Recruitment Consultants

Anna23

I was offered a position as a recruitment consultant as i have no experience with this i dont know what to expect, for me its great experience as at present i am doing a degreen in HR, and i am dying to get out of my current job. Any advice or pros and cons?

Tom Dunne

Do a search - they are held in very low esteem around here.

They are basically used car salesmen, but instead of cars, they are selling people.

I personally have not had any positive experiences with them - case in point, I replied to an agency last week about a job, telling them what money I was on. Obviously, any position I would consider would have to be in and around that mark. Only this morning I got another e-mail from the same agency with a salary, non-negotiable, of €15k less than I am on.

'nuff said.

Anna23

I understand that and i can say that i have had excellent experiences with agencies, ok sometimes bad, but i need this for my experience as its basically impossible to get into HR and i cant seem to get any hr admin jobs, this rec agency are the only ones who offered me this, i did tell them that if I dont like it i will leave.

the_syco

Cons: we're heading into a recession, and recession = less jobs, in a dog eat dog world.

Anna23

yeah I know that and i did ask about that as well, tbh i need to get out of this place i am in its driving me up the walls, my job has been give to a girl i have trained in 1 year ago and now she is sending emails to people calling them lazy and stuff, she is my senior how about that, ive been here the longest and trained even my manager in and he decided he hates me and gave the job to someone else a tota cu %t that thinks she is the best. it was changed to a call centre and if i by mistake forget to log in i get told off and if i dont stay for 1.40 mins on a call i get into trouble, and i have a financial background, now an american company is in the process of offering me a job with 11 k more then the recruitment company and its close to home, but i have signed the contract with the rec agency and they seem lovely and i mean lovely! i exp to the american company that i will have to start and they said they can wait up to a month to make up my mind if i like recruitment or not and that basically the job is mine if i want it just waiting for approval from the senior hiring manager. i dont know what to do, i havent even given my notice in this place and i have been here 3 years and i am due to start in my new job in 2 weeks!

slickmcvic

2 of my mates worked as hr consultants.....the jobs had nothing to do with their degrees 1 was into engineering the other ag. science.....they made great money when everyone was hring but lately they are only earning the basic pay lately as the recruitment bonuses have dried up!

mrpink6789

Hey,

I'm a recruiter, been doing it for years now. The market has gotten tighter, lucky for me I have established solid relationships with clients to get through the "recession".

I don't believe it is a great time to start a recruitment gig unless it is with a massive agency.

G

mrpink6789

I just read your reply while I was writing my last one about the agency being lovely. They are all sound when you are interviewed by them but if you are not putting up the figures for them they will unfortunately turn on you. Obviously it depends on what agency but they are sales people so don't take your first impression on them as Gospel.

Anna23

WELL it's quite well known, its very central, beside grafton st!

Anna23

I have a back up plan the american company, i did explain to them that i am not a recruitment consultant and she said she doesnt expect me to do this straight away but it will take 3 months to be trained in. God I amjust afraid i made the biggest mistake of my life, but i still cant stay here its a horrible place.

Tom Dunne

Anna23 wrote: »

now an american company is in the process of offering me a job with 11 k more then the recruitment company and its close to home,

Take it. Take it now.

Anna23 wrote: »

but i have signed the contract with the rec agency and they seem lovely and i mean lovely!

You should be allowed to change your mind, it is a competitive market out there after all. Tell them you have got a better offer.

Anna23

after signing the contract?

mrpink6789

dont worry about the contract. they wont want you there if you are not fully focussed on the job. it will jsut waster their training and money.

I'd go with the American Company if I was you!

pug_lover

slickmcvic wrote: »

2 of my mates worked as hr consultants.....the jobs had nothing to do with their degrees 1 was into engineering the other ag. science.....they made great money when everyone was hring but lately they are only earning the basic pay lately as the recruitment bonuses have dried up!

Just a quick point HR Consultants are not Recruitment Consultants.

Anna, word of advice you will be waisting your degree if you go into Rec, and it very rarely leads to HR if you are thinking of using it as a stepping stone. In simple terms its is basically a sales person. I've been there and it can be very stressful, and I've seen a lot of people a) walking out very early on and b) being let go for not hitting targets, even when only 3 - 6 months in.

Recruitment was very lucrative for a time, and experienced and established recruiters with good relationships are the only people that will continue to make money with the current climate.

I wouldn't advise anyone to go into rec at the moment, don't worry about the contract, you are not tied into anything. You need to think of whats best for you and don't worry about letting anyone down.

Jumpy

Shes going to the dark side! quick lads, stop her!

Serafijn

Pug is right: agency recruitment consultants are very unlikely to move into HR further down the line, but likewise don't need any kind of HR experience to get in. They really are salespeople and a large part of their job is cold-calling companies who will be sick of having agencies call them.

I work in recruitment but in-house with a well known company and we get loads of agencies ringing all the time. I would never consider working for an agency unless I was really desperate!

If you're a good salesperson then you might enjoy it, but the current climate is going to be very tough if you're not a natural.

I'd take the american company's offer too - you never know, they might have an internal HR opening sometime in the future!

[Jackass]

Go to the American company! lol, no brainer I would have thought!

Ah i've dealt with recruitment agencies and have had some good experiences, but mostly bad experiences of time wasters pushing sh*t jobs on me and not doing what I asked for in the first place until the point it just feels like harrasment.

I known a couple of people who've worked in agencies also (cousin, ex-girlfriend and another friend) and they all say the same, it was a stop gap job really to save up a bit of cash, but for the most part it's all just sales and if it's not what you're really in to, you're better taking a career orientated job and building up relevant experience (as you're looking to work in HR). Particularly now that the boom has dried up.

Anna23

Right well i will be taking some time off from my job i havent given my resignation yet, but i cant stay there any longer, i will go on the sick for 2 weeks and go with the agency for 2 weeks and see what happens, but the american one only needs me after the middle of august, so i will start with the agency and when the other job becomes available i will hand in my notice, I wonder if they will be annoyed with me, because at the interview stage i was told that they need me for at least 2 years. ive no idea what to do especially after i have signed the contract. obviously the agency will never ever deal with me again! and honestlyI hate doing this i really do, but honestly i did think of taking the job with the american company, it wasnt even the money it was the fact that it was 2 mins up the road from me! ok and 20% money as well. but i do need to get away from my current employer because i just cant reach one of the 5 targets we have and thats the % of time i spend on a call which is f*ck*ng madness! last week in 2 days i made and received 658 calls. 2 days my head is spinning around!

[Jackass]

Wow, sounds tough alright. If you don't feel your getting enough money to compensate for the amount of work you're doing and the amount of time you've spent getting qualification/training/experience in the role then leave.

The employment contract means nothing to be honest, it's more to protect the employee than the employer. The only thing an employer reasonably asks of you is that you give them a fair bit of notice, at least a month, particularly if they see you as a medium/long term solution.

They will be annoyed. They will use resources to train you into a job that you'll leave a couple of months later. It wont feel great, but sometimes you've gotta do what you've gotta do. It's not as if they haven't screwed a person or two in their time anyway.

MagicMarker

So, you're trying to decide between a recruitment agency, a job that is notoriously stressfull and dog eat dog, or an american company 2 mins aways for 11k more.

You're a moron if you go with the recruitment agency...

Don't worry about their feelings if you turn down the job! Do you think they'd give a **** about you?

Anna23

Ok well I have decided to tell the rec agency tomorrow that i will not be accepting their offer due to unforseen circumstances bla bla bla. but i dont have the job from the american company yet...so it hasnt been offered to me, they are in the process they said....so basically i am taking a risk here, i cant stay in the company i am in anymore, 3 years is way to much as it is and the whole call centre is driving me insane, at one stage a person in there made 1522 calls in 3 days bacause they keep saying make calls make calls, i am not hearing any calls being made, its pure slavery! i can say that i am 80% sure that i will hopefully be hired with the american company.
so what can the recuritment company say to me if i am not taking the job, i did sign the contract and i dont know what they can do if i dont start? i am actually afraid.

Anna23

Ok I told them that i am not taking the job, didnt give them the real reason but i said i cannot take it due to unforseen circumstances. lets just say i didnt get anything back yet, God I am actually scared as they know a lot about me!

MagicMarker

Anna23 wrote: »

Ok I told them that i am not taking the job, didnt give them the real reason but i said i cannot take it due to unforseen circumstances. lets just say i didnt get anything back yet, God I am actually scared as they know a lot about me!

So? How old are you? Do you think they're going to send the heavies around to your house or something?

Anna23

They were really nice about it, i didnt expect that i told them what the problem was and she understood, but now i have to deal with a disciplinary in work after all the fussin....ha ha ha, i am 25!

flash harry

Anna23 wrote: »

but now i have to deal with a disciplinary in work after all the fussin

what does this mean Anna?

Anna23

Well exactly what it says, i answered my mobile and we are not allowed though the company provides them free for us and pays for them as well ( in case the lines are busy the cusotmers and shops can call us on the mobile as the nrs are on the intramet) and i am not allowed to answer calls ( irony of it all) so i was called into a disciplinary and because i was late on thursday last and i didnt say i was sorry, and i didnt speak to my supervisor straight away but left a message for her with whoever picked the phone up but i was driving i cant be put on hold and didnt have my handsfree with me, and they have called a disciplinary but i dont care i am looking for that hopefully they will fire me and pay me as well. God that will be lovely..i know they dont have a lot to fire me but i hope they will at least give their best shot....cause i am ready for this...exciting life huh?? let me add this in, my attendance was 98% last year and so far this year 96% and i didnt have any lates until thursday.....so the fing bi tch just doesnt like me and i know it casue ive to sit beside her God hardly wait to get out of there ASAP. i guess what goes around comes around