Recruitment agencies from candidates’ point of view

Recruitment agencies a new point of view

Recruitment agencies from another angle

What do we know about recruitment agencies?

Recruitment agencies, also known as headhunters, are beneficial to both employers looking to staff their businesses and to those seeking employment.

There are approximately 4500 recruitment agencies throughout Canada and collectively they employ about 28,000 professionals. This is an impressive number; however 81% of these agencies have only one office and fewer than 5 employees. Another 12% of them have two offices with a total of 8-10 recruiters; and the remaining 7% of agencies are larger organizations with three or more facilities.

The numbers indicate that these agencies have worked with a significant number of industrial, commercial and other companies throughout Canada. Theoretically, this means that by submitting a resume at the same time to all the recruiting companies in Canada, we can thereby initiate for those looking for work an accurate indication as to how “in demand” those in their field are at any given time.

What are the advantages of using recruitment agencies?

Looking for employment via a recruitment agency provides individuals seeking work a number of valuable advantages.

First of all, recruitment agencies have the most up to date information on the employment market as well as current employment cycle. They are the experts in the service industry and locations, so we can say that they really have their fingers on the economy pulse.

Secondly, if you decide to look for a job this way you will have a much better chance in getting hired compared to other candidates who search for jobs in the hidden market of small or medium-sized companies that do not have HR departments and therefore rely solely on the agencies to match them up with these available positions.

Thirdly, in recent years there has been an upswing in the number of large corporations that choose to work closely with recruitment agencies. In order to receive the added support and security of employees, skill testing, background checks, reference checks, etc, are used to narrow down the number of candidates who actually qualify for the job positions. This produces 2-5 times savings on valuable time and resources. That again can increase the chances of candidates being employed from going through recruitment agencies compared to the others from other sources.

Another advantage in using these agencies is that the process of filling job vacancies goes fairly quickly thanks to the perpetually-updating candidate database and a list of prospective employees at each location.

Do recruitment agencies have any drawbacks?

If there is a downside to this entire process, it is due to the fact that agencies hardly respond to emails and phone calls sent from job applicants. They also rarely approve the receipt of resumes which is being confirmed by the discussions on the forums and opinion polls (for example, http://www.jobforum.ca/). We noticed that this could be the case with larger recruiting firms, those 7% of total agencies, which get overwhelmed with the large amount of applications they received.

 

Recruitment agencies earn money via commissions received from companies for which they provide staffing services and unfortunately operate exclusively in the interests of these companies, and almost not in the interest of the candidates.

Realizing and accepting all the advantages and disadvantages of recruiting agencies let’s ask the question:

What is the optimal strategy for candidates looking for a job with them?

According to various estimates recruitment agencies represent up to 35% of the entire job market. Part time jobs and temporary positions can represent as much as 85%, as well as for junior and middle technical and office personnel share of recruiters which totals 70%. Recruitment agencies is also preferred in the area of temporary-to-permanent jobs because such a procedure is welcomed and encouraged manufacturing companies. It is impossible to explore this huge job market in a short time by sending your resume “manually” by visiting every agency’s website, registering there and watching for existing vacancies.

 

Therefore, your chances are slim if you are applying at the same time at only one or two recruitment agencies as well as if you sent a resume to one or two common firms.

Your chances of getting on the job vacancies increase dramatically if you send your resume at the same time to a large amount of agencies, and the more addressees you have than higher your chances of success. Different companies use different agencies for their needs, and a person’s dream job may be just sitting there waiting, in one database or another.

Many people are utilizing this form of job search, it will be beneficial to anyone seeking employment to represent themselves in the best possible light. So utilize every means at your disposal and put your best foot forward. www.jobficient.com and recruiting agencies will do the rest.

4 thoughts on “Recruitment agencies from candidates’ point of view

  1. hiring agencies

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