Recruitment agencies - name, shame (and praise)

Mynamehere

Also if your applying for jobs make sure you leave your phone on or answer it over the following days. The amount of times i have given up trying to contact people who have applied for jobs with my agency. After 2 or 3 attempts i just give up on the person and move on. At the same time i am sure these people are giving out saying they never hear back from agencies and say there are no jobs etc.

I must agree with the last poster. Some cvs and cover letters are terrible no wonder these people are unemployed if they are not putting any effort into the basics.

Its also surprising how many people don't put stuff like their phone number and email addresses on their cvs.

su27

Mynamehere wrote: »

Also if your applying for jobs make sure you leave your phone on or answer it over the following days. The amount of times i have given up trying to contact people who have applied for jobs with my agency. After 2 or 3 attempts i just give up on the person and move on. At the same time i am sure these people are giving out saying they never hear back from agencies and say there are no jobs etc.
.

On the other hand, good recruiter should be aware that he is often calling people who have jobs and can't talk at work, right?

Mynamehere

Of course. But when they don't answer after 6 pm or on Saturday theres not much you can do.

su27

Mynamehere wrote: »

Of course. But when they don't answer after 6 pm or on Saturday theres not much you can do.

I agree. BTW, I have some good experiences with Stelfox agency. They haven't got me hired yet but at least they reply to my emails and give useful advices.

allibastor

It is true, but in recruitment you see so many CV's that you cant reply to them all, no matter how much you want to, you just dont have the time. also the amount of non related emails i get i just dont reallt read them.

maguic24

I would have to recommend CPL in Dublin myself, they got me my job. But Grafton, Orange, La Creme steer well clear of them *****!

lilmissprincess

Wondering how to phrase my phone call without sounding like I am pestering, its been 8 days since an email asking about my availability which I replied to same day.

Pomplamousse

Just wondering has anyone here in the Science (Biology) field used recruitment agencies before? If so which ones and did you find them useful?

christeb

Pomplamousse wrote: »

Just wondering has anyone here in the Science (Biology) field used recruitment agencies before? If so which ones and did you find them useful?

Hi - I work with Life Science Recruitment (www.lifescience.ie), and without blowing our own trumpet, I think we're pretty good

Drop me an email (brian.c@lifescience.ie) if you'd like to talk.

Esse85

Next Generation Recruitment were good up until I didn't get a job I'd interviewed for, I emailed the recruiter I was dealing with looking for feedback and she ignored me, in other words as soon as it was official I wasn't gonna make her any commission this time, she'd hadn't any time for me. I always hope I'll get another call off her telling me I'd be perfect for such a role so I can tell her to p1ss off.

Gearoil

nopz wrote: »

I have seen a lot of positive on CPL, however my one experience with them was OK, however the girl let me go the 1st day to a new job on a bank holiday :mad:

However now i am looking for a job again and was wondering if anyone can recommend a certain person at CPL for IT recruitment?

The have the a job that i am interested in , I just want to get the best agent at CPL.

Thanks

I hope at this point you have been sorted with somone and in a job that you like.
My experience of CPL is limited to about 6 months ago, and at that time was very poor, lacked motivation and enthusiasum, no process for registration in place like other agencies have, getting no feedback from employers and not bothering to follow up after interviews, no confidence in being represented by CPL. Was also registered with other agency's who were much more efficient, always follow up on interviews, framing my CV for the specific job. It was another agency that secured my current job even though CPL also had it advertised, but never bothered to tell me about it.
No I wouldnt recommend CPL and interestingly they dont have a feedback form on their website!!! wonder why that is???

Gearoil

maguic24 wrote: »

I would have to recommend CPL in Dublin myself, they got me my job. But Grafton, Orange, La Creme steer well clear of them *****!

Ohh No cant really recommend them I was however only linked to one person and no option to change. No interest, doesnt want to know, and couldnt be bothered thats how Id describe the person I was linked with in CPL his name I wont mention though.!!!! This has however prompted me to contact them with some feedback.

LocalYokel

So glad others have problems with Cpl! Their record keeping is crap, and their attitudes are even worse. I could count the good people at Cpl on my thumbs. If I ever using a recruitment agency to fill a role, I cannot wait for the cold call from Cpl offering to do it for me - I will take an enormous amount of pleasure in telling them to stick it up the proverbial, then scan them the cheque paying some other recruitment agency so they know where their missed commission went!

La Creme freaked me out as they wanted to take a photo of me. I said no never heard from them again.

Gilligan Black had me dangling for a job for 5 weeks, telling me that the interview process was delayed as the manager was on holiday. I called the company and spoke to the new hire - he was hired three weeks before direct by the company. I think I was the 'failed probation period' back up.

Leinster are crap.. put my CV forward even after I said not to, and now the manager checks my LinkedIn after I said to leave me alone. Wish you could 'block' people on LinkedIn but if you are looking for a job, you have to go 'public'.

I've had really good experiences with Brightwater and Hays. Lots of CV advice, pre interview prep and post interview feedback, consultants call when they say they will. Cpl etc could learn from both agencies.

I hate 'talent pooling'.

jgh_

Any IT recruiters reading this, feel free to hit me up on LinkedIn. I'm gonna be looking at relocating down the road a bit (closer to my US visa expiry, and hopefully as the Irish economy starts picking up a little more ) so I wouldn't mind getting some of your contacts so I can harass you then. I mostly specialize in iOS/Mac OS X multimedia (video, opengl especially) - h.264, rtp, sip, ffmpeg, avfoundation, [c, objective-c, c++] etc

http://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesghurley

Esse85

jgh_ wrote: »

Any IT recruiters reading this, feel free to hit me up on LinkedIn. I'm gonna be looking at relocating down the road a bit (closer to my US visa expiry, and hopefully as the Irish economy starts picking up a little more ) so I wouldn't mind getting some of your contacts so I can harass you then. I mostly specialize in iOS/Mac OS X multimedia (video, opengl especially) - h.264, rtp, sip, ffmpeg, avfoundation, [c, objective-c, c++] etc

http://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesghurley

Your missus looks hot James

Chocoholic84

LocalYokel wrote: »

Lots of CV advice, pre interview prep and post interview feedback, consultants call when they say they will.

See, this is the exact experience I had with La Creme...the girl I dealt with was brilliant!

Maybe I just got lucky getting her!

ABajaninCork

Chocoholic84 wrote: »

See, this is the exact experience I had with La Creme...the girl I dealt with was brilliant!

Maybe I just got lucky getting her!

You were very lucky! Most of the so-called 'recruiters' are about as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike...

jgh_

Esse85 wrote: »

Your missus looks hot James

I just couldn't turn down the opportunity to marry a hot lady who wants to live in different countries instead of having a bunch of kids

Gearoil

I can recommend HAYS too, they were really good and got me my current job, and gave really good advise for my CV and Ive every only heard good things about them. I hope I never have to use a recruitment company again, thats for sure.

platinums

Sigmar - used them about a month ago now, just looking for the skinny on them before i apply for more jobs through them. Although i think ill be wasting my time.

I applied for a job,
1. the job wasn't spec'ed correctly, it was for a far senior role and based on my feedback, i noticed they changed the job spec a few days later.
2. no mention of a 2 hour logic test - wasn't planned for and was inconvenient
3. staff were *learning* i have nothing against that we al have to learn the ropes somehow, but at least be genuine and not read off teh same canned response on the end of every telephone conversation. It's robotic.

Question - Based on all your experiences, is it a Hunters, or a recruiters market?
(meaning who's chasing who for jobs)

Pomplamousse

christeb wrote: »

Hi - I work with Life Science Recruitment (www.lifescience.ie), and without blowing our own trumpet, I think we're pretty good

Drop me an email (brian.c@lifescience.ie) if you'd like to talk.

Thanks a mill but actually ended up getting a job since last posting on here:)

christeb

Pomplamousse wrote: »

Thanks a mill but actually ended up getting a job since last posting on here:)

Glad to hear it.

freeze4real

Hi guys I dont want to be trawling through pages of old thread can anyone please tell me a few good recruiters for grads jobs.

cheers

dave45dave

allibastor wrote: »

could i just say, and this would apply for alot of people. i see around 150 CV a day. Most people are just applying for jobs out of the blue, with very little or no experience in the related field. many people also send in very poor cover letters, or emails. many i get have no subject bar or information in the email to let me know who they are, or what they want. If Einstein himself sent me a CV this way, it would be right into the bin.

Just make sure all your stuff looks in order before you send it, you need an email to be eye catching to stand out for someone who reads loads a day-

You should really look at you own typing experience first

allibastor

dave45dave wrote: »

You should really look at you own typing experience first

Well, mr crammed nazi, first I am dyslexic, and rely on spell check, a feature not present on boards on my computer.

Second, and more crucially, I am the one who needs to be impressed as I have the positions going! It's a friendly warning to people that a cv with No other information will go in the bin. If you want to be an ass about it then good luck to you. Don't apply with me though

maguic24

freeze4real wrote: »

Hi guys I dont want to be trawling through pages of old thread can anyone please tell me a few good recruiters for grads jobs.

cheers

Hello,

You should try applying through CPL, they are pretty good for graduates. I would just like to stress that the recruiting agencies are working for companies, not for candidates, so getting in contact with them and asking them to get you a job, is going to get you no where.

You need to apply for jobs you are interested in, through their site. You also need to know yourself, what type of a job you want and alter your CV for each application. Sending out 500 of the same CV's to different places is pointless. A cover letter is also very important. This is real textbook stuff, but it makes a big difference. And one last point, STAY POSITIVE no matter how many rejections you get. Some companies will ask you to come in for an interview and then not let you know whether or not you got the job. I was unemployed for 5 months, and there were times when I felt like giving up, but you just have to keep the chin up. It's a tough world out there, especially for graduates, and the only one who gives a damn about your future, is you.

NewsMeQuick

Can I ask something about employment with an agency? If you are hired by an agency, do they deduct from your pay usually or charge the ultimate company your fee?

I've applied for a job with Kelly services and heard a few different approaches by agencies.

monkeypig

Has anybody ever heard of Oxford International? I have an interview there tomorrow for an account managers position.

Cheers

whatnext

NewsMeQuick wrote: »

Can I ask something about employment with an agency? If you are hired by an agency, do they deduct from your pay usually or charge the ultimate company your fee?

I've applied for a job with Kelly services and heard a few different approaches by agencies.

The agency charges the employer, they are the client, not the candidate / worker.

In most cases it would be illegal to charge the worker commission.

Some people believe the agency commission that the client / employer pays is coming out of their pay as the client is paying it and the worker is not receiving it.

fasttalkerchat

monkeypig wrote: »

Has anybody ever heard of Oxford International? I have an interview there tomorrow for an account managers position.

Cheers

err no...
Sorry I was thinking of Oxford Instruments.

Mr. Loverman

whatnext wrote: »

Some people believe the agency commission that the client / employer pays is coming out of their pay as the client is paying it and the worker is not receiving it.

A previous employer of mine would pay new hires less money if they came via an agency to compensate for the agency fee.

whatnext

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

A previous employer of mine would pay new hires less money if they came via an agency to compensate for the agency fee.

That is the employers decision however.

The agency is not charging the employee. I can understand why someone would feel aggrieved in that instance, but in that particular instance the agency is not to blame.

pushpop

I've had nothing but bad experiences with recruiters unfortunately. I've never seen a profession so dogged by unprofessionalism, dishonesty and mediocrity as I have with these guys, and unfortunately they seem to have an iron grip on the hiring process for any kind of skilled career path.

To give you a flavour of what I've experienced, I interviewed for a position just before Christmas, and a couple of days later received feedback from the recruiter saying I didn't get it, because I was pipped to the post by someone who interviewed before me. I wondered why they bothered calling me in for interview if the other person did so well, but either way I considered it an open and shut case, and I moved on.

Yesterday, the same recruiter left a voicemail on my phone saying they had just received feedback from the company. I rang back but the recruiter was off for the day, so I was told they'd ring me today. I was a little bit excited, as to me and everyone else I told, it sounded like the position (or another) had become available again and I was being informed of this.

It transpired that the recruiter forgot she rang me before Christmas, and instead was calling to give me the bad news all over again. I was absolutely livid, and it just proved to me that a lot of these recruiters are mediocre salespeople with no training, empathy, or any kind of personal touch or notion of customer service when it comes to dealing with candidates. You're just one CV out of many. How else could she have made that mistake?

Another recruiter I dealt with 2 years ago got me a position, and apart from all the typos, gratuitous punctuation marks and misspellings in his mails, in the job offer mail he sent me, he put in a salary figure 15K higher than what I was actually getting paid. He apologised and stressed that the job package itself included flexi-time and a non-contributory pension meaning the company meet the entire cost of pension contributions. Both of these turned out to be complete fiction. No flex-time, no pension benefit.

Yet another recruiter had been sending me mails once a week for 6 months about different positions, until I finally caved and responded, saying I'd be interested in 3 of the 5 positions in the mail concerned. He replied, asking if I'd be interested in putting myself forward for one of the two I had deliberately excluded due to lack of relevant experience. I said no, and asked for more information about the three positions I mentioned I was interested in. I haven't heard back since. Presumably the one he mentioned had the most commission going for it.

It's sickening, and makes the hiring process a far more daunting and bureaucratic task for candidates than it needs to be, because there's much more to'ing and fro'ing, and you just don't know what's true and what are lies coming out of their mouths. They screw the process up because their incentives and motivations are entirely commission-based, and less about the mutual suitability of the candidates and companies involved.

Unfortunately, for any reasonably skilled career, and even some that aren't, they have a stranglehold on the path from application to acceptance. I really don't know why so many employers opt to go down the route of using recruiters, because they cost a fortune if they place a candidate, and really all they do are put up job posts, wait for candidates, do an initial screening and then make a couple of phone calls, for several thousand euros per candidate placed in most cases.

Mr. Loverman

pushpop wrote: »

It transpired that the recruiter forgot she rang me before Christmas, and instead was calling to give me the bad news all over again. I was absolutely livid, and it just proved to me that a lot of these recruiters are mediocre salespeople with no training, empathy, or any kind of personal touch or notion of customer service when it comes to dealing with candidates. You're just one CV out of many. How else could she have made that mistake?

In fairness, she made a mistake, and by calling you to give you the bad news it shows she does actually have empathy, personal touch, and customer service skills.

The other two examples are valid (lying, and lack a of customer service, respectively).

pushpop wrote: »

Once they get your bum in a seat in an office , you are forgotten about.

Well, they've completed their job. What do you want them to do?

My advice to you is to continue applying for jobs, even if they have been posted by recruiters. I live in China and a common saying here amongst expats is "China won't change for you; you have to change for China". I think the same advice can be applied to recruiters...

COYW

pushpop wrote: »

It transpired that the recruiter forgot she rang me before Christmas, and instead was calling to give me the bad news all over again

They are good at that. I went for an interview in mid-November, first round. I didn't like the representatives from the company, so I told the recruiter that I did not want to proceed with my application for the role. One week later, he rang me with the "great news" that the company wanted me to come in for a second and final interview for the position. He completely forgot about our conversation from the week before.

Mid December, one of his colleagues rang me to discuss an excellent role which just came onto their books. No need to go any further, you can guess what the role was .......

token101

Most people working in recruitment haven't an iota of what companies are actually looking for, they're picking out words from your CV and matching them with the job spec. Some of the jobs I've been offered by rec agencies aren't even in the same industry as my degree & experience.

rolexeagle1

token101 wrote: »

Most people working in recruitment haven't an iota of what companies are actually looking for, they're picking out words from your CV and matching them with the job spec. Some of the jobs I've been offered by rec agencies aren't even in the same industry as my degree & experience.

most, not all!

Strawberry Fields

Anyone ever dealt with with Brightwater? This had me laughing.
I applied for a job off a website which went to them, it seemed a handy number and I thought I ticked the boxes listed.
Within 5 minutes I got an absolute f off email back, no we'll keep you on file,
I'm half tempted to send an equally snotty f off back.

Mr. Loverman

Strawberry Fields wrote: »

I'm half tempted to send an equally snotty f off back.

I know you probably won't send the e-mail, but Ireland is small so you never know when you will need them again or run into them again.

Deep breath and move on!

Ulysses Gaze

pushpop wrote: »

I really don't know why so many employers opt to go down the route of using recruiters, because they cost a fortune if they place a candidate,

HR used to do this job before when they were known as 'Personnel'. No they see themselves as above the sorting through CVs.

To be fair, I was hiring for a role in my company recently and received about 60 Cvs of which 5 were relevant for the position. In this environment, people are applying for anything.

starlit

I suppose some people kind of have to as they are prepared to work in anything they think might be relevant to them based on a job they had before, their personality, qualifications even if not the right work experience but right qualifications and vice versa.

Sometimes if they have the personality and some transferable skills relevant to the jobs they are applying they will keep on applying for jobs yet not get anywhere bit like a needle in a hay stack and luck.

Then again some recruiters assume if you have these key words in a database from your cv you are deemed suitable when they have a good look at the cv or do an interview they realise the person is not suitable for the role or the person themselves feel pushed to apply for the role by recruiters yet feel they themselves are not suited to the job so its all up in the air and airy fairy. No match then for the job/candidate.

Jumboman

Noel recruitment are a joke I worked for them a few years back and they would'nt even give me my p45 back:mad:

donkey balls

About two years ago while contracting for a major energy/Utilities company I saw an advert for a job that I had all the quals&skills for,But the way the advert was laid out was a fooking disgrace the agency didn't even bother using the industry specific qualifications/skills that any company working in the industry would use.:mad: in order to get suitable qualified people.
Another thing that I have noticed over the last few years is agencies popping up out of no where and they are competing against each other for what ever work is out there,Under cutting each other to get the work which means a lower rate of pay for the agency workers.
Last year an agency called me asking me would I be interested in doing some temp work for them driving a 40ft petrol tanker when I inquired about the pay rate,I nearly fell off the bar stool:eek: they offered me about €9.50 an hour I kindly turned them down.

ABajaninCork

donkey balls wrote: »

Last year an agency called me asking me would I be interested in doing some temp work for them driving a 40ft petrol tanker when I inquired about the pay rate,I nearly fell off the bar stool:eek: they offered me about €9.50 an hour I kindly turned them down.

Not unusual, I'm afraid. Mate of mine's a fabricator. I believe the normal rate of pay is E20-25 ph. He was offered a job paying 10. Employer let him go after a week, as he didn't even want to pay that! His exact words as my mate was leaving were 'If you know any Poles, send them to me as I know they'll work for minimum wage!!!' :eek:

donkey balls

ABajaninCork wrote: »

Not unusual, I'm afraid. Mate of mine's a fabricator. I believe the normal rate of pay is E20-25 ph. He was offered a job paying 10. Employer let him go after a week, as he didn't even want to pay that! His exact words as my mate was leaving were 'If you know any Poles, send them to me as I know they'll work for minimum wage!!!' :eek:

Very true in what is happening in this country of ours certain employers etc saying people should be lucky to have a job thankfully my current employer is not like these other companies,I have heard of employees not getting paid for induction training/up skilling etc which under the SHAW act 2005 is illegal.

kristina larsen

'If you know any Poles, send them to me as I know they'll work for minimum wage!!!'

This is shocking, but sounds so true!!!

freeze4real

Hi guys,

I am thinking of using cpl.ie.

As anyone used them ?

freeze4real

I have emailed cpl staff about information regarding the company of some possible jobs that I would like to apply for, and they've not emailed me back.

I emailed them on Friday and sent another email on Monday still no response.

ABajaninCork

freeze4real wrote: »

I have emailed cpl staff about information regarding the company of some possible jobs that I would like to apply for, and they've not emailed me back.

I emailed them on Friday and sent another email on Monday still no response.

Well, you've got two choices. Either you Google the company or you pick up the phone and call! It's not difficult.

freeze4real

ABajaninCork wrote: »

Well, you've got two choices. Either you Google the company or you pick up the phone and call! It's not difficult.

I have called all the recruiters and anytime I call the person whom I want to speak to is not available.

I have alos reserched the job as well and I cant find the company name.