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

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Permalink Reply by ashan jay on July 16, 2009 at 1:54pm

Thanks nicki for that bit of information. By the way how are you doing? I should drop you a email or a IM sometime....

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Permalink Reply by Kimberley Hopkins Rusk on July 15, 2009 at 12:17pm

Ashan, I have not had the experience yet, but was wondering the same thing as have recently been laid off as an Admin. Assistant and was entertaining the idea of using an employement agency to help me find another job.
Anxious to read any information on this.

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Permalink Reply by Duke Snyder on July 15, 2009 at 1:35pm

Reviewing earlier posts prompts mine if only to add general agreement to the already stated tone.
I would like to share some of my single experience with a temp "agency." Fairly new to Indy 25 years ago and fresh from an operation as part of a 6-week hospital stay I was desperate for any work to pay rent etc. How about dressed up in a Santa suit and serving spiked eggnog to the clientele of a high-scale ladies fashionware store. Ole Santa must have reached deep into his bag on unending supplies of doctored eggnog because the store was pleased enough the agency owner became impressed enough to hire me fulltime herself!
The honeymoon ended quicker than Obama's lol. Owner loved my workaholic attitude and results of course yet knew I was soon unsupportive of her tactics and was steadfast when declining her invitation to continue my positive results so she could soon make me her general manager and I could again make some "real money."
My point is merely to concur with those seeing these agencies as little more than "traffickers" of warm bodies. If you are listed with us you're not with our competition etc. Basically I seen it as another "game" of numbers...build both your applicant and business lists and hope for some matches. Reps back then were strictly commission so if u gained a job listing and filled it with one of your own applicants you took home all the bacon...filling someone else's job listing with your persons gained a splitting of the % etc.
Though I would hope today's "agencies" are not quite as seedy as experienced 25 years ago though I honestly would doubt that.
My "networking" would likely begin right here within SI as someone might well know of an opportunity through their contacts that could very well match your hopes and job desires. Least I have to believe the integrity within your"support base"is higher here than in the commercial "meatmarket."I

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Permalink Reply by Michael R. on July 15, 2009 at 3:54pm

Ashan, I would be happy to tell you some stories via e-mail: mrbizoco76@yahoo.com
I don't feel comfortable doing it on a public forum.

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Permalink Reply by ashan jay on July 16, 2009 at 1:57pm

No worries. I will write you a email.

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Permalink Reply by David Spiech on July 15, 2009 at 4:10pm

I used temporary and permanent employment agencies quite a bit in the 1980s and 1990s. They were OK for getting temporary manual labor jobs and to let me test my skills on their clerical tests. Eventually I realized that most of the "career counselors" I was talking to were people like me who couldn't get a good job anywhere else. Like many recruiters who come to university job fairs, the non-specialized agencies are for people who don't have well-defined skills or professional training. Once you have specialized training or professional accreditation, you acquire a career focus and you learn how most people get good jobs, by talking to other people in their field.

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Permalink Reply by George Roots on July 17, 2009 at 8:57am

I think there are certain things you have to do in order for any services to be able to help you. I was a contractor for several years and its absolutely great work. First of all, you have to know where you fit in. A recruiter, no matter how much we like can't perfectly place you if you don't know what you do and don't want. I made it pretty easy on my recruiters because I learned early on every job isnt for me. Even if I were capable, there are many other factors to consider. The second things is patience. That's not just with find the job through an agency because honestly the are fielding other applicants for the same position, but also with the recruiter of that agency. I think it is an oversight to think that they can keep up with as many changes in the IT industry that happen every day, when it can hard for us professionals to keep up. So the patiences comes in where you will have to show your expertise in communication and knowledge of your field to help them understand positions (and your position on those positions) a little better. I find that if you are as helpful in essentially helping yourself, agencies can be a wonderful thing. Now that's not to say I haven't still had some horrible experiences, but more to say I've learned from them, and now I look for the right fit of people I will let represent me. I stick to the same people now...two people who have done really well for me would be Katy Castor and Keisha Cunningham. (Notice I don't name the agency!)

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Permalink Reply by ashan jay on July 18, 2009 at 10:44am

Thank you george for your feedback. Thinking about it; it makes good sense of what you are saying. If you could understand what you are looking for and make it clear for them what you are looking for, the result you could get through these agencies could be enhanced. I think this majorly evolves around finding the right agency that is out there to understand your need and help you without displaying much of their mustered intentions.

Like with most of the previous experiences mentioned in this discussion, they weren't provided with the jobs they were looking for or failed to contact them at all after first consultation, in which case it would become difficult in doing anything.

But thank you for telling me that there is hope out there with some of these agencies.

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Permalink Reply by William Welter on July 19, 2009 at 9:54pm

Having been on both sides of the fence - utilizing services as a job seeker and also being a recruiter it is very interesting to see the discussion posts.

I will have to agree that these "agencies" are just in business to make money, and their recruiters are usually paid based on numbers and traffic flow. Most of the positions that you see posted by them via online are already filled before you even can respond.

Craigslist, a most recent fad has been plagued by fraudlent postings as well. When you send information to the poster (specificially in the help wanted sections) your information is then utilized as a "lead" and sent to other firms who have purchased leads.

I would think your best opportunity might be to make sure to use the social networking sites and professional networking sites and start posting in their forums such as this that you are looking to provide your services. Something you also might try is at the bottom of your posting in a much smaller font type "tags:" and then several key words referencing your post. This will allow your post to POP to someone doing keyword searches in the forums or site. It is a trick that sites like CareerBuilder, and Monster allow recruiters to do with their postings and then they white out the keywords so they are not seen by the job seeker.

Good Luck !

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Permalink Reply by ashan jay on July 20, 2009 at 12:31pm

William Thank you very much for that little piece of insight. I would like to get in touch with you and ask some other questions relating to this topic which you seems an experienced at.

_______________________
ashanjaydesigns | website design | graphic design services

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Permalink Reply by ChrisBowyer on July 20, 2009 at 12:59am

I've had some great experiences with Artisan, get a hold of Rachel Grimm if you are a 'creative'.

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Permalink Reply by Bradley Stone on July 20, 2009 at 1:35am

@Chris: How long did it take you to get somewhere with Artisan? I just talked to Rachel about a week and a half to two weeks ago and haven't heard back.

@ Ashan Jay: The last permanent placement joint I just got a call from out of the blue and they had about 4 interviews lined up in a row within a week or two. It was amazing. Could have just been luck of the day. I don't know how it would work if you go to them. They hunted me down on that but it might be worth a try. They are called Damar Staffing.

But make your job decision wisely. I got kinda screwed on that deal. I do a lot of 3D work which is quite often misunderstood. This was of course the case with the job they staffed me for. I called back that agency and they said the company I worked for claimed I was continually late to work rather than just admitting that they didn't know what they were doing.

I hate to be negative about people simply being naive but in this case it cost me a good relationship with a permanent placement joint that seemed to have some good connections. Now I get the leper treatment from them. Kinda blows that someone would trash your name rather than just admit they were a bit naive about what they were getting into. Luckily most of the people who I actually get to sit down and talk with understand pretty quickly but it is a risk you must take I suppose.

The only other art staffing joint I can think of is Aquent.. I'm not sure they are still around. They have small short contracts. They are usually "art emergency" type jobs but can be good experience. I have made some good friends while on contract with them if nothing else. I'm not sure they are still around but might be worth a look.

Hope this helps!

P.S. I'm hunting in the creative field at the moment myself so if you guys find anything that you're not interested in or is not up your alley. It'd be super cool if you passed the lead my way. I'd owe you one. I'd be happy to do the same for anyone who's interested in sharing those "It's cool, but it's just not me" kinda offers in the creative industry. There is a lot of talent in Indy... gotta be someone in the group who's a fit for just about any of the jobs posted out there... just gotta make those connections!

Best of luck,
Bradley Stone
http://www.bradleystone.com

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