Employment Agencies

There are many times of employment agencies, most specialising in a particular industry or type of employment. Registering with an agency can help you find vacancies that are not advertised directly by employers. This is especially true of large companies that outsource the preselection of candidates to recruitment consultants.

Tips for Registering with Agencies

Registering is easy, you either contact the agency directly or apply for one of their advertised vacancies. It is perfectly fine to register with multiple agencies, but try to limit the number to prevent your CV being touted to the same employer by more than one agency - this can have a negative impact on your application. Sometimes you will need to be pro-active and chase-up an agency that seems slow in finding potential jobs for you. Unfortunately, some agencies are more interested in building up their candidate databases then anything else. Remember, the idea is to use the agency to find the right kind of job for you, so do not let them talk you in to applying for jobs you do not wish to take or are not qualified for, just so the agency can earn their fees.

Employment agencies and recruitment consultants can make job hunting easier

Temporary Staffing Agencies

Temporary staffing agencies usually focus on low paid temporary jobs, such as casual seasonal vacancies or manual labour shift work. These jobs usually pay little if anything more than the national minimum wage, but are flexible. These types of agencies are used by people with little or no qualifications or by students looking for temporary work between studies. Often, a person who registers with a temporary staffing agency can be working within a few days.

Recruitment Consultants and Agencies

Recruitment consultants tend to focus on professional level vacancies and will work with employers to find candidates suitable for specific vacancies and it's common for consultants to focus on specialist niche areas such as IT, healthcare, or engineering. A consultant will often try to get a candidate a higher salary from the employer, because their fees are usually based on the a percentage of the candidates first year salary. Experienced consultants have a lot of knowledge about the industry they are recruiting for and this can be an advantage to both the employer and the candidate as it will help them match the best candidates for a vacancy.

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