Recruitment agencies - name, shame (and praise)

Yul Brynner

I recently picked up a 3 month temp contract through a recruitment agency but my recent experience has taught me to stay clear of them at all costs. I interviewed for the job as a Senior Housing Manager the day after sending my CV through to the agency. I was offered the job 2 hours after interviewing but questioned Venn Group as to why the job paid 25% less than I would have expected a head of service to be paid. They told me they'd go back and renegotiate with the client and offered me another £2 an hour; still paltry but I was in no position to refuse the job at that time. They told me that was their final offer and I 'MUST NOT' try to renegotiate my wage or discuss my rate with the employer. Of course I did... 4 weeks later when I'd gotten to know my Director a little better I related the story back to him and was informed that in fact they'd not been back to renegotiate my rate but worse, i also learnt that they were earning the same as I was. My employer was paying double the rate I was receiving! I've clued up pretty quickly to the unscrupulous ways of recruitment consultants...and I use the term consultant very loosely. Around the same time I applied for 20 to 30 jobs through the likes of Hay's and other agencies and now know that in fact they often advertise jobs that don't exist so they can harvest CV's and mailshot them out to their client database. I had a few automated replies and a few calls, all telling me that the job I'd applied for had been filled but they liked my CV and had me in mind for another role... all i had to do was supply a couple of references for previous employers so they could go fishing through my contacts for names of potential employers. One agency told me a job in Leicester had been filled internally but I did some digging and found that the employer was not dealing through an agency and in fact still had the job advertised on their own website. I'm hoping I'm shortlisted so I can ring the agency back and put them on the spot.
I hate agencies; ninety five percent of them are unscrupulous, immoral blood sucking leeches feeding off people who actually work for a living. When and why did they ever become popular or indeed a necessary part of the employment market? We live in an internet age were employers can post their requirements and candidates can send CV's directly; there is simply no value in paying exorbitant sums for unqualified and often poorly educated spivs to sort through a few CV's! One insider recently told me to mailshot my own CV round potential employers because that's all an agency would do. I've taken that advice and can tell you that the hours spent researching my own opportunities and applying directly have already got me interviews lined up that agencies failed to get.
I will say that it's about time agencies were more heavily regulated; commissions should be capped and it should be an offence to advertise jobs that don't exist...maybe it is, and the OFT or some other regulatory body would take a keen interest??

flash harry

so what are you being paid an hour and what are they charging you out at?

Yul Brynner

I was being paid £19 an hour, way below what I'd expect; the agency were being paid £38 an hour for my services! I got this straight from the horses mouth, my employer. He was as shocked as I was!

Jellybaby1

I'm not shocked at what the recruitment agencies charge. I have always known that they charge way above the odds. In the boom times companies just threw money at their problems (recruitment) and they got pretty bad value for their money.

Maybe now that the boom times are gone, companies may again start doing their own recruitment! It might give us half a chance.

Yul Brynner

Further reading has shown that there is a Government body monitoring and investigating employment agencies. The employment agency standards inspectorate should be e-mailed here... eas@berr.gsi.gov.uk if you need to report any cases of unscupulous practise. I'll be sending a report today about one particular agency who need investigating.

Dempo1

Interesting experiences and i assume England? I thought there would have been better regulation in England, in Ireland, not a chance.

To be honest i would not have an issue with recruitment agencies getting on going fee's for temp work, this is the nature of the beast as such, its the way they some times treat candidates has always been my concern.

Dempo1

Yul Brynner wrote: »

Further reading has shown that there is a Government body monitoring and investigating employment agencies. The employment agency standards inspectorate should be e-mailed here... eas@berr.gsi.gov.uk if you need to report any cases of unscupulous practise. I'll be sending a report today about one particular agency who need investigating.

Wow! at least the british government are doing something about this industry, i fear little if anything will be done in Ireland!

flash harry

of course another way of looking at your scenario is that you were offered a job at a given rate, refused it and got more, accepted that.

Your employer was offered a person/service at a given rate, and accepted that.

Now unless there was a gun to your head, they have dodgy photos of you, or something similar did you not enter into a contract under your own free will, and likewise your employer?

At what level to you deem it an acceptable gross profit for the recruiter - maybe tell them this in advance the next time.

akkadian

Yul Brynner wrote: »

Further reading has shown that there is a Government body monitoring and investigating employment agencies. The employment agency standards inspectorate should be e-mailed here... eas@berr.gsi.gov.uk if you need to report any cases of unscupulous practise. I'll be sending a report today about one particular agency who need investigating.

I think that's why he gave an email address for Britain. Irelans is proably something like:

automoton.mucker@gov.ie followed by "message delivery unsuccessful"

I dealt with CPL a few years back and they were good. Everything else, and I mean everything was AWFUL. No professionalism

I'd say the government is reluctant to investigate / audit the state of the recruiters as they'd undoubtedly find more old boys clubs, false information relating to actual job availability and benefits, as well as some kind of strategic monkey placement whereby the "recruiters" involved know nothing about the industries they serve, and hence propagate opportunities for the unlimited number of bull****ters. They woul also undoubtedly come across the scam to dramatically increase the number of foreign citizens given preference for jobs ahead of Irish citizens, in not just trades but professional jobs, in fact especially professional jobs.

No, I think it might be best to leave that stone unturned for the moment.
Just remember that Patrick Pearse's blood sacrifice in 1916 wasn't for you, it was for Polish and Chinese immigrants. The smart Irish people know how this global scam works and that's why they're all living in Australia!

Romantic Ireland was dead and gone a long time ago. It's just only in the last few years, Irish people have woken up to that fact. You live in a province of the EU. Berlin is your creditor. If you don't like it, that's your problem.

pollypocket10

Yul Brynner wrote: »

I was being paid £19 an hour, way below what I'd expect; the agency were being paid £38 an hour for my services! I got this straight from the horses mouth, my employer. He was as shocked as I was!

I don't really want to get involved in this thread but I feel I should point out that the Agency are not making £19 an hour off you. Like any employer they accrue PRSI and holiday/bank pay, they would also have admin costs (eg. Bank charges for electronic transfers) which would all be factored into the charge rate. The rate may or may, not depending on the arrangement, also include VAT.

rederic

I have never posted here before, but having worked in Recruitment in the past I thought I could give my perspective. Firstly, I can confirm that false jobs are posted. I was made to cut and paste roles from an Australian job site in order to attract applicants! I went into recruitment because having worked in the industry that I began recruiting for, I thought I could give candidates the benifit of some of my experience, and also show companies that I would understand their needs. Little did I realise that it was just a glorified telesales role (not that I have anything against telesales). You were judged on how many cvs you received, how many candidates you got in to register (speaking on the phone wasn't enough, only face to face counted), how many cvs you shipped out to companies (throw enough mud on the wall and it will stick was the ethos, even if the hiring company expressly wished for this not to happen), how many interviews you arranged, and finally the number of placements made. These all counted as your KPI's. Your CV, and your career is a piece of meat to be flogged, generally at a rate of 8%- 18% of your first year salary (of which the recruiter gets 8%-10%). Incidently I worked in Retail Recruitment. It is a terrible job to do, and while every one can make their own career choice, how anybody stays in this profession is beyond me.
I hope this gives a picture of what you are dealing with, and apologise if some of these points have been made before.

Jellybaby1

Well done rederic, you have confirmed what a lot of people believed to be true. Sad to say, in Ireland, nothing will ever be done about it. It makes me angry to think how many hopefuls walk through their doors and are treated like this. The companies they work for should also hang their heads in shame!

Dempo1

Fascinating and honest insight into this horrid industry rederic, Retail Recruitment? your experience is not a patch on what goes on in the Hospitality recruitment sector. The recession in Ireland has had one positive outcome and its a number of cowboy outfits gone wallop, sadly such is the desperation of the big players, even they have resorted to some shocking practices. Thanks for the honest perspective!

flash harry

"Do you not think the bigger agencies, who are across numerous sectors and are managed primarily by KPI metrics for staff, will inevitably have these staff members trying to meet these metrics - number of interviews in house, number of phone calls, etc, all the stuff nobody likes."

my point earlier in the thread somewhat agrees with Rederic, but again the stupidity of thinking the "big players" are now resorting to xyz. The big players drive this behaviour more than anyone, all that matters in the bigger agencies are the numbers.

When I worked for a "big player" many moons ago we were actually given our ratio of calls to cvs to interviews to placements to fee to commission. Effectively they correlated 10 interviews in house = 3 sent to client = 1 placement = 5K fee = 2K commission. WHen thats drilled into younger people they do whatever they can to hit the numbers chasing the loot, covering there ass on a weekly basis (I did my 10 in house interviews boss) and chasing the cash.

In a smaller agency it will be less so - e.g. as a small operator I will not bring you in to interview with me if I do not have a job for you or at least a very real possibility of one, I respect my time and your too much.

Bottom line is in a bigger agency unless you are dealing with a senior or established consultant, they are being managed by numbers. In a smaller agency they are only being managed by one number, their revenue generating ability (slight generalisation but close to true) - upside to candidate is that if they meet with you there's a good chance they think they can do something for you.

Rant over!! Now Im off to brand some cattle

PS thanks to everyone who did survey on thsi stuff, do it for me plese if you haven't I'll share results on boards

KarlDrake

Lovely circular thread this but the reality is that recruitment is a business and like any business has to have metrics.

Recruitment managers need KPIs to ensure minimum standards are kept.
If a recruiter is not sending 15 CVs a week they won't hit targets.

The most successful recruiters send the most CVs. And the most suitable CVs.

It's a faulty conversion of logic to assume that whoever sends purely the most CVs will be the most successful recruiter, it's quality that matters but if a recruiter sends one perfect CV a week, they won't hit target.

Sure there are cowboys, but that's in every industry.

Some people have their faces turned against recruitment in general, well you know what?

Get over it. Stop whinging and deal with it, it's what you make of it.

It works for lots of people and companies.

Blaming recruiters for not having your perfect role is like blaming undertakers for cancer.

Lux23

Has anyone had any experience with DBM. I am being let go by the end of June and they have been hired by the company to help staff find alternative employment. I have been sending out my CV and have only heard back from one recruitment agency so I am really wary of trusting any of them. I have applied for jobs myself and although I was unsuccessful I got good feedback from both employers.

the_syco

Lux23 wrote: »

Has anyone had any experience with DBM.

Think so. They based in Naas. May be thinking of DP, not sure.

akkadian

the_syco wrote: »

Think so. They based in Naas. May be thinking of DP, not sure.

Pretty much all Irish recruiters are crap, at least in terms of IT:

Here's why:

They all conform to 'How to find crappy programmers' from this link:

http://codeanthem.com/blog/?p=64

They're built in relation to bullsh*&ers


How to Find Crappy Programmers

2010 April 6

I read plenty of articles about how to recruit great developers, but what if you are only interested in the crappy ones – what then? Perhaps you aren’t willing to spend good money to make money, or you just think getting work done is overrated. Whatever the reason, this series of articles on Crappy Programmers will do the trick. Welcome to the first installment: ‘How to Find Crappy Programmers’.
The job post is your potential programmer’s first impression of your company, so make it count with these offputting features:
1. List a String of Acronyms for Technologies
No matter if the person writing the post or doing the interviewing has any idea what they mean. All that’s important is that they were used in your code base at some point in time. There’s nothing developers love more than playing buzzword bingo in job posts.

JMS, XML, J2ME, AJAX, SSRS, SSIS, JSB, WCS, JSTL, HTML, DHTML, XHTML, MOSS, SOAP, BO, WPF.

You get bonus points if the technology is over ten years old. Don’t worry if it seems like you’re filling positions with checklists, developers like having years of their work marginalized into a neat little box.
2. Put an Arbitrary Number Next to Each Skill
It’s important to pay people based on the years of experience they have, not their talent, proficiency or overall competency. To that end, be sure to put a number next to each skill that represents some number of years. A job posting for a Technical Lead might then look like this:

10+ years total in the IT field
8+ years with Microsoft technologies
5+ years with relational databases, like SQL Server
3+ years with C#
1+ years with WEB technologies

Then you don’t have to consider anyone with less years of experience, even if their skill level is higher. After all, since the person is older, they will fit in better with the other old managers. Don’t actually mention age though (that’s illegal) – the proper career terminology is “culture fit”.
Plus, since they were already well into the workforce while most of the current technologies were created, they have a firm grasp of the fundamentals, like PowerBuilder.
3. Say Nothing Positive About the Position
We’re all very desperate for a job “in this economy” and you did say that the multiple positions would be “filled soon”. Don’t waste space talking about what sort of projects you might work on, what the team environment is like, how the developers work together or anything technically appealing whatsoever.
By completely ignoring what a developer looks for in a job, you’re letting us know up-front the sort of don’t-care attitude at the company. This sets the stage and limits developers asking for things when they come on-board, like non-broken chairs or licensed software.
Agile is for hippies.
4. Use Euphemisms for the Negative Aspects of the Job
Obviously, if anyone knew what it was really like to work here, no one would take the job. After all, that’s why our other developers have all left and we’re constantly hiring. Clearly we will need to lie, so here’s an easy translation matrix:
What the Job Post Says What it Really Means Standard work hours are 40-50 hours a week We expect developers to live in their tiny tiny cubes 24-7 This is a support position We don’t allow our developers to have a life outside of work You will work closely with the PM, DBA and QA Our environment is highly political, riddled with ridiculous rules made by people who don’t understand software, and we get very little done This position involves working with our real-time application I don’t know what real-time means but it sounds good Great opportunity for growth Only a desperate person would deal with this **** Job candidate must be resourceful, responsible and able to work well under pressure. Our corporate culture is basically the ‘Lord of the Flies’ 5. Require Resume to be in Word doc Format
Requiring resumes to be in the proprietary and platform-specific Word .doc format, instead of .pdf, .html, or .txt formats, is a nifty little test early on in the hiring process. You want to make sure that your developers are adept at jumping through HR hoops, even on technical matters.
We do not want our developers to have any basic principles in their work, or to have a keen understanding of interoperability or usability. We also like it when recruiting firms paste their logo at the top of our resumes and add lame summaries – our resumes were too much about us that.
This is a special treat for Java/UNIX developers.
So there you have it, folks. By following these simple steps, you are well on your way to hiring crappy developers.
But wait, some good developers might still slip through this cover, so stay tuned for our next installment of the Crappy Programmers series by subscribing here.

Wudyaquit

cmac2009 wrote: »

Just on update on my posting on page 32.

May well name the recrutiment agency - its Michael Page. Didn't get the job unfortunately but trying to find this out was a nightmare. Emailed and got no reponse. Had to ring 4 more times over two days and was finally told they found someone else for the position. So doubt I would have been ever told this unless I persisited in calling. Won't be using them again thats for sure.

Had exactly the same experience with Micheal Page.
Did 3 or 4 job interviews and never got word back until they had something else for me.
In the end I was sent for 2 different job interviews (sent by 2 different people in the agency as they were in different fields) - I'm still waiting to hear back if I got either job, from the end of 2008! Rang a couple of times, and they wouldn't return the calls.

Then this year, the cheeky bitch rang me back and left a voice mail telling me she had a job that would be "perfect for me" and would I like to apply for it. (Still no word on the job from 14 months earlier though).
I haven't really had many good experiences with any of the agencies, but this one is definitely bottom of the pile in my opinion.

whoisshe

FK International. The recruiter was a clown and spent the whole time trying to fish names of managers in my current area. He didnt understand the area he claimed to be working in and 10 mins after I arrived he said they had no jobs in the area I was looking at. Also his clothes looked fit for a tramp and he hadnt bothered to shave for a couple of days,

sickpuppy32

IBM HR in budapest - totally incompetent, they do all the HR functions for a lot of multinationals such as IBM (unsurprisingly) and BMS. Rude as hell with a very poor grasp of english and an inability to read a CV properly

Todave

It's also worth recognising and rewarding,

A gentleman from New Zealand who works with Sigmar ,excellent coaching - fully transparent with his side of the arrangement and constant relevant communication:)

I didn't get the job but this guy is a credit to his company:cool:

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

Good report from CPL on merrion street. Went in the other day, where I was reassured that my CV was good, my interview skills were good and even if she was telling fibs, it boosted my confidence sooo much. Gave me some good tips for interviews and the likes. I know it's her job, but from my experience, this lady done a good job. Putting my CV forward to one job, last week and another before that. I was going for an interview with a company but I was hospitalised with a bug .

Hope something comes of it. I have a good feeling, but you know how that goes

AARRRGH

Abby Witty Snack wrote: »

Hope something comes of it. I have a good feeling, but you know how that goes

Well the economy does seem to be picking up a little bit (could be the dead cat bounce, but fingers crossed it isn't) so your feeling might be right!

Berty

I think I have spoken to most of the damn recruiters in this country since I became unemployed on the 19th March.

Agencies would are just outright morons and ring me up about really stupid jobs:

Bear in mind Im an experienced Field Sales Executive for the purposes of the stupid jobs I was spoken to about.

FRS Recruitment - Offered me an interview selling Coal
CPL Dublin - Offered me an interview selling Steel in the UK

CPL Limerick - Brought me in for a "meeting" to tell me they had nothing.


Helpful and honest agencies

CPL Cork
BMS Dublin
GKR Search and Selection Dublin
La Creme/Premier Recruitment - Limerick

The rest had such little impression on me that they don't warrant a mention.

I have no specified specific agents but will if people ask.

acrmorris

Hays Galway - I have left countless messages to be called back or emailed and not one response - this is since before christmas.

I won't name the agent that I have been trying to contact, but it is now a matter of principle and I just want them to be honest and either say the agent has left, or they just have no positions available.

The last excuse i had was that Hays were putting all resources into placing bi lingual candidates, and none into placing people with English only - I couldn't believe that from a global recruiter.

Suffice to say I am registered with other agencies and have found Limerick based offices to be particularly good at calling, even if just to say there is nothing available, but we haven't forgotten you - I guess that just makes you feel you still exist.

Recessions are cyclical, and one day the economy will turn around. I will certainly not forget the agencies that have been helpful and proactive during these hard times, but conversely will never darken the doors of those that have ignored me.

Dempo1

Berty wrote: »

I think I have spoken to most of the damn recruiters in this country since I became unemployed on the 19th March.

Agencies would are just outright morons and ring me up about really stupid jobs:

Bear in mind Im an experienced Field Sales Executive for the purposes of the stupid jobs I was spoken to about.

FRS Recruitment - Offered me an interview selling Coal
CPL Dublin - Offered me an interview selling Steel in the UK

CPL Limerick - Brought me in for a "meeting" to tell me they had nothing.


Helpful and honest agencies

CPL Cork
BMS Dublin
GKR Search and Selection Dublin
La Creme/Premier Recruitment - Limerick

The rest had such little impression on me that they don't warrant a mention.

I have no specified specific agents but will if people ask.

FRS (Farm Relief Services) says it all really. What a dreadful shower of Buffoons. Funny story, a Job was posted a few months ago (the usual fictitious listing), seemed right up my ally so i applied, applied, and applied. With no responses i decided to email their head office, wondering why applicants where not getting responses. The GM of this company duly responded by email, apologizing endlessly and advised i call into their office in Tullamore. This was an experience in itself, i was greeted by tumble weed coming down a dark and dank stair case, entered a bare room with a few desks and a chap sitting in the corner chatting away on his mobile.

I was gestured, not asked to take a seat, he was supposed to be expecting me. After he finished his personal call we shook hands and bantered a little. He again apologized for the poor responses to my initial application which was to another mysterious consultant. This chap was scruffy, unshaven and to be frank seemed to care less about anything apart from sizing me up for info on my industry etc. He of course took my details, promised to keep in touch but did say business was terrible but was delighted to be kept going because FRS group was supported by a bigger organization. He did invite me to take a look around the office, empty desks was what i saw, he explained 4 consultants let go after Christmas, my heart bled for them all. This gob****e was in fact the manager which inspired me no end.

Of course 6 months on, not a call, email and of course the mysterious job is still being advertised. Bizarre stuff and i used to be a client of this outfit!

Ophelia7

A Dublin Recruitment Agency (Don't want to give name)! They sent me for an interview for a Medical job. The consultant asked me if I knew a circut court judge who lectured him in medical legal when he was in medical school? we had the same surname and it's never really heard here. I didn't even get a chance to answer, The guy interviewing me went on for about 10mins about what an asshole he was. I was gobsmacked. I was totally ashamed telling him that he was my Dad! I remained very polite and carried on as if nothing had happened because I was totally dying.

An hour after I left I got a phone call from the recruitment agancy, The woman who sent me on the interview going mental with me saying that I could have lost the company their client due to my behaviour and that she was totally disgusted with me, I tried to explain to her what happened but she just was getting worse and worse so in the end I just hung up.

When I told Dad what happened he went into fits laughing but when I told him about the lady in the agency he sent them a letter from his office outlining that what happened to me was liable and could be taken further. The recruitment agency where very quick to say sorry, as was the consultant who said that he now has no further business with them.

sickpuppy32

Berty wrote: »

I think I have spoken to most of the damn recruiters in this country since I became unemployed on the 19th March.

Agencies would are just outright morons and ring me up about really stupid jobs:

Bear in mind Im an experienced Field Sales Executive for the purposes of the stupid jobs I was spoken to about.

FRS Recruitment - Offered me an interview selling Coal
CPL Dublin - Offered me an interview selling Steel in the UK

CPL Limerick - Brought me in for a "meeting" to tell me they had nothing.


Helpful and honest agencies

CPL Cork
BMS Dublin
GKR Search and Selection Dublin
La Creme/Premier Recruitment - Limerick

The rest had such little impression on me that they don't warrant a mention.

I have no specified specific agents but will if people ask.

BMS?

Berty

sickpuppy32 wrote: »

BMS?

Sorry BMS are good. I dealt with one guy there who was very helpful and always returned my calls when I saw a job floating around the internet.

His initials are M.W

amiable

Berty wrote: »

Sorry BMS are good. I dealt with one guy there who was very helpful and always returned my calls when I saw a job floating around the internet.

His initials are M.W

Anyone use Philips Career Solutions in Galway?

donkey balls

Ophelia7 wrote: »

A Dublin Recruitment Agency (Don't want to give name)! They sent me for an interview for a Medical job. The consultant asked me if I knew a circut court judge who lectured him in medical legal when he was in medical school? we had the same surname and it's never really heard here. I didn't even get a chance to answer, The guy interviewing me went on for about 10mins about what an asshole he was. I was gobsmacked. I was totally ashamed telling him that he was my Dad! I remained very polite and carried on as if nothing had happened because I was totally dying.

An hour after I left I got a phone call from the recruitment agancy, The woman who sent me on the interview going mental with me saying that I could have lost the company their client due to my behaviour and that she was totally disgusted with me, I tried to explain to her what happened but she just was getting worse and worse so in the end I just hung up.

When I told Dad what happened he went into fits laughing but when I told him about the lady in the agency he sent them a letter from his office outlining that what happened to me was liable and could be taken further. The recruitment agency where very quick to say sorry, as was the consultant who said that he now has no further business with them.

so much for a so called professional service:mad:

privateBeavis

I was applying though an agency for one job and they got back to me today to say another agency had already sent in my CV with whom I've never even spoken to. The guy had my CV cos I applied for something else about 2 months ago which I never heard a peep about! So he not only passed on my CV without asking me but added a lovely sentence about my experience that didn't really match experience that's in the CV and then went on to make up my salary expectation that happens to be way lower than what I'm on at the moment... have they no shame!

flash harry

well there a member of the National Recruitment Federation www.nrf.ie so why not make a formal complaint?

(b) All applicants must be interviewed by the agency prior to being put forward to the client. (An interview may be by telephone or face-to-face however if an interview has not been face-to-face the client must be informed.)

(c) Applicants must be given full details of any job for which the agency intends to recommend them and permission must be sought from the applicant. An applicant's permission must be sought and obtained before his or her details are revealed to an employer. The agency should also determine whether or not the applicant has been approached by another agency about the same job.

OR

complain to the company (if you dont get an interview)

OR

complain on boards but dont actually do anything about it :pac:

privateBeavis

flash harry wrote: »

well there a member of the National Recruitment Federation www.nrf.ie so why not make a formal complaint?

(b) All applicants must be interviewed by the agency prior to being put forward to the client. (An interview may be by telephone or face-to-face however if an interview has not been face-to-face the client must be informed.)

(c) Applicants must be given full details of any job for which the agency intends to recommend them and permission must be sought from the applicant. An applicant's permission must be sought and obtained before his or her details are revealed to an employer. The agency should also determine whether or not the applicant has been approached by another agency about the same job.

OR

complain to the company (if you dont get an interview)

OR

complain on boards but dont actually do anything about it :pac:

I did the last two options
and I got a call back from the company with big apology and saying the guy in question didn't work there anymore!

flash harry

fair play!

did you complain to CPL or the client company?

privateBeavis

flash harry wrote: »

fair play!

did you complain to CPL or the client company?

To CPL

KarlDrake

Question for y'all.

Have any of you had any dealings with
DS Recruitment
http://www.dsrecruitment.ie/index.html

Have to say, it doesn't look great. I've been asked for an opinion on them which I have formed but would love to have any other opinions.

Thanks

flash harry

KarlDrake wrote: »

Question for y'all.

Have any of you had any dealings with
DS Recruitment
http://www.dsrecruitment.ie/index.html

Have to say, it doesn't look great. I've been asked for an opinion on them which I have formed but would love to have any other opinions.

Thanks

have you dealt with them Karl

KarlDrake

flash harry wrote: »

have you dealt with them Karl

No, I've not personally but I am an ex recruiter in a different field now, I've been asked about them and I'm loathe to give my gut reaction (despite experience teaching me 'tis best) without getting a second opinion.
Feel free to PM if you have additional information.

Thanks Harry.

flash harry

KarlDrake wrote: »

Have to say, it doesn't look great. I've been asked for an opinion on them which I have formed but would love to have any other opinions.

Thanks

so this was based on their website? and for your second opinion an anonymous stranger on boards?

No offence but do you not think you have a credibility issue there? I mean thats laughable, why wouldnt you just say I know nothing about them so it would be unfair to comment BUT website looks basic etc

KarlDrake

flash harry wrote: »

so this was based on their website? and for your second opinion an anonymous stranger on boards?

No offence but do you not think you have a credibility issue there? I mean thats laughable, why wouldnt you just say I know nothing about them so it would be unfair to comment BUT website looks basic etc

Harry.
"No offence" ranks up there with "with all due respect".

So, with all due respect I have seen numerous regular posters, such as you who appear to have some knowledge of the recruitment industry and some basic integrity, if not manners.

My issue is based around the website, the lack of phone number in particular and extremely basic information elsewhere on the web. I wanted to see (with an open mind) if anyone had anything positive to say about them before I give my recommendation.

So, at the expense of repeating myself, do you (or does anyone else) know anything about them.
It would be much appreciated.
Thanks again

flash harry

there was no insult or lack of manners imho but bygones

Iknow nothing about them so it would be unfair to comment BUT website does look basic and to be fair to you no phone number would scare the crap out of me, couple of entries on linkedin if thats any help....all that said they could be the best recruiters anyone will ever meet

havutlu

my 2 cents worth. Computerfutures are gobsh*tes. Try not to have anything to do with them

BlackWizard

havutlu wrote: »

my 2 cents worth. Computerfutures are gobsh*tes. Try not to have anything to do with them

Why is that?

LadyMayBelle

Any experience with UK agencies, namely Randstad?

Also TTM in Ireland.

Anna23

I went for a job interview on Thursday last week, and on Friday the agency rang me and told me I have the job, as I was the perfect candidature bla bla bla! About 6 hours later got a call back from the agency saying that I actually didn't get the job, as they found someone else. I was so happy I actually got a job after 11 and a half months on UB and thought finally I am going back to work, and thanking all the "Saints and Gods" out there that I have a job...I cannot believe that they are actually allowed to do this to people, needless to say I shall never use the agency again. I cannot name it for legal reasons as they have been on the news before taking their competition to court. I am sure you guys might have guessed who I am talking about now.

angel01

Anna23 wrote: »

I went for a job interview on Thursday last week, and on Friday the agency rang me and told me I have the job, as I was the perfect candidature bla bla bla! About 6 hours later got a call back from the agency saying that I actually didn't get the job, as they found someone else. I was so happy I actually got a job after 11 and a half months on UB and thought finally I am going back to work, and thanking all the "Saints and Gods" out there that I have a job...I cannot believe that they are actually allowed to do this to people, needless to say I shall never use the agency again. I cannot name it for legal reasons as they have been on the news before taking their competition to court. I am sure you guys might have guessed who I am talking about now.

That is absolutely disgraceful :(

whatnext

Anna23 wrote: »

I went for a job interview on Thursday last week, and on Friday the agency rang me and told me I have the job, as I was the perfect candidature bla bla bla! About 6 hours later got a call back from the agency saying that I actually didn't get the job, as they found someone else. I was so happy I actually got a job after 11 and a half months on UB and thought finally I am going back to work, and thanking all the "Saints and Gods" out there that I have a job...I cannot believe that they are actually allowed to do this to people, needless to say I shall never use the agency again. I cannot name it for legal reasons as they have been on the news before taking their competition to court. I am sure you guys might have guessed who I am talking about now.

Did the agency make a mistake?
or
did the potential employer change their mind?
or
did the potential employer make a mistake?

only curious, but it is possible your anger is directed at the wrong organisation. It seems unlikely (to me) that an agency would make an offer on behalf of a client if they were not instructed to do so.

quibbles

Agency of Doom : Industrial Temps.

Managers hide behind European "employees"
Managers signed Nothing, no contract no reference.

2007, Ryanair decided to take on AGENCY staff for check in operations, instead of directly employing people. Took on LOADS of European people.
I one of them.

At one stage, one of the lovely eastern european girls, Agata I think her name was, came to my check in desk with a piece of paper, that was basically forcing her to resign. It said... "I, the undersigned, wish to resign from my position as a check in clerk "

Agata looked confusedly at me, as if to ask me for some kind of explanation. She didnt WANT to resign, they forced her to resign threatening her with * you wont get a reference if you dont sign this form saying you resign. *

I have lots of pictures of all the people that were hired and then eventually and soon after, fired.


People were exploited, and treated like slaves.