Question about Recruitment

apoch632

Recent IT Graduate. Not too familiar with how the whole recruitment system works just yet.

I have upload my CV onto a few different recruitment agencies websites. Was wondering. How long is it before you usually hear anything at all back from them. Its been 2-3 weeks in some cases and I'm still waiting. Was wondering should I give them a ring or would it be okay to call into their offices.

seamus

I wouldn't bother calling into their offices.

The way recruitment works is that you give them your CV and they read through it, take out some keywords and then associate these keywords with your name in their database.

Then when a job comes in, they stick in some keywords for the job, and a big list of names matching these keywords pops out.

Unless you really stand out, you're just another IT grad to the recruiter and you'll probably be put forward at random for some job.

The best thing to do is to surf the recruitment websites and apply for the jobs that you want to do, even if they're being filled by the agency you gave your CV to. If you put yourself forward for something, you stand a better chance of actually getting an interview than if you're waiting for the recruiter to choose your CV from the large piles of them that they now have.

apoch632

Cheers. Just thought it might help if a human goes into the office rather than another another cv being uploaded

Have been doing what you suggested and have been getting no response either way. Either applying through recruiters or directly to the companies. I'm not looking for unreasonable starting salary(26000 a year is not unreasonable starting out i think). Not even getting rejection letters from most of them. It can get you down.

herya

Well a decent agency should acknowledge the reception of your CV and keep it in their database to match it to incoming jobs. Somebody could also give you a call to discuss your options, requirements etc (that is if your CV is good and relevant). If there's a new job coming in they run a search and contact matching candidates. If you have not been contacted it means that either they have no jobs matching your experience or your experience is not relevant to their sector.

Nowadays it's probably due to the fact that there are less jobs in the market and possibly they do not have anything (yet) in which case phoning them won't change it. Your best strategy would probably be to keep sending CVs to agencies as well as companies, also keep applying for jobs you see on jobsites. Keep an eye on FAS specifically, they usually have a number of live junior jobs. In the current climate think of it as of volume business, you send out hundreds and get single replies, don't waste your time analysing any particular application too much. If they were interested or had something to offer they'd be back to you.

mrpink6789

a lot of companies won't use agencies to hire Grads as there are generally quite a few in the market, especially now. Some still do so take the advice above and only apply to jobs advertised by them rather then sending in your CV on the off chance.

Alternatively you can do some google searches on the technologies you want to get in to and see what companies come up. Then you can ring these companies to find out who you can send their CV to. Most of the larger multinationals do recruitment drives a couple of times a year, I just noticed that IBM are doing theirs now, it's advertised on Irishjobs.

Hope that helps,

seamus

apoch632 wrote: »

Have been doing what you suggested and have been getting no response either way. Either applying through recruiters or directly to the companies. I'm not looking for unreasonable starting salary(26000 a year is not unreasonable starting out i think). Not even getting rejection letters from most of them. It can get you down.

Indeed it can. Analyse your finances and see what kind of money you actually need. When you finish college, it's all talk of the guys who landed a €50k/year job at Microsoft with free X, Y and Z, but those guys are few and far between and had something else which you didn't, such as a contact in the company or had done a previous internship.

€26k might be a figure you just plucked out of the air, and no it's not unreasonable, but don't say "I want €26k and I'm not accepting a penny less". Once you've gotten a job in your chosen field at any pay level, it's much easier to move on and up. Being inflexible about your salary will only cause you pain.

My first IT job 5 years ago, was a fixed-term six month contract of €18,500/year. I was there for about 3 months when one of the guys I was working with mentioned a good job going elsewhere. I went for that job and got it, with a €5k boost in salary. They're the kind of opportunities which are unavailable to you if you don't "get on the ladder", so to speak.

apoch632

Getting on that Ladder seems to be the problem. I'm not stuck to €26000. Its just that I live in Longford. There isn't much going here in the way of IT. I am going to have relocation costs no matter what the job is. I want to allow for this.

Cheers for the heads up on the IBM Jobs

RentDayBlues

I see a lot if junior IT jobs with salaries starting at €19K. I know it sounds low; when I finished my degree I was certain I should be getting at least 25K - I settled for 18K in the end as a starting point. In most jobs you can move quickly and salary can increase too - just make sure the jobs you apply for offer good training. Companies like IBM and HP offer a good starting point for grads

tunney

apoch632 wrote: »

Cheers. Just thought it might help if a human goes into the office rather than another another cv being uploaded

Have been doing what you suggested and have been getting no response either way. Either applying through recruiters or directly to the companies. I'm not looking for unreasonable starting salary(26000 a year is not unreasonable starting out i think). Not even getting rejection letters from most of them. It can get you down.

Emmmmm 26k for an IT grad is perhaps a little on the high side.

apoch632

What should I be aiming at?

I was just going by some online guides.

helimachoptor

seamus wrote: »

Indeed it can. Analyse your finances and see what kind of money you actually need. When you finish college, it's all talk of the guys who landed a €50k/year job at Microsoft with free X, Y and Z, but those guys are few and far between and had something else which you didn't, such as a contact in the company or had done a previous internship.

€26k might be a figure you just plucked out of the air, and no it's not unreasonable, but don't say "I want €26k and I'm not accepting a penny less". Once you've gotten a job in your chosen field at any pay level, it's much easier to move on and up. Being inflexible about your salary will only cause you pain.

My first IT job 5 years ago, was a fixed-term six month contract of €18,500/year. I was there for about 3 months when one of the guys I was working with mentioned a good job going elsewhere. I went for that job and got it, with a €5k boost in salary. They're the kind of opportunities which are unavailable to you if you don't "get on the ladder", so to speak.

Would agree with Seamus here, landed a 6 month contract with a company I was working part time in. Paid by the hour and was doing lots of OT so I was clearing about 2K after tax most weeks. I went from that to a grad job for 24K a year. Within 18 months I'd more than doubled my grad salary by moving up in the grad company and then a change of jobs.


A couple of years back it was a case of just getting a foot in the door. That is even more important now. If you get offered a grad job for 20k and you like the company, work etc take it. 6 months down the line there could be a promotion or the chance to work abroad etc.

A guy I was college with a got a grad job with Citibank developing code. #35K sterling and massive perks starting off. Another friend got a job with Barclays as a trader and started off on 45K Sterling with a company credit card and free rent for a year. These types of jobs are out there but hard to get.

murphym7

apoch632 wrote: »

Getting on that Ladder seems to be the problem. I'm not stuck to €26000. Its just that I live in Longford. There isn't much going here in the way of IT. I am going to have relocation costs no matter what the job is. I want to allow for this.

Cheers for the heads up on the IBM Jobs

Forget your €26k, in fact I would not put any salary expectation on your CV at your level. It doesn't look great. Your goal should be to get your entry level postition, gain experience, become good at what you do, then you can start putting down salary expectations.

All the best of luck though, its not easy getting that first job.

apoch632

I don't have any salary expectations down on my CV. It was just a figure based on what I had seen online. Just got an email of an interview tomorrow so hopefully *fingers crossed*

onemorechance

Good luck with your interview. Do some research into the company and especially what coding languages they use if that's the kind of IT job it is. Be prepared to give examples of how you have used it in your projects in college. Be prepared to answer questions on e.g. Java, what is polymorphism etc. As for salary expectations, salaries for grads range from 20k to 35k typically, so 26k is about average.

Serafijn

Make sure you think up examples to back up everything you're planning to say. So if you're a good problem-solver, tell them about the huge problem you solved which saved your project. Also think over past experiences and what you've learned, what you would do differently. Employers like to see a candidate who can reflect and learn from their mistakes!

Good luck