost me petrol money that I couldn't afford but I thought it was worth a go, you never know, wrong. I hate agencies with a fucking passion now. I don't understand what they had to gain from calling me and getting me to sign up with them when they really did have fuck all for me in the end.

One example for a driving job was, we have a job you might be interested in, we just got a big new contract, come sign up with us and you should start within a week or so. Time went on and on and nothing came of it other than bullshit like, "they only let us have a few places in the end which were filled before you signed up with us."

Another one rang me with a job as a car salesman for a VW dealership, I was interested, I asked a few questions like how many units do they sell on average per month and he didn't know, I asked if he could find out and get back to me, he said he would, he didn't and I heard nothing more about it.

I did get 1 interview for a job with an insurance company where you phone customers to tell them how much they were going to get for their written off vehicle then take the shit when they went off on one lol. I didn't get the job though, the feedback to the agency was I was too nice and they didn't think I would be able to handle customers going off on one at me down the phone. Oh how wrong they were, I was being nice because it was a fucking interview! lol. That one wasn't the agencies fault.

Most of the agencies that contacted me were in the first 6 months or so that I was unemployed after having put my cv on Monster.co.uk and 3 or 4 other sites, after being lied to by all but one of them, every time an agency would call I would say, "are you an agency?" because oddly they never said they were unless I asked, very odd. Yes they'd say their company name but that meant nothing unless of course I'd heard of them before. Anyway, once it was clear they were an agency I have said something along the lines of this to the last 3 or 4, "aaah right, I see, a job you say, the thing is, I am sick to death of agencies promising me the earth, then sign up and hear nothing more from them". They would say, "oh but we are different", to which I would reply "hmm, most of them have said the same (which is true) thing before to me, each one gets shitter than the last, I think you can fuck off to be honest and mug someone else off don't you". Of course the person on the phone would be speechless now, "off you go then, fuuuuck off and don't waste my time again, thanks for thinking of me though". I only did this because I got annoyed as soon as I knew it was an agency and were most likely talking shit hence my little speech lol.

Yeah they could have been genuine but as the first 7 or so were full of shit I came to the conclusion that all agencies are lying cunts.

So, after all that, I'd consider not wasting your time, however, they could well be genuine, it's so hard to tell. Only you can decide what to do, I just thought I'd share my experiences with agency scum.

[flumperino]

Simate, I sense some equivocation with your opinion of agencies....could you just reconfirm your your thoughts?

[Simate]

Simate, I sense some equivocation with your opinion of agencies....could you just reconfirm your your thoughts?

Sure, employment agencies are lying cunts.

[big3card]

Sure, employment agencies are lying cunts.

ill double that ..... been unemployed for 4 moths of the building ...signed up with 3 agencies all saying we get you work asap ....so you sign up to find that even a month down the road you dont even recieve a letter saying you signed up or fuck all........ funny how the unemployed who want work find the time to sign up ... but the bastard head nodders who sit behind the desks full of eastern promise dont even have the time to send a letter of thanks for signing with them shows how hard these ppl work

[4me2]

Don't be put off by these mate as Huntress are one of the better Agencies.

They are a very professional and they will put put you through a basic PC skills test when you go into register.

Some nice bits of crumpet there too.

1. You won't lose money as in 9 out of 10 cases you won't be working for the agency. They just take a one off finder fee from employer if they decide to give you a job.

2. In the vast majority of cases you need agencies as it's the only way to get to find out who is actually offering the job.

I have been registered with many agencies for a few years now and swear by http://www.jobsinkent.com/

upload your your CV and hit the apply button to anything that takes your interest.

Give it 24 hours then call the agency to engage in conversation with them.

[4me2]

over the 14 months I was unemployed I had about 12 or so agencies phone me up with the promise of work, I went out of my way to go to them to register with them and all for nothing, some were a good hour away and cost me petrol money that I couldn't afford but I thought it was worth a go, you never know, wrong. I hate agencies with a fucking passion now. I don't understand what they had to gain from calling me and getting me to sign up with them when they really did have fuck all for me in the end.

One example for a driving job was, we have a job you might be interested in, we just got a big new contract, come sign up with us and you should start within a week or so. Time went on and on and nothing came of it other than bullshit like, "they only let us have a few places in the end which were filled before you signed up with us."

Another one rang me with a job as a car salesman for a VW dealership, I was interested, I asked a few questions like how many units do they sell on average per month and he didn't know, I asked if he could find out and get back to me, he said he would, he didn't and I heard nothing more about it.

I did get 1 interview for a job with an insurance company where you phone customers to tell them how much they were going to get for their written off vehicle then take the shit when they went off on one lol. I didn't get the job though, the feedback to the agency was I was too nice and they didn't think I would be able to handle customers going off on one at me down the phone. Oh how wrong they were, I was being nice because it was a fucking interview! lol. That one wasn't the agencies fault.

Most of the agencies that contacted me were in the first 6 months or so that I was unemployed after having put my cv on Monster.co.uk and 3 or 4 other sites, after being lied to by all but one of them, every time an agency would call I would say, "are you an agency?" because oddly they never said they were unless I asked, very odd. Yes they'd say their company name but that meant nothing unless of course I'd heard of them before. Anyway, once it was clear they were an agency I have said something along the lines of this to the last 3 or 4, "aaah right, I see, a job you say, the thing is, I am sick to death of agencies promising me the earth, then sign up and hear nothing more from them". They would say, "oh but we are different", to which I would reply "hmm, most of them have said the same (which is true) thing before to me, each one gets shitter than the last, I think you can fuck off to be honest and mug someone else off don't you". Of course the person on the phone would be speechless now, "off you go then, fuuuuck off and don't waste my time again, thanks for thinking of me though". I only did this because I got annoyed as soon as I knew it was an agency and were most likely talking shit hence my little speech lol.

Yeah they could have been genuine but as the first 7 or so were full of shit I came to the conclusion that all agencies are lying cunts.

So, after all that, I'd consider not wasting your time, however, they could well be genuine, it's so hard to tell. Only you can decide what to do, I just thought I'd share my experiences with agency scum.

After reading this post I can only say it really is no wonder you are unemployed mate.

The idea with registering at agencies isn't for you to sit on your arse and expect them to phone you with offers of employment.

You register by applying for a job that they have advertised. After 24 hours if you have heard nothing you call them for a follow up call and ask more details of the job.

When you go into to register blind them with charm and engage in conversation that isn't work related even use humour etc. This all gets you remembered and vastly increases your chances of them putting you forward for job interviews.

I applied for several positions at one company before I got a job and their HR dept knew my CV inside out.

You must be proactive in all aspects even more so in this current climate where competetion is vast. You must stand out from the rest if you are to have a fighting chance of getting to interview. Applying for a job and wondering why two weeks down the road you haven't heard fuckall back is down to your own laziness.

[KevinJB88]

Don't be put off by these mate as Huntress are one of the better Agencies.

They are a very professional and they will put put you through a basic PC skills test when you go into register.

Some nice bits of crumpet there too.

1. You won't lose money as in 9 out of 10 cases you won't be working for the agency. They just take a one off finder fee from employer if they decide to give you a job.

2. In the vast majority of cases you need agencies as it's the only way to get to find out who is actually offering the job.

I have been registered with many agencies for a few years now and swear by http://www.jobsinkent.com/

upload your your CV and hit the apply button to anything that takes your interest.

Give it 24 hours then call the agency to engage in conversation with them.

Thank you, this is the most helpful post I have ever had on DF.

Well they have got me a interview on Wednesday, so I guess I will travel upto them on Monday and see what they actually say.

Thank you!

Kevin

[Ganty]

After reading this post I can only say it really is no wonder you are unemployed mate.

The idea with registering at agencies isn't for you to sit on your arse and expect them to phone you with offers of employment.

You register by applying for a job that they have advertised. After 24 hours if you have heard nothing you call them for a follow up call and ask more details of the job.

When you go into to register blind them with charm and engage in conversation that isn't work related even use humour etc. This all gets you remembered and vastly increases your chances of them putting you forward for job interviews.

I applied for several positions at one company before I got a job and their HR dept knew my CV inside out.

You must be proactive in all aspects even more so in this current climate where competetion is vast. You must stand out from the rest if you are to have a fighting chance of getting to interview. Applying for a job and wondering why two weeks down the road you haven't heard fuckall back is down to your own laziness.

Very sound advice.

Jobs wont come looking for you. Also, OP, be prepared to take something you think may be "below" you - you need to start somewhere, and £5 an hour is better than £0 an hour.

[KevinJB88]

Also, I use jobsinkent daily, my friend graduated the same time as me with the same results, and is now working with BBC online. So I know its definately worth it! Roll on Monday (Sign Up) and Wednesday for the Interview, not sure what the job entails tho lol....then agian they are intrested for me to go for two jobs after reading my emails, he he!

[BBK]

Nice to see SOME perspective here. I've spoken to more than a couple of IT agencies over the past 6 months, the last two both called me after finding my CV on jobsite, both put my CV forward for the role, in both cases I got interviews, and in both cases offered the role. I start tomorrow.

CONVERSELY I've had more than a few phone up, say my CV looks good, put me forward for a role, never to hear anything again.

The difference? The role I was applying for. The skills I have, having been wholly deskilled by my previous employer, or rather, forced into IT management rather than software development. Once I accepted that with my skills I had to stick with management I got offered the first two roles I applied for.

Your problem is you're fresh. Now, its been many, many years since I've had to go and meet an agency, and yes, they are mainly just salesmen, but its a step you have to take. A friend of mine applied for something like 70 jobs when leaving Uni. She eventually ended up with one after many months, and is still at that company, 16 years later, and trust me, in the IT world, they don't get much bigger or bluer (hint right there) than these guys. Persevere, and don't be too dispirited if you don't get the first few jobs you apply for. Its a saturated market, and experience counts for more than qualifications, and yes, I know you can't get the experience without getting a job, it really is a double-edged sword. Every job I've ever had has been sourced through an agency, they serve their purpose.

I'd happily recommend the two guys I've recently dealt with. Both were extremely professional. If you would like, I will pass their details on to you and you can email them your CV.

[Over Carl]

My experiences of job agencies have been varied so I suppose I can see where both sides are coming from. I personally think they are evil but helpful.

My personal experience has been with the lower end agencies (brook street, reed, etc), they would insist you go round to register, maybe perform a few basic checks and confirm id and talk about what type of work would suit you. What I found was that with some consultants I would just go through all the formal motions, everything would be done properly and that would be it. With some we would speak like friends where were spoke more about shit that had no relevance whatsoever to getting me a job than the task at hand. Funnilly enough the latter type tended to be a lot more productive than the first one. I personally found blue arrow to be good for this kind of stuff but I don't know if that is just their richmond branch or the whole company.

I've had a bit less experience with the more serious agencies. In my experience they've only wanted emails sent out with details and cv, with chats on the phone. At various times I've probably pumped out emails to pretty much all the main agencies for what I'm doing round here. Many of them didn't respond so I would follow up with one phone call. If any of them mentioned something likely in the pipeline in the near future, I would call them up round that time. Next time round I think I will see if I can visit them in person to try and build a rapport.

From these agencies I have been sent to a few interviews. The very first one was totally unsuitable which both sides figured out immediately at interview - agent was a dozy bitch who did not use her head and actually lied to me about what the job would be. The rest of the interviews I've gone to with these type agencies I've gone to meet my new boss, have a chat and waited for the call. Luckily after the interview for my current job I called back after a week for feedback - was lucky as I had been asked to send some stuff by email if interested and I had sent it to the wrong address so they assumed I wasn't interested!

These professional agencies haven't tended to flood my phone with calls - some give me a "courtesy call" every 6 months or so so they can keep their database up to date and about every 4-6 months on average I get a call from one with an offer of a job. (I'm guessing I may be on the books of up to about 20 agencies!)

[KevinJB88]

Nice to see SOME perspective here. I've spoken to more than a couple of IT agencies over the past 6 months, the last two both called me after finding my CV on jobsite, both put my CV forward for the role, in both cases I got interviews, and in both cases offered the role. I start tomorrow.

CONVERSELY I've had more than a few phone up, say my CV looks good, put me forward for a role, never to hear anything again.

The difference? The role I was applying for. The skills I have, having been wholly deskilled by my previous employer, or rather, forced into IT management rather than software development. Once I accepted that with my skills I had to stick with management I got offered the first two roles I applied for.

Your problem is you're fresh. Now, its been many, many years since I've had to go and meet an agency, and yes, they are mainly just salesmen, but its a step you have to take. A friend of mine applied for something like 70 jobs when leaving Uni. She eventually ended up with one after many months, and is still at that company, 16 years later, and trust me, in the IT world, they don't get much bigger or bluer (hint right there) than these guys. Persevere, and don't be too dispirited if you don't get the first few jobs you apply for. Its a saturated market, and experience counts for more than qualifications, and yes, I know you can't get the experience without getting a job, it really is a double-edged sword. Every job I've ever had has been sourced through an agency, they serve their purpose.

I'd happily recommend the two guys I've recently dealt with. Both were extremely professional. If you would like, I will pass their details on to you and you can email them your CV.

Thank you for your post!

I would be very grateful for any help you can provide me with!

Kev

[BBK]

Thank you for your post!

I would be very grateful for any help you can provide me with!

Kev

NP, PM me your email addy and we can talk

[hoponbaby]

From an employers perspective I hate most agencies. As others have said they are merely salesmen looking for the finders fee, which fair enough is their job after all. The thing is you know that some of the people they are offering as interested are currently employed having been introduced to their job by the same agency a year ago (just so it's outside the clawback period). If you do take them on then in 12 months time there always that nagging suspicion that the agency will be tapping the employee up again with promises of how much more money he can get them..... There goes a £5k finders fee, a years salary and months of getting an employee trained to your standards

[Over Carl]

Do you feel like naming and shaming these agencies? Just thinking as much as that is a real cuntish thing to do to your company, I'm guessing the other way round, loads of people would love an agency that keeps getting them a better job every year.