Do employment agencies really help people find jobs? anyone here had past experiences ?

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Permalink Reply by Stephanie Shields on July 14, 2009 at 12:24pm

I enjoyed working temporary assignments early in my career, but they usually weren't the type of job I would consider on a full time basis. Beyond that, my experience with placement agencies has been quite negative. One woman practically yelled at me and told me I could do it her way or the hard way. Needless to say, I chose the "hard" way and ended up making a lot more than she thought I was worth. For my next experience, I felt like they had no work to offer me, but instead wanted to find out who all my industry contacts were so that they could find new sales leads. It was very disappointing.

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Permalink Reply by Tino Marquez Jr. on July 14, 2009 at 12:36pm

Most of my experiences have been pretty negative as an IT systems engineer type. I’ve had times where they brought me in under the pretense to talk about a job that they posted and applied for only to want to discuss other jobs that were beneath someone of my skillset and experience and of course at a much lower pay rate. Other times when I’ve gone in, I have to wonder if the position actually exists or did they only lure me to have me fill out their lame application so I could be in their database.

Even when the economy was in better shape I could never understand how there could be sooo many agencies, recruiters, and head hunters. How? And most seem to suck (for lack of a better term) and their follow up communication skills are insulting to say the least (you know, when you jump through all their hoops to have your resume submitted to a company…then you never hear back from your agency or recruiter until you corner them). I also enjoy when you meet with one how they will ask you “how else are you working with?” as if it is any of their business.

There is one agency in town I would work with though as they have been good to me in the past and seemed great at communication. All the others… no thanks.

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Permalink Reply by ashan jay on July 14, 2009 at 1:04pm

Stephanie and TIno, thank you very much for your feedback. It is really disappointing to hear that these agencies are truly of no use at all in what they should be doing.

And Tino if you wouldn't mind can you share with us the one agency you had a better experience with?

Its amazing how there are so many of these agencies in a given city, yet they dont seem to be providing much of a service. And one of the ways they make money are by selling personal information to marketing/sales companies so they can solicit.

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Permalink Reply by Tom Marsh on July 15, 2009 at 8:04am

It really depends on who you work with. "Employment Agencies" and "professional recruiters" are two different things.

An employment agency should be avoided like a plague--they're looking for the cheapest workers possible, NOT the best fit for the job. "Employment agencies" fill one of two niches in America right now: 1) They recruit low-wage workers for high-turnover/undesirable jobs or 2) They provide legal insulation for companies that want to hire illegal aliens through a third-party.

A professional recruiter, on the other hand, can be a useful tool--but you should not rely solely on them for your job-search. Plugging in with professional recruiters (for IT, PInnacle and KForce come immediately to mind) may not get you a job, but these guys are EXCELLENT sources of information about companies. IF you're working with a recruiter, and apply for a gig on your own, they might not be able to directly help you, but they can give you useful information like "The hiring manager for that position's name is Fred" or "the salary range I heard about is much lower (or higher) than the advertisement." Occasionally, you'll get an interview through them, or a hot lead to pursue on your own.

Either way, they're leads you likely would NOT have gotten on your own--the old saying that "Most of the best jobs are never advertised" is really REALLY true.

Generally, if you walk in and they want to subject you to a battery of tests to get you into a "pool," THAT is an employment agency. If, on the other hand, you talk substantively about your work history, your industry, and the person has an actual list of REAL jobs to talk about, (and is willing to funciton as a job-search RESOURCE for you) that is a professional recruiter--somebody it would be worth your time to cultivate an interest in.

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Permalink Reply by Tino Marquez Jr. on July 15, 2009 at 9:03am

Actually, I have to say Pinnacle, KForce, and Tek Systems are some of the worst professional recruiters I've dealt with in this city. With Tek Systems being the absolute worst. So I guess everyone’s mileage can vary. I’ve enjoyed working with Brooksource and would recommend starting there for techies trying to getting established or find new opportunities.

Now that I have my own company and clients, etc. I hope to never have to rely on any professional recruiters again. And I find the that my own professional affiliations and contacts are proving to be a better source of information on companies around town and the information I'm getting is not being tainted by the viewpoint of the recruiters. Also, I believe LinkedIN is a better tool for finding the jobs I would possibly want than having to deal with any of the hundred of recruiters in this town again.

Unfortunately, though for many, it is just the game (we have all had to) that has to be played to get established and to learn. I'm pretty happy to have graduated from that phase of my life.

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Permalink Reply by Tom Marsh on July 15, 2009 at 10:23am

Your mileage really and truly will vary. It really depends on who your rep is with these companies (and what skills you have, how marketable you are, etc.) Reality is that these recruiters are working on commission so more marketable people will get placed first--they are running a business, after all... But I am with you on TekSystems--they're horrendous, and not just in Indy... I once dealt with TekSystems-Chicago, and to call that a "bad" experience would be an understatement.

By far the LEAST respectful "professional" recruiter I've run into around here is ROBERT HALF. In the seven years I have lived in Indianapolis, I've managed to get one of these people on the phone exactly ONE time, and have NEVER gotten any job-leads, interviews, or useful advice or information from them. Also, none of them seem to return phone-calls, either. Any recruiters reading this: That's not a recipe for success. If you ignored my messages when I was "Candidate Tom," you can bet I'll ignore yours down the road when I'm "Hiring Manager Tom."

I've had some positive interactions with Brooksource in the past, but I'm not sure if its just a sign of the times or what but they haven't had anything even remotely appropriate for me in the six-plus months I've been talking to them this time-around.

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Permalink Reply by Tino Marquez Jr. on July 15, 2009 at 10:50am

Tom, we should do coffee sometime and exchange war stories. Robert Half is a mystery to me. I've talked to someone before from there on the phone, but I just get this strange feeling they are not a real recruiter... I don't know how I can qualify that statement. I'm not sure if it is still like this, but Robert Half had the most incredibly insanely long online application to fill out. Then, I believe once you can logon to their portal and if you ever actually get placed, you can buy training from them? Is that their true scheme? I'm pretty that is RH's portal, but it has been a while since I've logged on. Someone should correct me if I’m wrong.

And as far as more marketable people being placed first, I'm totally in agreement with you. But that doesn't excuse proper communication such as a quick email saying "Sorry, the client chose someone else". My favorite, and I would get this from Pinnacle a lot, is when you go interview for positions and release your resume to go to the clients, then check in with them a few weeks later (because they never have time to check in with you) and they tell you the position was pulled or the company decided not to hire for it. But then you see the same position re-posted on careerbuilder the following weekend. So did it “get pulled” or did that hiring manager get fed up with the recruiter?

Anyway, I’m just glad I’m no longer in the “candidate” phase. I would highly recommend taking advantage of this site and LinkedIN as far as networking and building relationships.

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Permalink Reply by Brett Davis on July 15, 2009 at 11:38pm

Tom & Tino,

I agree with you 100% about some of the tech recruiting firms in Indy. Unfortunately, I will not name names. I might need to use one in the future.

I think a big problem with IT recruiters, is they really do not understand IT. I've dealt with recruiters who asked if I knew Java because I had Javascript listed on my resume. I also get annoyed when I get requests to be an Oracle/SQL Server DBA. They see Oracle or SQL server and assume I could be a DBA, but my background is in developement/programming. To a non-IT person, my complaints sound somewhat petty. But to a person in IT, they would know and understand my frustrations.

If I ever got into management, I don't know if I would use a recruiting firm to find me candidates. I could always post an ad on CareerBuilder or Monster or look around on social media sites(LinkedIn, Smaller Indiana, & etc.).

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Permalink Reply by ashan jay on July 16, 2009 at 10:34am

Tom and Tino, thank you very much for sharing your valuable insight on these recruiters and agencies you had experienced in the past. But in all these cases you were trying to find a full time position with a company, which is where my circumstances differ. I am not looking to find a full time employment through them, but freelance work or contract base work in the areas of website designing and graphic designing as it was referred to me by one of my good clients as a way of finding freelance work for local companies. But after reading how these middle parties act I would be surprised if they showed me a different approach in getting freelance leads.

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Permalink Reply by Tino Marquez Jr. on July 16, 2009 at 10:42am

Ashan, you will NOT get any freelance or "contract" work from them. They don't make their money that way. There are contract positions they can give you, but I'm not sure it is like what you are thinking. These are typically full time positions for an specific amount of time. Which would make it difficult to do other work or look for the right job IMHO. And they are not obligated to make sure you have another position lined up after your current contract position expires.

Have you tried using linkedIN, this site, or even craigslist to offer your services on a freelance/contractor basis? You would stand to make a more desirable amount of money and employers check these type of sites too to cut out the middleman (the recruiters) they would have to pay.

I have some decent recruiter contacts I can give you. Just send me an email and I will send you what I have.

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Permalink Reply by ashan jay on July 16, 2009 at 1:53pm

Tino thanks again for your feedback. I actually do have linkedIN and have tried several leads through craigslist which lead to nowhere as well. Came to find out most of the ads in craiglist have a very low credibility behind them and it might even be the case why I am getting scam job emails for sending out emails to craiglist ads with my resume attached.

Please give me your email or you can write me at ashanjp@gmail.com thank you very much!

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Permalink Reply by Nicki Laycoax on July 16, 2009 at 10:46am

We have been really happy with KForce, and my partner loved working with Tek Systems.

Katy Castor does such a great job at KForce. I wonder if maybe they should be given a second shot?

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