Recruitment Agencies

I have just been asked to recruit and number of staff for my organisation - so in order to check out the integrity of various agencies I posed as a candidate - and susequently awarded the contract to the agency that treated me the best. The worst was Digby Morris - who failed to respond to my posed emails and telephone calls - Ha Ha Ha ...... you lost out on potentially £100K fees in 2 months

how many free services are really that great? i've heard lots of friends say "yes but i make them money" the old i'm at temp, they pay me $30/hr and charge $55!! they make $25/hr out of me...

here is what i've researched. 1. you wouldn't have that job if it wasn't for them 2. they pay oncosts of around 20% which would be $6, then they had to pay for advertising, the computer and email service your application went to, the consultant, the brand advertising, all the managers that make it haopen, the entire accounting, hr, it payroll teams that every company have, standard overheads of power, phone, rent, paper, photocoopier etc, then if you are in a job the comission to the consltant, the phone bills... 3. for every job they fill and candidate they place there are 10'2-100'2 that are not placed and filled but they still put woork in with no fee for that woek

now - would you do it for that money?

i wouldn't!

Also remember - the cliet gives them money not you.

My friend is a recruiter, and she has so many KPI's she barely has time to hiccup let alone call you back

AND

she is always saying how people apply to everything - 99% of people are so unqualified for the job or they barely speak english, but she still has to get back to them, and all they have done is clog her in box and stop you - the good candidate getting a call.

she also says that almost no candidates read the ad in full - she will put must have a,b & c - and most candidates will be lucky to have 1 of the pre requisites (set by the client not her).

dont hate them, pity them - i do!

I've contracted for years and generally experienced bad recruiters, so I've decided I want to create a survey reflecting their performance.

Though I need to break down their service into questions, so far I have

Overall quality of service Feedback skills Did I feel valued My interests at heart Commmitment

Do people both contractors, candidates and clients fancy contributing to question or categories ?

Guess Im curious where they really let us down.

As a former "recruiter" with over 7 successful years in the sector, I have to say that it is the single most over paid, unethical, unrewarding, skill-less job and sector that I can think of. When taking the decision to leave and do something worthwhile, I looked long and hard at my CV, my experience, my skills and realised there was nothing! No transferrable skills, no real knowledge, nothing! This wasn't through lack of trying, it was simply that the job provides nothing except stupidly large and over inflated commission payments for doing, well very little.

Having seen the sector from outside, I now resent every aspect of it, clients who were trying to charge me 25+% for candidates 2 years ago, suddenly started charging 20, then 15 then 12.5 then 10, then 7% as the recession we are in worsened. Now this is one heck of a drop, and still a profit, that a recruitment Con artist can earn circa 100k says it all, that the sector has been over charging to extortionate levels, a talentless gobshite with little idea of the sector, labour market, candidate etc etc earning 100k - there is something inherently wrong with the whole idea of that!

I have been employed in the air conditiong and ventilation industry since 1964 (still awaiting my MBE) and have never got a job through an agency. I live in South London and at the request of agencies have travelled to Reading and places in Surrey at my own expense believing there was a job only to find that the agency was just recruiting and should any thing come along they would 'let me know'. How can it be right that a young guy or girl should just sit behind a desk and say "oh this job doesn't sound like what you are looking for" when you have been doing it for years. There is only one way to treat agencies and that is go direct to the customer or the employer. Tell the agency it fell through. The customer (now your employer), saves a fortune and you get paid what you should without the agency making money out of you

LL

Its a well known fact that Agencies or should I say Employment Business's ( there is a very imprtant difference ) are liars and crooks. I have worked for many of these empolyment agencies and they are all the same. The less they pay you the more profit they make. The funny thing is that they talk to so many workers they cant remember what they said to who.

I have been booked for assignments , only to be called by the recruitment agent half hour before a shift start and told that the client has cancelled. Ive called the client to confirm only to be told that they havent cancelled by the employment agency is sending a diferent worker. When i confronted the consultant about this lie he just went nuts and said its his perogative and he's the boss. This is from a suposedly reputable agency. That agency is Pertemps. I made a complaint to the managers of Pertemps who said they would investigate but guess what, they did nothing. I registered a complaint with both the Employment Agencies Inspectorate at the DTi and the Agencies own club, the Recruitment Employment Confederation. The only satisfactory response I got was from the EAI at the Dti. Looks like the agencies club , the REC , tiped off pertemps to my complaint and then suddenly I got a call from a pertemps manager. It still never got sorted out

Ive had an endless stream of this sort of behaviour from the employment consultants. They are all a bunch of complete liars ! Theyre not a very clever bunch and any sign of more money , more profit they dont care what they do to get it. They are basically Parasites.

So many workers find that thier pay does not equate to the work they have done. When they complain the Agencies say its a mistake. This is known as Skiming. If you have an agency with 5,000 workers and they skim £10 off each worker they make a lot of money. Most workers dont have time to check thier pay in full deatil. Infact some agencies payslips make little sense and just give an amount with no reference or some very comlicated reference to hours worked. They pay the agency staff less than the regular workers that are employed by the clients and cream off the profit. In many european countries employment agencies are illegal and its obvious to see why. There was a period where they wanted thier workers to be self employed via companies like NOVA corporate services. For this you might get paid an extra £1 per hour. But you get no holiday pay. The trouble is that most people cant calculate the true costs of employing people and believe me employer NI contributions and holiday pay plus other liabilities add up to more than £1. Dont believe thier lies that they only make a pound an hour on your labour, its BS. If they pay you £9 an hour they will be chargeing out at least £13

The government worked out what was going on as they were loosing revenue from NI, so they changed the law to stop the way companies like NOVA operated. There is nothing wrong with being self employed its just when companies like NOVA run it all for you and cream the profit off your labour

Hopefully the credit crunch will see these parasites going down the pan ! I fear not though. Whats needed is a change in the agency laws and more transparent operating by these agencies. If you want to complain about an agency dont bother with the REC try out the Employment Agencies Inspectorate at the DTi Just google thier name for thier website The more complaints to these people the better !

MacDaddy, got to hand it to you. That is possibly the best summing up of Employment agencies ever. These places should be outlawed. There is nothing worse than seeing a job advertised and knowing that in order to even get the name of the company advertising the job, you have to go through such a rigmorole to even be considered. I like to know who is asking for employees so i can look straight away at the company's credentials. This is not an option anymore with these parasites treating you like a cretin just because you need a job. Soon there will be no jobs advertised directly by the employer as we gradually become even more of a bureaucratic sh*thole of a nation. Everyone used to get jobs before employment agencies took over, we just don't need them. I really think these people who work for agencies truly have nothing else to offer mankind.

I so agree!!

I had a bit of a harassing e-mail today from someone who said I should try and be more flexible and call him....he wanted me to go for an interview that afternoon-but obviously I was working and he didn't like it....think I'll complain. E-mail is so much easier and they can send job descriptions....cost me a bomb in phone calls one month ringing agencies.

I work for a recruitment agency and I have a couple of gripes about the industry.

Like most other agents I was tricked into Recruitment by people telling me I could earn up to £40,000 a year. Next we are forced to work 8.30am until 8.00pm (and sometimes longer). People phone me up and expect me to say "Which job do you want? Do you want the Gold, Silver or Bronze Envelope??" and our clients are the same "Do you want candidate A, B or C??"

Candidates looking for work, I have been where you are and I sincerely TRY to find a position that is right for you, I'm not trying to make a quick buck but we can only offer the hand we are dealt. Often our clients' requirements are so high that every single CV we send is rejected.

I think I speak for the majority of the market by saying this, but there are unfortunately a minority (namely the larger companies) that will SPAM your cv after you send it to them without them talking to you hence creating a bad name for recruitment. IF you want to talk about the jobs call the agent up first, if they seem vague or like they don't know what they are talking about then that it is probably the case they don't have a job spec, most companies and industries are so small they don't have job specs (this obviously differs from IT to Environmental Engineering).

My advice is for candidates to go to smaller agencies who have been set up by successful agents to move away from the larger consultancies. The larger companies are staffed by some 22 year old graduate in a flash suit who is desperate to pay off his loans where as at a more intimate agency you are treated more humanely by someone who cares.

To the job seekers on this website; I understand your gripes and problems with the industry. On behalf of recruitment I apologise for any problems and hindrance we cause your job search, please be patient with us as we are only human and my final advice would be. If you do not like a recruitment agent, do not use that person but don't paint the whole industry with the same brush!

What a bunch of winging, egoistical self driven unsympathetic knobs. I’ve read many of the posts on here and what I’ve found is a compellation of depressed, self hating failed recruiters and unmarketable and forgotten candidates who can’t understand why no one wants to touch them. I’ve been an agent for around 12 years now and let me tell you the reason we exist. It’s actually far more simplistic then many of you simpletons can imagine. Firstly, people are deceitful, unethical and inconsistent. A client will use an agent to eliminate the bullshit factor that so many of you potential job hunters like to put out there. Seriously, if human nature was as honest and wonderful as many of you like to make out, why do you think we have references? It’s just a final measure to make sure that the initial filters worked ok.

Secondly, clients don’t want to deal with you guys. Many senior managers are over worked, under paid and over stressed. They don’t have the time to advertise, network, interview and select. My god, the can barely survive with the strain of their jobs as it is. So they engage a recruiter to reduce the work load, find a great candidate and help them be successful.

Thirdly, many clients have NO IDEA about the best way to manage a candidates expectations. Seriously, if you guys had any idea of the numbers of times we’ve put great people into great jobs because we’ve pushed at one end or the other to make it happen you guys would be amazed.

Fourthly and finally, people don’t trust their own intuition. We’re been taught from day one that we should collect the facts and not trust our instinct. A good agent is indifferent to the emotional factors which so often cloud good selection and as such is more focused on finding the right person for the job their working.

Finally, a client doesn’t want to have to tell candidates that they suck. They don’t need to grief, have the time or energy nor do they want to cause conflict. That’s our job and frankly where many of you people come in.

I take it many of you have taken offence because we parasites have in some capacity offended you. Either by telling you that your poorly presented, unqualified, incapable or alternatively not marketable. Even worse, perhaps the agent that has really upset you made the terrible mistake of not speaking to you at all.

Recruitment is actually a very simple process. They get paid a good commission for finding good people. You guys are simply the dregs, the unforgotten and unmarketable. He 40 year old single woman with no prospects if you like. Frankly if you were that wonderful you’d have had great experiences with agencies who would have helped you without question because you were so marketable.

I suggest the many of you who have sat here winging about how poor your experience with agencies has been thus far take a good look at your marketability and pose the question, ‘what do I need to do in order to stand out as a good resource?”

Hi

I forgot to mention that although Recruitment Agencies are awful the High Street ones are the worst. I once had to work in a recruitment agency as I was desperate for some temp work and the Branch Manager of Office Angels offered me a job for two weeks. It was the worst two weeks of my life. I saw Consultants dismissing candidates based on their age, weight and religion. I saw one Consultant bully a candidate into a job even though he didn't want it. He took the job and was fired after a month because he was miserable. Try explaining that on your CV.

One company emailed my CV without my permission to my employer and I was reprimanded. I didn't get an apology or anything from the agency.

I once took a job in a small company and was bullied so I called the agency who told me to 'suck it up', I begged them to get me out of there as I was a temp and they called me 'ungrateful'.

Hays Personnel told my friend that she was too bubbly. She was really upset. This same consultant then went to a rival firm where my friend was also registered and told all of the consultants there that my friend had slagged them off. She hadn't and now they refuse to work for her.

Last Christmas I took a job for a large Legal Firm but hated the open plan policy so after my first day I went to HR and explained that the environment wasn't for me.....I would have been sat directly next to the boss!!!Urgh!! So HR were really nice and let me leave the company but the agency called me and abused me down the phone calling me an effing this and that. I hung up the phone so she called all the local law firms and slagged me off.

A friend of mine wanted another job so used Hays in Bristol to get a job, they found her a job she really liked so she worked her four weeks notice with her current employers etc and then two days before she was due to start work for this company Hays called and said that they need her references (!) so she gave them her details but because of the nature of the job she had to give five years references but the employer she worked for after leaving school, a small florist, had left the area so they couldn't get a reference and Hays terminated the offer. She had no job and no money and it was all Hays's fault. They should be held accountable. They had six weeks from the time of her registration to the time of her start date to get the references.

Other agencies also don't even have the courtesy to call you and let you know if they can help you or not. We have Alec Reed of Reed to thank for this epidemic. He was the genius behind opening up a recruitment agency. The problem is I think is that employers can't be a***ed to place an advert in the paper and go through the CV's etc. Some employers are down right ignorant. If you apply for a job they haven't the courtesy to let you know if you have not been successful. I am still chasing one company after 6 weeks. My telephone calls and emails have gone unanswered. They are supposed to be a top professional firm. It doesn't cost alot to send a quick letter or email saying thanks but no thanks. I cannot abide bad manners.

It's no wonder that unemployment is high when we have to contend with such hassle trying to find a job. In my opinion employers should be grateful that someone has taken the time to apply.

I have had the unfortunate business of having to complain about several agencies to their head office. They show about as much manners as their branch staff do. I really despise them.

I have decided to never use them again and I hope that one day employers will get of their lazy butts and start using the papers or the internet again.

Paying agencies is throwing good money after bad. Some excellent candidates avoid agencies so employers are seriously missing out on these great people. Some agencies if they don't like the look of you they will not represent you.

Recruitment Consultants live in this self-obessed world where they think people are dispensible. They think they are above everyone else. They get paid ridiculous basic salaries and ludicrous commission so this only excerabates the problem.

I am on a mission to tell all companies that I know that agencies are crap are some are listening!!!

Agencies...you are going down!!!!!! ha ha

I hate Recruitment agencies so much I refuse to use them. They totally monopolise the market and employers don't have a clue what their precious agencies get up to.

Today I have been abused by an agency, she said that I had failed to turn for a job interview two years ago!!! Would have been nice if they had told me about the interview. It is with a local company that I would have loved to have been too. Lying witch!

I have been swore at, had abusive text messages and emails and I have had my name dragged through the mud with local employers by one woman when I complained about her 'agressive attitude'.

These people are the lowest of the low and employers need to recognise that agencies are over the top expensive and butt lazy.

I have worked as a temp for the last two years and gained lots of great experience, met some fab people and worked for some top companies, but I would rather be in a perm job, with benefits. I have the problem that I don't have solid work experience with one company (but I have worked solidly for one agency). Employers are too picky and not prepared to consider candidates who have so much to offer.

I have been sent for interviews, get to 2nd round and then not been offered roles, as I am deemed over qualified. Now that is frustrating!

I think that there is a lack of communication between HR divisions and departments. A HR person may think you are great on paper and in person, but your prospective interviewer may not think you are right at all. I think that employers should interview candidates directly, that way, they can remove the people that they don't like, don't click with and are not suitable for their teams.

I can only truely recommend one recruitment agency as being fab, they are the Carousel Consultancy based at Covent Garden, London and I would happily recommend them to anyone. The other agencies, some good (ROC, Ritz, Acme) are worth going to, and others are not worthy of a mention (most of them advertise on Secs in the City).

Not all agencies are lying toads, but I do believe that too many people are mis-sold a role (I include myself in that), and then they are stuck in jobs they hate. That is a serious misjustice and no one deserves to be in that position. If you can be picky, be picky, and it is only a job, you can go to a temp agency and find a job (there are loads and loads out there).

Maybe I should be a recruitment consultant and right the wrongs of the business world (only kidding)!

I understand everyone's feelings and I agree that unfortunately there are a lot of cowboys out there, who are out to make money and don't actually care about where they place people or what happens to you once you leave their office (if ever), but in response to the last posting, I have to disagree with some points. Having worked in recruitment for a number of years, I am very proud of the relationships I build with my candidates, and have people I placed years ago still coming to see me for a catch up and a chat. I will admit not every placement I have ever made has worked, but most people can say they have been in a job they haven't actually enjoyed at some point (whether they found it themselves or were placed there by an agency). As for being overpaid, I must be working in the wrong agency, I am a manager and earn nowhere near the supposed national average for my role. I also work in excess of 50 hours a week, some of which is me choosing to work over to complete tasks, but I am still contracted to 45 hours a week. I myself have had bad dealings with agencies in the past, especially from a temping point of view, I would certainly only recommend this kind of work if you are definitely looking for short term or need extra flexibility from a job, but to do it for long term solution, I feel these people are very brave. I don't blame anyone for the postings with a negative response, amd encourage people to "out" the cowboys, but please don't tar us with the same brush, some of us do work hard, listen to our candidates and actually care about how we treat people.

Recruitment AGENCIES and their AGENTS (consultant sounds a bit too good!) are irresponsible, over paid and are ruining the labour market. With so many people wrongly placed work wise it is no suprise that work related depression is on the increase.........is there a link I ask? From my own experiences I have to say yes. Temping is the most pointless career move you can make. You have no job security (obviously!), are poorly paid/treated and recieve no training or worthwhile input. Even if you are continuously employed you don't make enough to cover living expenses. Remember people, firms that employ temps quite often do so because they have a high staff turnover, i.e. you get the jobs that no one wants to do. After graduating (getting a 2:1 in Economics from a decent UK institution) I had much contact with recruitment 'consultants' and they are all a bunch of liars ('sure Ryan, I'll phone you as soon as something comes in'!) who only care about the bottom line. I know three male recruitment consultants and all either take of have taken many drugs recreationally - is this part of the person specification? Anyway, I got sick of 'consultants' trying to get me on building sites or in call centres and applied direct. It worked for me and it could work for you. Leave the recruitment fascists alone and apply direct. God, how I fear for the future of this country's Labour Market with these div's playing such an involved role..................However, I can't wait until we have an economic downturn again and most of them go bust!

Sorry to whinge, you might have had good experiences........but I haven't!

Thanks Suze, that's a nice thing to say! I appreciate your comments...