Recruitment agencies - name, shame (and praise)

pollypocket10

Oh I know, I've been at this game for a few years myself now. In the real world I can take the good with the bad.

However on this forum, along with those who genuinely have had bad experiences, there is an element of people looking for an argument and no matter how much sense you talk, they will attack (or pick on something insignificant like a spelling mistake if all else fails).

ABajaninCork

R the recruiter wrote: »

I wouldnt get to caught up in it if I was you. I have been given champagne and single malts to say thanks for doing a great job on the same days as being blasted out of it by people who I have deemed unsuitable. It all part of the way it works and you just need to have a thick skin and know that you are decent at what you do. I generally like it when people show their true stripes, lets me know I made the right call.

I've read your posts with great interest. I've been putting my CV out to every recruiter I can think of, written direct to companies, scoured relevant websites, met with recruiters, basically tried everything I can think of to get myself back in the job market.

Have a look at this thread: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056153641. Please let me have your thoughts on this.

Although this happened to someone else, somewhere else, the same company has treated me in the same manner (although in a different city) in the past. This is fairly indicative of the responses (If any) I've had from recruitment agencies. I'm very experienced in my field, and can turn my hand to most related jobs. I'm not sure if the lack of response is because I am clearly not Irish (I am English) or might be age-related. I would hate to think it is either scenario, but two years later, it does look increasingly likely. I genuinely do not think it is because of any negative vibes I might have given. I try to be as professional as possible in my approach. Of course, I might stand to be corrected on this.

I'm willing to approach ANYONE who might assist me in finding employment. I've asked this question in the past, but if you or any colleagues following this thread can recommend a decent recruiter in Cork to me , then I would be all ears...

Eoin

Dempo1 wrote: »

No love lost for sure and posts by this clown further add to my love of recruitment agencies! :D

No more name calling please.

Dempo1

Seems this Forum is suddenly turning into a recruiters mutual back slapping exercise, good luck with that, you guys have quite a few posts to catch up on dealing with real experiences.

pollypocket10

Dempo1 wrote: »

Seems this Forum is suddenly turning into a recruiters mutual back slapping exercise, good luck with that, you guys have quite a few posts to catch up on dealing with real experiences.

I have read every post in this discussion.

I understand that posters have had genuinely bad experiences and that is disappointing. However this will happen from time to time with any service and doesn't reflect the entire profession.

I have also seen the posts from recruiters who try to explain that we are not a careers advisory service, we do engage in elements of this when we can but it is not what we are paid too do; many recruiters have explained that the time constraints of the job do not allow us to engage in this to any great extent. I have seen the posts of recruiters who have offered help or advice. I have also seen the posts of recruiters offering valid and reasonable explanations.

Most have been dismissed, many ridiculed.

I provide a much needed service to my clients and in the process happen to help people to find employment in a difficult jobs market. I have a notice board full of thank you cards next to my desk so I am quite confident that outside of this forum many people are happy with the service recruiters provide.

ABajaninCork

pollypocket10 wrote: »

I have read every post in this discussion.

I understand that posters have had genuinely bad experiences and that is disappointing. However this will happen from time to time with any service and doesn't reflect the entire profession.

I have also seen the posts from recruiters who try to explain that we are not a careers advisory service, we do engage in elements of this when we can but it is not what we are paid too do; many recruiters have explained that the time constraints of the job do not allow us to engage in this to any great extent. I have seen the posts of recruiters who have offered help or advice. I have also seen the posts of recruiters offering valid and reasonable explanations.

Most have been dismissed, many ridiculed.

I provide a much needed service to my clients and in the process happen to help people to find employment in a difficult jobs market. I have a notice board full of thank you cards next to my desk so I am quite confident that outside of this forum many people are happy with the service recruiters provide.

Please see my previous post. Have a read of the thread I quoted. Like I say, this is fairly typical of the responses I have had so far. Would you care to comment?

Billy86

Dempo1 wrote: »

Seems this Forum is suddenly turning into a recruiters mutual back slapping exercise, good luck with that, you guys have quite a few posts to catch up on dealing with real experiences.

I'll slap them on the back too, then...

Having been searching for full-time employment for the last few months desperately, and having handed in my CV to pretty much everywhere in town at least once (over 350 CVs in total) as well as applying for anything and everything available online, I was getting very little feedback, and only one interview in total. Probably because the retail sector is still on it's knees and almost all of my experience is in retail. I had held off going to any recruitment agencies due to all the horror stories I had heard.

Anyway, I gave in about 3-4 weeks ago and sent my CV into a recruitment agency about a telesales job that required 12 months experience in the sector. I have 7 months in door-to-door but that is it, and the recruiter called me back within 20 minutes(!) of sending in my CV (at 6pm I might add) to tell me that I was not qualified, but that she would look for a position that did fit me. I told her I was looking for €10.00+ an hour, and full-time and she did a quick 10-15min interview on the phone with me to figure out what might suit me.

The next day she calls me back and says she has me lined up for an entry-level job at a very well known insurance company for just over €10/hr if I am interested; I of course say yes. The next Monday she calls me back to say she is still trying, but they are worried over my degree (film) and that I might not be looking for a career with them. In the meantime though, she asks me in for a more formal interview the next day (Tuesday) and another assessment, this time to work as (of all things) a junior recruitment consultant! So in I go, was completely out of the swing of things regarding formal interviews, and did a very poor job of articulating myself correctly in the interview. I knew I wasn't getting the job before the interview was half over.

Two days (Thursday) later she calls me back and confirms I will not be getting that position, but that the insurance job is back on the table. She tells me I have a group assessment with that company the next day (Friday), and to act formal/business-like due to their worrying over my film degree. I go to that, do well, and get a phone call off her saying I have an inidividual interview with that company on Monday. She also sends me a large interview 'prep pack' via email which goes through body language and such, as well as listing 30 questions that are typically asked in interviews and what they are looking for in the answers. I fill out the 30 questions like an exam and in I go on Monday, and nail the interview.

Then on the Tuesday, she calls me once again to say I have got the job, and just need to get my references together! Brilliant! She says the door-to-door reference is pretty crucial, so I try to get in touch with them only to find out their number had changed in the 2yrs since I last worked there. I then get told by their secretary that they do not give out references -written or verbal- (I had a handshake agreement over a reference with the owner upon leaving, but they have a huge turnover rate so I was not surprised he forgot me). My heart sinks, and I call the recruiter back to let her know about this.

Well I don't know what she did, but she managed to get a reference off them, and the very next day I started my job. I was worried that she might be 'skimming' off my pay as I had Google'd recruiters and heard about such practices, but I was one of a few new people -all the others applied directly, not through recruiters- and we are all on the exact same wage.

So to summarise, my first (and only) experience with a recruiter went like this:
- Give in CV; get told I am not qualified but she will try to find me something I am qualified for.
- A week or two passes with little success finding me anything, but genuine interest/effort on her part.
- Thursday: get told I have group assessment Friday morning.
- Friday: go to group assessment in morning, in evening get told I have interview on Monday; also get this Godsend of an 'interview prep pack'.
- Monday: go into interview fully prepared, kill it.
- Tuesday: get told I have got the job, but need to get sales reference; can't get it.
- Wednesday: start job and find out she has managed to get said reference for me.

She not only found me a job, but did so by redirecting me from another position I had applied for. On top of this, she got me into a group assessment despite my degree being held against me (which the company confirmed was true in the Monday interview). Not only that, but she got me fully and thoroughly prepared for that interview. Then on top of it all, she sorted out a crucial reference which I otherwise would not have been able to get my hands on. That is seriously good service and deserves commendation - as a jobseeker, what more could I possibly ask for?

It was Irish Recruitment Consultants ( http://www.irishrecruitment.ie ), by the way.

Now obviously like in sales (recruitment really is just selling jobs to people, and people to jobs) you will get good and bad ones - that much is obvious. Some people look for quantity of sale, while others look for quality and it is obviously the latter that you would want. But to tar them all with the same brush and plainly ignore their reasoned and direct points to the contrary is just silly.

Now if only somebody could help me get back into a 9-5 job sleep pattern faster than I have been doing..........

ABajaninCork

Billy86 - Well done lad for having a successful experience with a decent recruiter. I'm made up for you!:D

I had a quick shufti at the website and I assume you're either in Dublin or Limerick as that's where they're based. Gave the Limerick office a call. They weren't really able to help me as I'm in Cork, but it was a productive chat. The guy was very professional and seemed to know his stuff.

If only I could find someone like that in Cork, I'd be laughing...

R the recruiter

ABajaninCork wrote: »

I've read your posts with great interest. I've been putting my CV out to every recruiter I can think of, written direct to companies, scoured relevant websites, met with recruiters, basically tried everything I can think of to get myself back in the job market.

Have a look at this thread: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056153641. Please let me have your thoughts on this.

Although this happened to someone else, somewhere else, the same company has treated me in the same manner (although in a different city) in the past. This is fairly indicative of the responses (If any) I've had from recruitment agencies. I'm very experienced in my field, and can turn my hand to most related jobs. I'm not sure if the lack of response is because I am clearly not Irish (I am English) or might be age-related. I would hate to think it is either scenario, but two years later, it does look increasingly likely. I genuinely do not think it is because of any negative vibes I might have given. I try to be as professional as possible in my approach. Of course, I might stand to be corrected on this.

I'm willing to approach ANYONE who might assist me in finding employment. I've asked this question in the past, but if you or any colleagues following this thread can recommend a decent recruiter in Cork to me , then I would be all ears...

That seems terrible in fairness. I have been stuck with double bookings in the past on many occasions, usually a previous interview has ran over or I have got stuck on a call. I does unfortounatly happen but candidates have always understood when I have had to push it back. The short notice I think is the main problem here and if it was just a room clash then even meeting in a coffee shop whilst unprofessional could have been a better choice. Without knowing all the details I cannot give a definite answer but on the face of it is not great.
In terms of your nationality I cannot see it being a problem for 99% of roles but a disusion on racism is not again particulairly something I would like to get into but I do feel that the anti british contingient in Irelnad is greatly dimished from a decade or 2 ago.
I am sorry that I cannot be of more help and insight but based on what I read you certainly have a reason to be very annoyed with that agent but good recruiters may well also work in the company.

pollypocket10

ABajaninCork wrote: »

Please see my previous post. Have a read of the thread I quoted. Like I say, this is fairly typical of the responses I have had so far. Would you care to comment?

My only comment is that you'd had a bad experience with a Recruitment Company that I don't hold in any great regard.

My advice would be to stop wasting your time complaining about the same issue repeatedly and find one or two good recruiters in your area of interest and work exclusively with them.

R the recruiter

Dempo1 wrote: »

Seems this Forum is suddenly turning into a recruiters mutual back slapping exercise, good luck with that, you guys have quite a few posts to catch up on dealing with real experiences.

You seem to be trying your best to change it into a thread damning all recruitment agencies. These are your own views and I wouldn't try and censor you but it is clear that you have a serious personal problem with agencies. The main purpose of this thread I had believed to be to praise the good and damn the bad agencies. Your blanket sweeping statments whilst apperently passionate lack any real substance.
It may give you a sense of well being to abuse strangers online but I dont think it is particulairly helpfull for those who are trying to seek some help and advice in a very difficult market.
Like it or not - not in your case, agencies do help thousands of people find employment every year. If you dont want to be involved then fine but you should not be purposfully derailing the thread from its intended purpose.

ppink

does anyone know of any good recruitment agencies in uk dealing with construction/engineering.
A contact would be great if possible:)

ABajaninCork

pollypocket10 wrote: »

My only comment is that you'd had a bad experience with a Recruitment Company that I don't hold in any great regard.

My advice would be to stop wasting your time complaining about the same issue repeatedly and find one or two good recruiters in your area of interest and work exclusively with them.

I haven't. I commented on that thread as I could personally relate to the experience the OP had. If you look, the company concerned asked me to get in contact with them to discuss, even though I had made written comments to them some time before. I was willing to give them an opportunity to engage. I did - they didn't. So I've left it there. I haven't the time, energy nor inclination to talk to people who don't want to talk to me...

I've repeatedly asked the question. How do I get in contact with a decent recruiter in Cork? So far nobody seems able to give me a recommendation/answer. It's all subjective in any case. So I'm stuck with the original people I've been contacting on a regular basis to try to get SOMETHING going.

pollypocket10

ABajaninCork wrote: »

I haven't. I commented on that thread as I could personally relate to the experience the OP had. If you look, the company concerned asked me to get in contact with them to discuss, even though I had made written comments to them some time before. I was willing to give them an opportunity to engage. I did - they didn't. So I've left it there. I haven't the time, energy nor inclination to talk to people who don't want to talk to me...

I've repeatedly asked the question. How do I get in contact with a decent recruiter in Cork? So far nobody seems able to give me a recommendation/answer. It's all subjective in any case. So I'm stuck with the original people I've been contacting on a regular basis to try to get SOMETHING going.

Yes I read the forum and I would consider that a bad experience.

What is your industry or area of profession?

ABajaninCork

pollypocket10 wrote: »

Yes I read the forum and I would consider that a bad experience.

What is your industry or area of profession?

I am an Office Manager/PA with a telecoms background. I also hold PRINCE2 Project Mgmt accreditation.

genericguy

ABajaninCork wrote: »

I haven't. I commented on that thread as I could personally relate to the experience the OP had. If you look, the company concerned asked me to get in contact with them to discuss, even though I had made written comments to them some time before. I was willing to give them an opportunity to engage. I did - they didn't. So I've left it there. I haven't the time, energy nor inclination to talk to people who don't want to talk to me...

I've repeatedly asked the question. How do I get in contact with a decent recruiter in Cork? So far nobody seems able to give me a recommendation/answer. It's all subjective in any case. So I'm stuck with the original people I've been contacting on a regular basis to try to get SOMETHING going.

Abajanin, you really can't seem to get your head around the fact that recruitment consultancies are not employment agencies - they are there to serve their clients, i.e. the companies that are paying them to source staff, not to serve the public. In relation to your own difficulties - if a recruitment consultancy could make money by representing you, they would fall over themselves making sure they got that opportunity. Unfortunately your attitude speaks volumes to me about how you might behave in an interview with someone who didn't bow to you as you entered the room.

In terms of your 20+ years of sales experience - why not use that to find yourself work. Pick up the phone or use linkedin to generate some leads and follow up on them yourself - to have spent two decades in sales you must surely have developed at least those basic abilities. Which leads me to believe that if you were as employable as you say you are you would have found work by now...

Anyway, recruitment consultants are not bad people, they've gotten me fantastic jobs on two occasions, and were always professional and courteous - knowing a bit more about their work now I would have far more respect for them given the level of pressure they are under than for someone like you with a bloated sense of entitlement and delusions of grandeur.

ABajaninCork

genericguy wrote: »

Abajanin, you really can't seem to get your head around the fact that recruitment consultancies are not employment agencies - they are there to serve their clients, i.e. the companies that are paying them to source staff, not to serve the public. In relation to your own difficulties - if a recruitment consultancy could make money by representing you, they would fall over themselves making sure they got that opportunity. Unfortunately your attitude speaks volumes to me about how you might behave in an interview with someone who didn't bow to you as you entered the room.

In terms of your 20+ years of sales experience - why not use that to find yourself work. Pick up the phone or use linkedin to generate some leads and follow up on them yourself - to have spent two decades in sales you must surely have developed at least those basic abilities. Which leads me to believe that if you were as employable as you say you are you would have found work by now...

Anyway, recruitment consultants are not bad people, they've gotten me fantastic jobs on two occasions, and were always professional and courteous - knowing a bit more about their work now I would have far more respect for them given the level of pressure they are under than for someone like you with a bloated sense of entitlement and delusions of grandeur.

Oh dearie me. You haven't read ANY of my previous posts have you? You seem to have some pre-conceived idea of what I'm about when you don't even know me...Have a look, and THEN tell me I have delusions of grandeur. What a silly comment to make!

I'm sorry, but I cannot take someone who gives the location you do seriously....

ABajaninCork

R the recruiter wrote: »

That seems terrible in fairness. I have been stuck with double bookings in the past on many occasions, usually a previous interview has ran over or I have got stuck on a call. I does unfortounatly happen but candidates have always understood when I have had to push it back. The short notice I think is the main problem here and if it was just a room clash then even meeting in a coffee shop whilst unprofessional could have been a better choice. Without knowing all the details I cannot give a definite answer but on the face of it is not great.
In terms of your nationality I cannot see it being a problem for 99% of roles but a disusion on racism is not again particulairly something I would like to get into but I do feel that the anti british contingient in Irelnad is greatly dimished from a decade or 2 ago.
I am sorry that I cannot be of more help and insight but based on what I read you certainly have a reason to be very annoyed with that agent but good recruiters may well also work in the company.

Thanks for the response. Of course, mistakes can and do happen. It's part of being human. I think it's how that mistake is handled that speaks volumes. If there was an explanation or an apology, it would go a long way towards making the OP in that thread feel better. There was a very good girl working with the company, but she was only temporary and didn't stay too long. It was a shame, as I got on with her really well. She always kept in contact, and always took/returned my calls. I too do not like to think of the nationality/racism angle. I refuse to go down that road.

I've since been in contact with two more recruiters (one through this thread!) this morning and had another meeting with a third this afternoon. Guess we'll wait and see!

KarlDrake

On a related matter, I've been asked to find the relevant legislation relating to Recruiters charging candidates for roles, I believe this to be illegal but I can't find proof of a relevant statute on the NRF site or on http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/, could I be wrong and that it's only anecdotally illegal?

Thanks

pollypocket10

KarlDrake wrote: »

On a related matter, I've been asked to find the relevant legislation relating to Recruiters charging candidates for roles, I believe this to be illegal but I can't find proof of a relevant statute on the NRF site or on http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/, could I be wrong and that it's only anecdotally illegal?

Thanks

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1971/en/act/pub/0027/sec0007.html#sec7

I believe this is what you are looking for, point 2 relates to the charging of fees to candidates.

pollypocket10

ABajaninCork wrote: »

I am an Office Manager/PA with a telecoms background. I also hold PRINCE2 Project Mgmt accreditation.

I'm not too familiar with Cork myself and I recruit in a different industry but these are two that I know have good reputations and have seemed like good guys when I met them.

Niall Harris - Grafton Recruitment
Donal Moynihan - CPL

ABajaninCork

pollypocket10 wrote: »

I'm not too familiar with Cork myself and I recruit in a different industry but these are two that I know have good reputations and have seemed like good guys when I met them.

Niall Harris - Grafton Recruitment
Donal Moynihan - CPL

Oh thank you very much indeed I'm very grateful to you! My husband has dealt with Donal in the past, but he doesn't know me. I shall contact them this morning, and post up how I got on.

Many thanks once again.

KarlDrake

pollypocket10 wrote: »

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1971/en/act/pub/0027/sec0007.html#sec7

I believe this is what you are looking for, point 2 relates to the charging of fees to candidates.

Magic, thanks PP

flash harry

KarlDrake wrote: »

Magic, thanks PP

Karl

Related to your query - if the recruiter does anything else that could involve a fee (e.g. redo your CV) you may not be being charged for service excluded by the legislation.

Think, illegal to sell a Premiership match ticket for over face value. Legal to sell you ticket, hotel, trip etc for any price.....

Just a point to note

FH

KarlDrake

flash harry wrote: »

Karl

Related to your query - if the recruiter does anything else that could involve a fee (e.g. redo your CV) you may not be being charged for service excluded by the legislation.

Think, illegal to sell a Premiership match ticket for over face value. Legal to sell you ticket, hotel, trip etc for any price.....

Just a point to note

FH

Nice one, not directly related but good to know. Nice analogy btw.

clare82

not sure how this is all gonna pan out..i may be eating my words on monday but ive a feeling i'l be escorted off the premises in adecco instead!
my boyfriend is brazilian and is here on a student visa which only allows him to work part time. he's not having any luck getting work so was delighted when denise called from adecco to say he'd a trial today. off he went to graft all day in a sh*ite job as a kitchen porter from 8-4. while there he got chatting to a fellow brazilian (this guy has italian pport and so can work full time) he told my bf that there had been a few lads in doing the job over the past few days but none of them got the job because after the trial day they were all told by the agency that they couldnt be hired because they didnt have full time work permits and they also didnt get paid.
so it looks like adecco are getting desperate people in to do a trial, knowing that they cant have the job and then not paying them for the days work.
my bf has been ringing and calling in to this denise one from addecco regularly, she knows his visa situation and how badly he needs work and it looks like she has just completely taken the piss.
i sincerly hope im wrong in all this, i hope he gets paid and id love if she could offer him part time work but ive a very bad feeling after reading the stuff posted here that its all been a waste of time.
im raging.

Blonde27

Have been checking out this thread for a while. I work in Inhouse recruitment and have worked in agency years ago.

Let me give some advice to people on jobhunting.
Set up a Linked In page, create it like a cv. Connect with as many people as possible as the amount of people you connect with, the higher you will appear on a search. I find all my candidates from linked in searches and do not advertise. Linked in is huge at the moment and anybody that should know about recruiting is using it.
Join groups relevant to your industry and area. Alot of Chamber of commerces have Linked in Groups and this is a brilliant place to network with local businesses and introduce yourself.

Put your cv on Monster. Alot of companies are not investing in advertising anymore but are investing in social networking. If you are on Monster, you can easily be contacted by a company.

Tailor your cv to what job you are looking for and please please no more than 2 pages and no cover letter. A good recruiter will have your cv skimmed in a couple of minutes and doesnt spend their time reading the whole thing.

Also, regarding attitudes to agencies, they will not call you back unless they have a suitable role for you. And ringing them up and sending nasty emails will just blacklist you and they wont contact you again.

Best of luck to everyone searching and I hope I have changed the opinion on Recruiters.

ABajaninCork

Thank you for that Blondie27.

I've already done most of what you've suggested - tailored CV's, Monster and the last being LinkedIn which another poster did a thread a while ago. Trying to build my network base, but a bit difficult as most of the people I know are in London where I'm from. As I haven't worked since I moved over, getting Irish contacts hasn't been easy.

But I do take on board your comments about recruiters. I try to give everyone a fair shot, but I've had some dreadful experiences since moving here. I have to be honest and say the recruiting agencies I've dealt with in the UK seem to be far more professional in their approach. I have since been given the names of some decent recruiters both on here (Thanks Polly Pocket!) and on LinkedIn, and will give those a try.

Blonde27

I understand your pain. I was out of work for a while myself and found it very frustrating.

Also some advice. If you register with the likes of CPL, Kelly Services. They have alot of onsite services. Kellys are onsite with quite a few companies in Cork. You will find that alot of this work are not advertised by agencies in Cork but by their central functions in Dublin.

Also re Linked In, I have hundreds of connections of people I dont know. I have connected with lots of HR Managers and Recruiters that I have never spoken too, but it just means they have my email address if they are hiring. I have got a job for a couple of my friends by simply seeing that they are looking for someone and introducing someone to them.

ABajaninCork

Blonde27 wrote: »

Tailor your cv to what job you are looking for and please please no more than 2 pages and no cover letter. A good recruiter will have your cv skimmed in a couple of minutes and doesnt spend their time reading the whole thing.

As a matter of interest, why is it not a good idea to send a cover letter to a recruitment agency? Would it not be a good idea to include a short letter of introduction stating the kind of role wanted and the terms (i.e. full/part time; contract or temp). What about submitting CV's to agencies recruiting for a specific role either via the web or in the press? Would a cover letter be in order then?

Thanks!:)

Dempo1

R the recruiter wrote: »

You seem to be trying your best to change it into a thread damning all recruitment agencies. These are your own views and I wouldn't try and censor you but it is clear that you have a serious personal problem with agencies. The main purpose of this thread I had believed to be to praise the good and damn the bad agencies. Your blanket sweeping statments whilst apparently passionate lack any real substance.
It may give you a sense of well being to abuse strangers on line but I don't think it is particularly helpfull for those who are trying to seek some help and advice in a very difficult market.
Like it or not - not in your case, agencies do help thousands of people find employment every year. If you dont want to be involved then fine but you should not be purposfully derailing the thread from its intended purpose.

Hmmmm, its quite interesting your slant on my contributions to this thread, had you actually taken the time to look at some of my posts you will note i am no way near having some of the extreme views submitted by others. This said, i have no doubt that some of the experiences shared are not just true but continuing daily. What i do take exception to is one time posters coming along lecturing us on the virtues of the recruitment industry when we all know full well how recruiters are supposed to behave. I am certainly not one of those who expects agencies to get every candidate a job, however i am someone who expects agencies to have common courteous, sensitivity in their dealings with candidates, a degree of professionalism and in some cases actually recruit consultants who indeed know what they are doing.

If i recall you mentioned you were returning to Ireland for a Job, but suddenly this changed into you setting up an agency. My word you certainly have started off on the right track.

Mynamehere

Nua Healthcare :

Do not touch this crowd with a bargepole. An extremely unprofessional outfit who are out of touch with the industry and the service they are meant to provide.

They provide Social care services for persons with intellectual disabilities but do so in a half hearted were in it for the profit attitude. This crowd are in it for the money and do not have the service users best interest at heart.

They do not provide training nessessary for the role such as first aid, cpi and tci. I was working for them for over a year and didnt recieve any training. You will work alongside untrained staff, staff with a Garda records and staff with no qualifications some who cant even use a computer. I started working for them before i even sent off my garda vetting. Good qualified staff are leaving in droves and are replaced by lads who cant even speak proper English and who are no use in a crisis.

Management are inexperienced and use a very authoritarian approach. If you say something they dont like they advise you that if you dont like it you can get a job elsewhere. Staff who assaulted service users are still working there. Staff turnover is high which has lead to even further resignations. Gaps are filled by security Guards which is on a regular basis.
Bad management mixed with unqualified staff and untrained staff leads to a bad quality of service.

Dont be fooled with their fancy website its all bull. If you have a family member with an intellectual disability dont under any circumstance let Nua anywhere near them. Dont apply or accept any work off this butch unless your house is being repossessed or your facing starvation.

Blonde27

ABajaninCork wrote: »

As a matter of interest, why is it not a good idea to send a cover letter to a recruitment agency? Would it not be a good idea to include a short letter of introduction stating the kind of role wanted and the terms (i.e. full/part time; contract or temp). What about submitting CV's to agencies recruiting for a specific role either via the web or in the press? Would a cover letter be in order then?

Thanks!:)

Hi ABajaninCork

Alot of the time, cover letters are not read by a Recruiter. I personally look straight at a cv-and look at experience first

Jollyrogerd

I have had some bad experiences of late of a couple of agencies but to put a bit of positive out there here's a couple whom have atleast been successful for me in the recent few weeks CPL,Careerwise,FRS strangely not from my location in Ireland but the most helpful, responsive and I have received results in the last week. With an interview next week and aptitude test this week, narrowed down to three candidates for another role and put forward for another position. Prior to that I hadn't had an interview in 3 months. Karen Frampton career services in Waterford has also been invaluable.
So there is hope out there just be persistent and hopefully it will pay off

the_syco

Ronan Leonard wrote: »

She told me unfortunately there were no jobs at the moment. I had a feeling they were just harvesting C.V.'s so I asked her what about the jobs you have advertised on your office window. She replied oh yeah we have to check your references first.

Translation: there are no jobs at the moment, and we're going to cold call your references up to look for business.

pollypocket10 wrote: »

find one or two good recruiters in your area of interest and work exclusively with them.

On this issue, I'd like to say that I've found some recruiters are good in some areas, sh|te in others. If you're looking for an IT job, look for reviews on recruitment companies by people looking for IT jobs. Someone could be great at jobs in the construction industry, not know what the different IT certs mean, and be totally useless. Found Hays IT, CPL and some place down in Naas (DB Recruitment?) to be good for IT sector work. Others I've found to be useless, some not knowing their arse from their elbow. They may have had great reviews, but not for someone looking for an IT job.

unichick

Hi all, my sister has been made redundant today. Could anyone recommend good recruitment consultants in the mid west area or jobs?? I know that's a long shot but she'd take a short term contract or maternity leave. Thanks. Sorry forgot to say she has experience in the admin or part qualified accounts section.

pollypocket10

unichick wrote: »

Hi all, my sister has been made redundant today. Could anyone recommend good recruitment consultants in the mid west area or jobs?? I know that's a long shot but she'd take a short term contract or maternity leave. Thanks. Sorry forgot to say she has experience in the admin or part qualified accounts section.

I believe Sarah Jane Kelly in the Limerick office of CPL is quite good. I know my sister got a permanent job through her and I think my sisters friend is also temping through her for the past few months.

Admin market is extremely tough at the moment, is definitely one of the hardest hit sectors, so she may be in for a bit of a slog. Tell her to keep an eye on the local papers and employers advertising on job boards too.

unichick

Thanks Pollypocket. What are jobs boards by the way? I'll tell her to meet with that girl in CPL.

pollypocket10

unichick wrote: »

Thanks Pollypocket. What are jobs boards by the way? I'll tell her to meet with that girl in CPL.

Sorry job boards are the websites. A few that seem to be good for the mid-west region are:

www.irishjobs.ie
www.jobs.ie
www.recruitireland.com
www.fas.ie
www.jobdone.ie (seems to be growing in popularity)

jambon29

I lost my job in the bank recently and i was wondering does anyone know any good recruitment agencies that would suit my line of work in the Munster area, thanks.

henke

Anyone have any experience with Stelfox? I'm looking for an IT job and they contacted me after finding my CV on monster.ie.

Just wondering if anyone has any recent experience with them?

Cheers

murphthesmurf

Anyone know of any decent agency for a fire alarm engineer looking for work.
I'm have f all luck so far, can't believe how bad things are at the moment. cheers

Chessala

I am dealing with two agencies atm: CPL and sigmar.

CPL: The woman (Aisling) called me back 30 minutes after I send my CV. Very nice contact, very friendly and professional. Had an e-mail a few minutes after the call as she said I would. Promised to call the next day to keep me up to date and did it. Unfortunately missed the call but she wrote and e-mail with the information. Very good!

Sigmar: Not sure tbh. She called me back the day after my send my CV (which I think is really fast too) and we talked. Was very nice and asked me about specific roles I would be interested in. Said she'd mail offers but didn't get any message yet..will see how it turns out.

plaasjapie

mkahnisbent wrote: »

For the record, it is not illegal to give a bad reference. Not sure how that myth started.

It started because its easy to get sued for a bad reference in the UK (Libel laws there are very strict).

marley123

Its also a good idea to make a list of 10 companies you would like to work for & email your CV over - just because a company is not advertising doesn't mean they aren't hiring...

For anyone looking for a Sales role - in general most SME's - Multinationals are always interested in talking to someone who they think will hit the ground running within the company - Alot of receptionists are well groomed into being gatekeepers these days so contacts can usually be found on Linkedin..

Also CV should be no longer than 2-2.5pages , cover letter very important as may set you appart from the candidate that doesn't have one.

yesno1234

Anyone know how I can increase my chances of getting a job in the summer? In college and need something for the summer. Other than handing cv's in anywhere and everywhere is there anything else I can do to get ahead of the pack?

Faith+1

yesno1234 wrote: »

Anyone know how I can increase my chances of getting a job in the summer? In college and need something for the summer. Other than handing cv's in anywhere and everywhere is there anything else I can do to get ahead of the pack?[/QUOTE]

Pray to GOD.

Nothingbetter2d

Raekwon wrote: »

Real Time Recruitment are by far the worst in my experience. I used to get 'spammed' roles every week from them and if I was interested in one I would mail the recruiter back and ask him for some details. But instead he would dodge my questions and would never gave any details on job specs, location or even salary, instead he was ask me questions (which were already answered for him on my CV) and always end by saying 'I'll keep you posted', which he never did. The only role that he pursued me over was a crap Helpdesk role in *Dundlak for €5k less then I was on at the time!

*I live in Dublin.

+1 real time are a total waste of time

DunkingJulez

Dempo1 wrote: »

Thanks Donkey Balls "Interesting choice of user name":)

Matt Cooper is a rare breed who cuts to the trust when interviewing, on that occasion, it was clear his mind was elsewhere. The MD from Irishjobs talked the talk but the actual lack of Jobs listed or those that have been on display for weeks and months in some cases speaks volumes. I noticed today that apart from Agencies, there was 20 jobs listed in my sector directly by employers, interestingly though i noticed multiple jobs from three employers in a sector that has enormous staff turnover, albeit you would think this would not be a problem in the current climate.

I agree with your sentiments about trusted recruitment consultants who have actual experience in the field they are trying to recruit in. Its shocking what i have come across. One agency had three sisters, one being the boss, not one of them had an iota of experience in the area they where trying to recruit in. Just recently i got a phone call from a firm who i registered with two years ago. Nice girl who said an interesting job had come up and i fitted the bill perfectly, the only problem was i did not have a Medical background, in fact whilst very experienced in my field, it is the furthest thing from medical. I duly followed up with an email about week ago, explaining the error of their ways, needless to say, not a single response yet.

Keep the chin up! it can only get better!

You really hit the nail on the head!!!

One appalling BUT KINDA FUNNY situation happened to me sometime last year! I registered with a 3 letter acronym agency (C*L), and was told there had a few vacant roles that I would be required to attend an interview with them first of all which I could understand (had to book a day off work for this).

During the interview with C*L, I was asked if I'd applied to any order company and I disclosed I'd applied to a particular fashion brand looking for an assistant manager and I'd been asked to attend an interview the following week. I waited for approx 2 weeks and still no calls from them.
Fortunately for me I was offered the Assistant manager position by the fashion brand.
On my SECOND day at work, during a conversation with my General manager, He mentioned that an agency had sent like 6 CVs to him over the last 2 weeks but they don't hire through agencies!

I asked my GM whats agency it was out of interest, and lo and behold "C*L" popped up.

Hmm...it appears the agency sent CVs to the same employer I told them about during my interview with them to help me look for a job!!! Used my disclosure to help them flog out more CVs.

No thats the lowest an agency can go.

Dave!

I've had great experiences with CPL so far. They've got me 3 (possibly 4) interviews, and have been great at keeping in contact, easy to get a hold of them, etc. They've given me good information and advice ahead of the interviews, and have only sent me jobs that are related to what I want to do. I told them I was working with another couple of agencies too, and that wasn't a problem. Told them about a test I had coming up for a job that I applied to on my own, and they tried to help me out by telling me the format of the test (I already knew, though), and then asked me how I got on, etc., afterwards.

All in all I've been really happy with CPL. No job yet, but that's outside their control Getting closer, though.