Recruitment agencies - name, shame (and praise)

Tarzana · 19-07-2014 07:18PM

^^^^^^^

Isn't a lot of the problem that a lot of recruitment consultants simply aren't knowledgeable enough in the area in which they are recruiting to find and put forward qualified, suitable candidates?

DeepBlueOcean · 05-08-2014 11:20PM

I am an unemployed HR Manager and have been searching for work for 10 months - I can confirm that agencies are absolutely useless. I have secured 5 interviews in that time!! Sick of hearing that I'm "too experienced".

This may sound bad but I cannot wait for the day when I draw up a PSL again. I know exactly which agencies will NOT be included. For 13 years I listened to agencies as an employer and I am ashamed to say I swallowed the **** they fed me. As a candidate of 10 months......I have seen the light.

ldavis · 08-08-2014 02:41AM

recruitment agencies are really condescending. I mean I haven't work in accounting in 4 years. I lost my job and started to study the professional qualifications. I have being working in the leisure industry as a way of paying my bills. I have passed 13 out of 14 exams. Any, at job fair for accounting, the recruitment agent says, you have no experience, we won't deal with. I go, where do I get experience, he says do an internship or jobridge. I get angry, I say, im far too experience for jobridge, I also say, If quit my job on the health and leisure how do I pay my mortgage. He goes silent

fguihen · 08-08-2014 05:19AM

ldavis wrote: »

recruitment agencies are really condescending. I mean I haven't work in accounting in 4 years. I lost my job and started to study the professional qualifications. I have being working in the leisure industry as a way of paying my bills. I have passed 13 out of 14 exams. Any, at job fair for accounting, the recruitment agent says, you have no experience, we won't deal with. I go, where do I get experience, he says do an internship or jobridge. I get angry, I say, im far too experience for jobridge, I also say, If quit my job on the health and leisure how do I pay my mortgage. He goes silent

You say your too qualified for the job bridge scheme, the recruiter says you are not. Unfortunately, if you are getting this from all recruiters, then they are probably being honest with you. What jobs are you applying for, and do you have the experience they are looking for?

And when you ask the recruiter how do you pay your bills on jobs bridge, that's unfair. He/she is trying to tell you how to get the experience to qualify for the jobs you are applying for, it's not their business to worry about your mortgage. That's your personal problem, don't try to make it theirs.

allibastor · 08-08-2014 11:24AM

DeepBlueOcean wrote: »

I am an unemployed HR Manager and have been searching for work for 10 months - I can confirm that agencies are absolutely useless. I have secured 5 interviews in that time!! Sick of hearing that I'm "too experienced".

This may sound bad but I cannot wait for the day when I draw up a PSL again. I know exactly which agencies will NOT be included. For 13 years I listened to agencies as an employer and I am ashamed to say I swallowed the **** they fed me. As a candidate of 10 months......I have seen the light.

What agencies have you been working with.
Some I have dealt with in the past have been ok, some shocking.

A big problem I know find with agencies is just there is so much competition in the market with too many agencies that the staff are either young people in their 1st or 2nd role and don't know much about anything, or else the recruiter isn't a specialist in the area of recruitment for the particular role, so cant offer much more than if the person matches 100% the role as given from the job spec.

I do work in recruitment and I do try my hardest to not only read the CV and cover letter, but also to match what the person can do with a small bit of training. For the years I have been in recruitment I have never seen someone be able to walk into a job and do it 100% from day one, there is still a lot to learn about the role and company, and many companies and recruiters don't seem to realise this.

NipNip · 08-08-2014 11:40AM

allibastor wrote: »

What agencies have you been working with.
Some I have dealt with in the past have been ok, some shocking.

A big problem I know find with agencies is just there is so much competition in the market with too many agencies that the staff are either young people in their 1st or 2nd role and don't know much about anything, or else the recruiter isn't a specialist in the area of recruitment for the particular role, so cant offer much more than if the person matches 100% the role as given from the job spec.

I do work in recruitment and I do try my hardest to not only read the CV and cover letter, but also to match what the person can do with a small bit of training. For the years I have been in recruitment I have never seen someone be able to walk into a job and do it 100% from day one, there is still a lot to learn about the role and company, and many companies and recruiters don't seem to realise this.

Can I send you my cv?

An old boss of mine once asked me when did I believe you knew everything about a role. My response was that you're usually three months before you have a full grasp of what is going on, both in terms of the specifics of the role, but nuances such as office politics, how colleagues operate etc but that you're always learning. I find it absolutely hilarious that a lot of employers these days seem to prefer grads rather than experience. Like as if a degree will give them some notion of what is going on, day one..

allibastor · 08-08-2014 11:51AM

NipNip wrote: »

Can I send you my cv?
An old boss of mine once asked me when did I believe you knew everything about a role. My response was that you're usually three months before you have a full grasp of what is going on, both in terms of the specifics of the role, but nuances such as office politics, how colleagues operate etc but that you're always learning. I find it absolutely hilarious that a lot of employers these days seem to prefer grads rather than experience. Like as if a degree will give them some notion of what is going on, day one..

It is always something I say to ANYONE, either client or candidate.

I am big believer that if given the right training and mentoring anyone can do any job within three months.
But I agree, it does take about three months in any job to get the different styles of company operations, reporting procedures, client handling etc.

One thing I have seen nowadays, mainly with sales roles, is that a company will want you to come in with an established client list already from previous employer.

Unfortunately the job market wants very instant results from new candidates and doesn't seem to notice the HR side of it and human potential. Many people might not be the best at role from day one, but in 2-3 months could be much better at it than someone who is great day 1 and then never improves.

And as someone with 7 years of College degrees, MA etc. and work experience, if you have one the employer will want the other.

DeepBlueOcean · 18-08-2014 02:33PM

I am registered with 15 dublin based agencies - there are only about 3 I would recommend and they are; Wallace Myers, Brightwater and Morgan McKinley.

Each of the recruitment consultants with the above mentioned agencies have significant experience and bags of cop on. They are very professional and don't suffer from amnesia like some of the others!!

Stay away from CPL - they are a disgrace to deal with. They adopt a superior attitude & rarely return phone calls....so frustrating.
Executive Edge - lazy approach.....rarely return calls.
HRM - rude, superior attitude, suffer from short term memory problems.

I know that it's up to me to make the calls etc but at this stage I feel like a creepy stalker!!!!

NipNip · 18-08-2014 02:39PM

Osborne Recruitment, CPL, Adecco, Pauline something or another. Not even the manners to tell you that you were not successful, never mind letting you in on 'why'.

Tarzana · 18-08-2014 03:31PM

Wouldn't rate Wallace Myers. The one consultant I talked to from there went on with the whole "Don't talk to other agencies" crap and was a total bullshítter.

19-08-2014 07:19PM

I have a general recruiter type question and figure it may be better to ask here than start another thread:

I've read before that you're not supposed to deal with too many recruiters because if two different ones send your CV to the same company, the company may decide to reject you to avoid the hassle of who to pay the agency fee to. That's fine. But is there any unwritten rule when it comes to contacting different recruiters in the same agency? I was contacted by Recruiter A for a job. Recruiter A then emailed back to say that the job had been filled but that they'd look out for other roles for me. In the meantime I've noticed a similar role on a jobs site, and it's the same agency but Recruiter B is the contact person. Is there any problem with sending an email directly to Recruiter B or would I be expected to mention this to Recruiter A out of politeness or something?

(Sorry if this is a dumb question but I don't have much experience with recruiters or their mind games.

)

Mr. Loverman · 19-08-2014 08:31PM

Deleted User wrote: »

I have a general recruiter type question and figure it may be better to ask here than start another thread:

I've read before that you're not supposed to deal with too many recruiters because if two different ones send your CV to the same company, the company may decide to reject you to avoid the hassle of who to pay the agency fee to. That's fine. But is there any unwritten rule when it comes to contacting different recruiters in the same agency? I was contacted by Recruiter A for a job. Recruiter A then emailed back to say that the job had been filled but that they'd look out for other roles for me. In the meantime I've noticed a similar role on a jobs site, and it's the same agency but Recruiter B is the contact person. Is there any problem with sending an email directly to Recruiter B or would I be expected to mention this to Recruiter A out of politeness or something?

(Sorry if this is a dumb question but I don't have much experience with recruiters or their mind games. )

They're sales people.

The commission problem is their problem. That's why they try to scare you into not using other agencies. You should use as many agencies as you want. It's in your interest to tell them what they want to hear (e.g. I'm only using you!)

By all means use different recruiters in the same company.

19-08-2014 09:30PM

Thanks for reply. What made me question whether it was a faux pas to talk to different recruiters was an experience I've had with another recruitment company. Person A rings me, says they'll put my CV forward for a job, I don't hear back again. So I apply for a different job (same recruitment agency as Person A) to Person B, who emails me back to say that I've supposedly already got a contact in their agency, Person C (who I've never heard of in my life), and that all my future dealings through the agency should be with Person C so as that they're not doubling up on work. Fast forward a week: still no contact from Person C (who Person B assured me would "be in touch shortly"), Person B has presumably not bothered forwarding my CV for the job I contacted them about, and Person A has now added me on LinkedIn but still not updated me about the role they called me about in the first place.

I'm beginning to understand why people get frustrated with recruitment agencies. I understand that they're sales people and they care about their commission rather than my interests but I still wanna avoid pissing any of them off in case I need them to finally get that elusive job offer.

DGRulz · 25-08-2014 11:35AM

Recently applied for a Junior role on CPLs website. A few days later one of their recruiters got back to me asking to me call them. Called but no answer so I left a message with my details. After a few missed calls back and forth I eventually got in contact with her. She said the company advertising the role were strict about the degree grade wanted and that I didnt have it but said she had another role that might be of interest to me. Told me about it and I said I was interested and she said she'd forward on the details, she then asked me a few questions, location, expectations for salery ect and finally asked me to forward her my CV as she only had my LinkedIn account.

This was 2 weeks ago now and I've yet to receive any details on the job she said she'd forward me.

starlit · 26-08-2014 11:52AM

Avoid those that don't bother to call back. I've had to chase a few places in HR to get an interview date and nothing.

One recruiter was to send on a job spec to my email and I never got it!

Burkie7 · 30-09-2014 08:42PM

Hi.

Has anyone dealt with Noel Recruitment?

I applied for some Warehouse jobs just to get money up for Christmas but I had no manual handling cert so I'm suppose to go and get it tomorrow for €40 with one they have arranged.

Money is low at the moment so don't want to waste money on that and never hear back from them again.

Thanks.

donkey balls · 30-09-2014 08:52PM

So they want you to pay €40 for a manual handling course which is about 1/2 hours in duration? Under the SHAW act 2005 any training an employer provides the employee has to be paid for by the employer.
The f**kers are pulling a fast one on you put it this way my last job which had some serious responsibility due to the nature of the job,Required that I needed to do 3 weeks training including class room on site etc including assessments the company paid for the training as it is the law.

allibastor · 30-09-2014 08:54PM

Burkie7 wrote: »

Hi.

Has anyone dealt with Noel Recruitment?

I applied for some Warehouse jobs just to get money up for Christmas but I had no manual handling cert so I'm suppose to go and get it tomorrow for €40 with one they have arranged.

Money is low at the moment so don't want to waste money on that and never hear back from them again.

Thanks.

Hi,
What ware house is it your going for.
Generally all agencies will require you to have a mh or safe done for claims and insurance purposes.

As far as i know you have no legal requirement to get it, but may not be eligble for the role if you dont.
How did you find the agency anyway, i applied for a Job recently through them

allibastor · 30-09-2014 09:03PM

donkey balls wrote: »

So they want you to pay €40 for a manual handling course which is about 1/2 hours in duration? Under the SHAW act 2005 any training an employer provides the employee has to be paid for by the employer.
The f**kers are pulling a fast one on you put it this way my last job which had some serious responsibility due to the nature of the job,Required that I needed to do 3 weeks training including class room on site etc including assessments the company paid for the training as it is the law.

Są they are not technically his employer, but an agency this doesnt apply unless it is very specific training for a Job he is already doing

Burkie7 · 30-09-2014 09:03PM

donkey balls wrote: »

So they want you to pay €40 for a manual handling course which is about 1/2 hours in duration? Under the SHAW act 2005 any training an employer provides the employee has to be paid for by the employer.
The f**kers are pulling a fast one on you put it this way my last job which had some serious responsibility due to the nature of the job,Required that I needed to do 3 weeks training including class room on site etc including assessments the company paid for the training as it is the law.

I know I have done it before but my cert is out a date by a few months its a nightmare. Really need a job at the moment so I'm in two minds whether to go or not I think they just want to get this 40 quid out of me then I'll never hear from them again.

Burkie7 · 30-09-2014 09:05PM

allibastor wrote: »

Hi,
What ware house is it your going for.
Generally all agencies will require you to have a mh or safe done for claims and insurance purposes.

As far as i know you have no legal requirement to get it, but may not be eligble for the role if you dont.
How did you find the agency anyway, i applied for a Job recently through them

Its one in Blanchardstown they never told me which I just applied for the job through Adverts.ie and they called me in for a interview and asked a bit about me and that and then said I would need a manual handling cert before they could send on my application.

The person I was with wasn't bad but I e-mailed her last night in regards to the manual handling and she hasn't got back to me.

ABajaninCork · 30-09-2014 09:09PM

Can you not get the Safe Pass through FAS?

Burkie7 · 30-09-2014 09:19PM

ABajaninCork wrote: »

Can you not get the Safe Pass through FAS?

FAS are finished are they not? I searched manual handling and FAS into Google and found noting.

ABajaninCork · 30-09-2014 09:24PM

Burkie7 wrote: »

FAS are finished are they not? I searched manual handling and FAS into Google and found noting.

I know they're no longer called FAS, but you get the idea. Is it Solas or something? Google it and check.

Burkie7 · 30-09-2014 09:48PM

A girl I know cousin done their manual handling course and got a job the next day I just found out there so I'm going to give it a go I have noting to lose other than €40! ha

Thanks for the help guys.

allibastor · 30-09-2014 10:28PM

Burkie7 wrote: »

A girl I know cousin done their manual handling course and got a job the next day I just found out there so I'm going to give it a go I have noting to lose other than €40! ha

Thanks for the help guys.

Just ensure you have an interview or company name for the Job.

Monife · 03-10-2014 03:13PM

I'd also recommend people to AVOID Wallace Myers International. Biggest time wasters and spoofers I have met.

Lured me into a meeting with them promising a permanent position with a certain salary range in the no. 1 law firm. Met with them and said salary range had dropped 10 grand, was actually only a 6 month position with a view to being made permanent ("but all people I choose are made permanent" - yeah right) and was actually for the no. 5 law firm.

The recruiter forwarded my CV to the no. 5 law firm without my permission or knowledge.

Avoid at all costs!

Naggins · 15-10-2014 07:18PM

Hi,

Anyone have any experience/can recommend recruitment agencies and recruiters for banking, trusts and primarily funds?

Cheers.

Mitzy · 16-10-2014 11:57AM

Reed Global off Grafton Street have come top of my list for useless agencies.
I called into them about 3 weeks ago & met one of their consultants who told me about all the fab roles they had due to come in.
A week later got a phone call from the same consultant saying she had pulled my CV off IrishJobs.ie and asking was I looking for work :rolleyes:
I asked her did she not recall me sitting in front of her for about 40 minutes the previous week?
Now I have just had a second call from her asking if I was in the jobs market as she "may" have a role coming in and if I could send in my up to date CV. Again I explained that I was with her about 3 weeks ago and that my experience has not altered dramatically in that time frame.
So obviously my visit to them was a complete waste of time and my original CV was binned.

On another note Morgan McKinley & CPL have been fantastic to deal with.

Lux23 · 16-10-2014 01:33PM

Monife wrote: »

I'd also recommend people to AVOID Wallace Myers International. Biggest time wasters and spoofers I have met.

Lured me into a meeting with them promising a permanent position with a certain salary range in the no. 1 law firm. Met with them and said salary range had dropped 10 grand, was actually only a 6 month position with a view to being made permanent ("but all people I choose are made permanent" - yeah right) and was actually for the no. 5 law firm.

The recruiter forwarded my CV to the no. 5 law firm without my permission or knowledge.

Avoid at all costs!

I had a similar experience, I was getting two/three calls a day about the job and I said to put me forward even though it was a job for someone with very little experience. That wouldn't bother me usually, it's just I had been initially rejected because of having too much experience.

Fast forward a week or two later, I get rejected again because I have too much experience. They were a nightmare.

Recruitment agencies - name, shame (and praise)

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