What is a recruitment agency?

There are various types of recruitment agency ranging from ones that deal with a wide variety of jobs in a number of areas to agencies that are quite specialist with a narrow job field. It is probably best to find a recruitment agency that specialises in your industry as they will have more knowledge of your specialised area and are more likely to access relevant jobs first.

The recruitment agency will invite you in for a meeting. It is important to treat this meeting professionally – almost like an interview. Dress smartly and have certificates or other evidence such as show reels to hand. You may be required to complete aptitude tests so your skill levels can be fully assessed. This means you can be matched more accurately to the jobs that match your skill set. If you can show the recruiter you have prepared and mean business then they are far more likely to remember you and put you forward for higher profile jobs!

What else can a recruitment agency provide?

A recruitment agency will be able to provide guidance on things such as CV writing and interview skills. It is amazing how often people make silly mistakes in their CV so having an experienced recruiter looking over it can really help. They might suggest relevant keywords to include or spot punctuation mistakes. Either way, if you are serious about getting a job you need to take their recommendations on board and make changes.

Why is it important to find the right agency?

Finding the right company to work for is equally as important as finding the right position. If you are using a recruitment agency then they will build a relationship with you and start to recognise companies and positions that would fit with your skills and personality. Many recruitment agencies now try to build long term relationships with clients and candidates, meaning it is even more important to be receptive to the recruitment agency you have chosen. If a long term relationship is gained then it is likely you will recommend the recruitment agency to others, use them if you wish to change jobs and dependent on your position you may use them to recruit new staff at the company you are with.

What next?

After your initial meetings with the agency the hard work of finding relevant positions is up to the agency. Rather than you having to trawl through job sites they will bring the relevant jobs to you meaning you save on time and resources. These can then be used on activities that will increase your job prospects whether that may be voluntary work in your chosen sector or preparing answers for the most common interview questions.

It is a good feeling to know that you have support. A good recruitment agency will provide a supportive network to you and talk you through roles that may be suitable for you. This means you are fully briefed and can prepare properly for interviews. However, don’t just rely on the information provided by the recruitment agency. Do your own research and check out things such as the company website, blog and their social media sites. Formulate articulate questions to ask at the end of the interview and show within these that you have done your own, independent research. This will impress employers as they can see you have used your own initiative and taken an interest in them. It also shows that you are prepared and organised which are qualities all employers look for.

Feedback

The recruitment agency will often provide feedback to you if you were unsuccessful at an interview. This is a fantastic opportunity to learn where you can improve and where your interview strengths and weaknesses fall. Rather than take the information as criticism use it to improve your performance at the next interview. Key strengths can be built upon and any weaknesses can be investigated and worked on. For example it may be that doing a night course will give you an extra qualification that is recommended or it may be that you just need to provide a stronger example to illustrate your skills. Your recruitment agency can help you with these areas and suggest ways to improve your performance.

It is no wonder that so many people are turning to recruitment agencies to help them land their dream job. After all, if the stress and time are taken out of the job search it leaves you with more time to perfect your CV, job applications and interview technique.