Recruitment agencies - name, shame (and praise)

helimachoptor · 02-12-2008 04:59PM

CPL- had mixed fortunes.. A friend of mine was looking for a temp job as she was finished doing 1 masters and was going back to do another so a 3 month job. She was offered a junior PM type job (permanent) that was exactly what I wanted so I gave the recruiter a call (sarah I think) sent her my CV and told her my experience and she was like "oh yeah this is exactly the position for you, i'll send it to the company" never heard back!!

Next up were 2 of the PM recruiters who never returned my calls, emails as at the time I was in a technical job with only 6 months junior PM experience. When I moved to a PM position a few months back they wouldnt stop calling!

Finally some good experience -> Marguerite Maher gave me some great advice on my CV, I had applied for a position which was a bit beyond on my experience, she called me and explained she had nothing for me at the moment and but would keep an eye out, gave me some pointers on my CV and shes called a few times since.

Eolas Recruitment: Dealt with Keith and a guy called Peter. The junior guy was Keith and found him pretty good and so was Peter, They got me great money from the company and even a signing on fee! But it would mean no life while I was there as the hours were very very long, with travel probably 7-7.30 each day.

Allegis Group: Met with Angela in there, said I would be better going down the contracting route as I would make more money and that they didnt really do permanent jobs but overall got a good vide from them.

Hall Recruitment: Had a very positive experience with Miriam in there but sadly the company I interviewed with turned out to be idiotic!

Abacus recruitment, ABC recruitment and a few other one man operations which were terrible.

Jobsource - A one man band got me my current job. Came out to where I was working had a quick coffee discussed the role. As expected he told me I'd be very suitable. Went for the interview and landed the job, can't fault him.

Aslo last week had a letter to my work place from a recruiter (cant remember the name/company) asking about my availability for a job interview :eek::eek:, she called a couple of days later to reception and said this is X from Y recruitment company :eek::eek::eek::eek:

Shivers26 · 02-12-2008 06:03PM

Premier Recruitment - (Dublin City Centre) - Found them very good. Always dealt with the one guy, he was always on the end of the phone if I had queries, honest, gave me good feedback from interviews, answered emails quickly, slightly pushy but then they do want their fee and thats just to be expected

McGrath Saunders - Accountancy 'Specialists' - Total Flake, promised me the sun, moon and stars, kept ringing me to say she had excellent roles and did I want an interview, if I said yes she said she would arrange it and then never came back to me

Top People currently have my CV as I have taken the decision to change jobs but am in no hurry to do so. I did find them good initially, however she asked me about 2 weeks ago could I go for interview the following day, I said I could and she never came back to me. I would prefer to be told even if the employer didnt want to meet me. I will follow up on this crowd but overall, not hugely impressed

Robert Half - Come across really professional but kept offering me roles that were very very junior for me with much lower salaries than I was on

A tip : Do not under any circumstances upload your CV onto irishjobs, those vultures will get you - if you decide to use an agency, research them a bit and get some recommendations and try to stick with just one or two!

dazberry · 02-12-2008 09:29PM

Shivers26 wrote: »

A tip : Do not under any circumstances upload your CV onto irishjobs, those vultures will get you - if you decide to use an agency, research them a bit and get some recommendations and try to stick with just one or two!

Yeah, I put my CV on monster and I got innundated - literally the following morning from 8am. All working it backwards, now have CV need to find a home for it /sigh/. You really know they are chancing their arms when you hear things like - "let me contract my clients" blah blah blah. After about 15 calls in 2 days (none of which have ever rang back btw) I took it down and learned a very valuable lesson.

I absolutely detest my job - and have being trying to get out of the place for the last 3+ years, and in that time I've only managed 5 interviews, 1 was a direct application, and from all the agencies I have talked to and the promises made, 3 (1 disaster, 1 unlucky and 1 in progress

) were from Eolas. Says a lot to me...

D.

Shivers26 · 02-12-2008 10:39PM

I know what you mean, in Jan this year I had to apply for a new job and I was a bit naive on the whole process so I uploaded on to irishjobs, monster and I was hounded...lesson learned, never again!

I have an interview on Friday that is for a job in my preferred sector so fingers crossed it goes well and it was a direct application as well

yop · 03-12-2008 10:31AM

Looking at Greythorn on computerjobs.ie and spotted that Winforms job, enquired but it was gone, yet 4 or 5 weeks later its still there with "Added Today", what a shower.

eth0_ · 03-12-2008 12:33PM

Just be thankful that lots of these waste of space recruitment agencies will go bust in the coming months.

oldscoil · 03-12-2008 01:12PM

eth0_ wrote: »

Just be thankful that lots of these waste of space recruitment agencies will go bust in the coming months.

Spot on eth0_

Lemming · 03-12-2008 01:30PM

Mixed bag man with agencies myself.

As a student; any and all were f*cking terrible. Which agencies I cannot recall any more but most definitely not helpful. Even when the positions advertised stated "would suit recent graduate programmer" or some such. "Oh, but we really want you to have at least one year's experience ... " in which case you're not a f*cking graduate. Go figure.

I also remember applying for a sys. admin role out of college (when jobs were harder to find because of the dotcom bubble bursting) with 6 months commercial experience under my belt and after being informed they wanted someone with 6 months experience, being told that it [my experience] didn't count because it was in two three month blocks with different companies (my summer holidays). That was an interesting bullsh*t excuse.

Anyway, names I can remember as either being negative or not delivering:

Eden Recruitment. Snide, snide, snide cow on the phone. Utterly uninterested whatsoever. This was me with 5 years experience.

Stelfox. Non entity.

IT Talent. Amiable on the phone, but never delivered a role.

Sigmar. Friendly but again, never delivered anything

Rescon IT. Never delivered anything

Computer Future Solutions. Never delivered even after some lengthy phone calls, repeatedly spam the crap out of me. Even contacted me for a 1st line tech support role when I had 7 years as a developer under my belt. Eh ... "no".

Irish Recruitment. Never delivered anything.

Berkley IT. Friendly but never really delivered anything.

Those I have successfully used:

CPL. Two seperate reps have successfully delivered me my last three roles; one contract role in Microsoft, and two permanent roles since then. They've fought my corner every time, although I did initially have to push them a little.

GreyThorn. They delivered interview (which resulted in an offer), and specialise in .Net development roles, which suits me quite nicely. My only beef with them is that they are quite aggressive in their approach and can be quite pushy.

I'm sure there are others worth mentioning, I just can't remember since this is a list stretching back over the years, most of the above confined to the last three/four years. All in all, I've only had two or three really negative experiences, with most of the rest of those in the first list I gave simply not delivering and/or being disappointing (like Computer Futures) in my personal experience.

m5ex9oqjawdg2i · 04-12-2008 10:13PM

Got a phone call from sigmar the other day, went for an "interview". I thought they were matching me up for a role or something... Drove from Carlow town to Dublin city centre to be told "you should be on the dole, are you?" Anything they told me could have been done over the phone, what a waste...

I have used multiple agencies, they are all worth the same, nothing... Not one company would I say anything positive about. In it for themselves of course... It will be great to watch most of these useless agencies go bust. There are too many and too false for my liking.

eth0_ · 05-12-2008 04:37PM

Oh my God...so Sigmar didn't even do an interview or discuss possible roles?
I would have blown my top and demanded to speak to a manager there....what a massive waste of your time driving up from Carlow!

m5ex9oqjawdg2i · 07-12-2008 08:00AM

eth0_ wrote: »

Oh my God...so Sigmar didn't even do an interview or discuss possible roles?
I would have blown my top and demanded to speak to a manager there....what a massive waste of your time driving up from Carlow!

Yup, was pretty annoyed. Only thing they did say was to contact them on a weekly basis, which I am doing. There was no roles available but they did ask what I was looking for. It was more like an advice session, "contact your previous employers, sign on the dole" etc etc. I don't think I will be bothered doing too much searching this month, seems completely hopeless.

Farls · 07-12-2008 02:23PM

Abby Witty Snack wrote: »

I don't think I will be bothered doing too much searching this month, seems completely hopeless.

Never give up!! I signed a contract for a new position on friday there. Just when I thought it would be January before things would pick up also.

herya · 08-12-2008 11:08AM

Abby Witty Snack wrote: »

Yup, was pretty annoyed. Only thing they did say was to contact them on a weekly basis, which I am doing. There was no roles available but they did ask what I was looking for. It was more like an advice session, "contact your previous employers, sign on the dole" etc etc. I don't think I will be bothered doing too much searching this month, seems completely hopeless.

Keep looking, don't be discouraged. Yes the market is slow but many foreign employees are leaving for home now before Christmas and they need to be replaced. Be realistic in your expectations but keep looking!

uaobrien · 11-12-2008 10:10PM

Hays: Dublin City Centre = Blackrock
Eden / Verkom: Dublin North = Dundalk

Obviously geography is not a prerequisite skill.

Lil' Smiler · 12-12-2008 12:20AM

Farls wrote: »

Never give up!! I signed a contract for a new position on friday there. Just when I thought it would be January before things would pick up also.

Yup me too, started my new job 3 weeks ago!!!

Arcee · 27-12-2008 10:09AM

Anyone have any experience with Hudson? Specifically for IT jobs.....

Farls · 27-12-2008 10:54PM

Arcee wrote: »

Anyone have any experience with Hudson? Specifically for IT jobs.....

Had a few calls from them but never led to anything...usual twenty minute chat about positions and my experience then not a word back

tommyboy2222 · 28-12-2008 03:39AM

Just be thankful that lots of these waste of space recruitment agencies will go bust in the coming months.

True that . Karma baby !

Tom Dunne · 29-12-2008 12:40PM

I forgot about this thread.

Around November, our company posted a job on our own website for a position, which was subsequently filled. Lo and behold, the same job appears under Firsstaff on jobs.ie, word for word, including spelling mistakes a month later.

Aside from the dishonesty, they didn't even have the intelligence to spell check the job, literally copy and paste.

Morons.

AARRRGH · 29-12-2008 01:27PM

Tom Dunne wrote: »

I forgot about this thread.

Around November, our company posted a job on our own website for a position, which was subsequently filled. Lo and behold, the same job appears under Firsstaff on jobs.ie, word for word, including spelling mistakes a month later.

Aside from the dishonesty, they didn't even have the intelligence to spell check the job, literally copy and paste.

Morons.

Wow, that's quite amazing.

I can understand them wanting to get candidates to fill your role, but blatently ripping off your advert like that? WTF.

Tom Dunne · 29-12-2008 01:41PM

ROFL. Just noticed the spelling mistake in my post. See what I did there?

AARRRGH wrote: »

Wow, that's quite amazing.

I can understand them wanting to get candidates to fill your role, but blatently ripping off your advert like that? WTF.

I still think our company was too easy on them. When confronted, nobody wanted to take responsibility for it and our HR person was passed from person to person. She eventually got what can only be described as a grunt who probably wasn't responsible for it and wasn't worth shouting at.

uaobrien · 29-12-2008 01:54PM

Tom Dunne wrote: »

I forgot about this thread.

Around November, our company posted a job on our own website for a position, which was subsequently filled. Lo and behold, the same job appears under Firstaff on jobs.ie, word for word, including spelling mistakes a month later.

Aside from the dishonesty, they didn't even have the intelligence to spell check the job, literally copy and paste.

Morons.

I wonder if they could be caught under false advertising.

I actually found out a job's origin after talking to an agency about it. I enquired about the position from the company directly (as the agency were giving the run around). They company wrote me back stating they had no current vacancies. This was in November.

Not only is the job still posted by the agency, two subsequent postings under modified titles exist. Sure they can be reported to the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland.

Actually I think I'll call ASAI and ask.

Edit: Will have to wait till 5th Jan. Office is closed till then.

Tom Dunne · 29-12-2008 01:57PM

uaobrien wrote: »

I wonder if they could be caught under false advertising.

That's a very good point. Methinks it would put a lot of agencies out of business, thought.

uaobrien wrote: »

Actually I think I'll call ASAI and ask.

Do, it would be great to know.

AARRRGH · 29-12-2008 02:04PM

I wonder is a job "advert" an advertisement though?

the_syco · 29-12-2008 02:34PM

Tom Dunne wrote: »

That's a very good point. Methinks it would put a lot of agencies out of business, thought.

Aye. It'd be terrible if the agencies advertising non-existent jobs went out of business...

Tom Dunne · 29-12-2008 02:44PM

AARRRGH wrote: »

I wonder is a job "advert" an advertisement though?

I think the ASAI would have the final word on that. Personally, I think it is an advertisement of a service available and therefore is an advertisement.

the_syco wrote: »

Aye. It'd be terrible if the agencies advertising non-existent jobs went out of business...

I did mean that with a hint of irony. Just noticed my spelling is gone to pot today.

dazberry · 29-12-2008 02:51PM

A certain agency had recently advertised the following:

Excellent permanent C#/.NET opportunities in a Telecom company for experienced C#, C++,.NET Developers.

Other skills areas include:
COM, DUN, Wifi, WWAN and GUI Custom Development and OO.

The correct candidate will be supporting functionality to new business requirements within an existing application framework. Design, documentation, and implementation of scalable applications and device level components.

If you are interested in joining this company, then please send your CV to [snip] at:

linky

I googled for some of the key phrases and came up with this from early 2007 in Colorado:

Excellent multiple long term contract opportunities in the Telecom industry for experienced C#, C++,.NET Developers. Other skills areas include: COM, DUN, Wifi, WWAN and GUI Custom Development and OO. The correct candidate will be supporting functionality to new business requirements within an existing application framework. Design, documentation, and implementation of scalable applications and device level components.The client needs multiple contractors and is offering excellent rates. Please contact [snip] at or email: [snip].

linky

So its either a very lazy recruitment droid taking a spec verbatim, or indeed a fake ad, I don't know which as I won't deal with that agency.

D.

Tom Dunne · 29-12-2008 03:32PM

dazberry wrote: »

So its either a very lazy recruitment droid taking a spec verbatim, or indeed a fake ad, I don't know which as I won't deal with that agency.

D.

That is unreal. Name and shame, I say, name and shame.

Edit: I see the name in the link. Unreal.

m5ex9oqjawdg2i · 29-12-2008 03:45PM

Ok, how can one tell if that job is a fake or not? I use agencies every day, guess how many phone calls I get? NONE...

AARRRGH · 29-12-2008 03:52PM

Abby Witty Snack wrote: »

Ok, how can one tell if that job is a fake or not? I use agencies every day, guess how many phone calls I get? NONE...

You generally can't tell if a job is fake.

Did you follow any of the advice I gave you about your poor cover letter, or are you still using the cover letter you sent me...?

Recruitment agencies - name, shame (and praise)

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