It pays to register with a recruitment agency

It pays to register with a recruitment agency

Words by Francis Kahihu

Kahihucareers@gmail.com

Job search seems to be the one industry that is ever thriving. It is a process that seems to have a constant supply of clients as people seek either their first jobs or endeavor to change jobs for various reasons. As people seek for new job opportunities, they have had to go through lots of challenges from identifying employers who either have or may have job opportunities currently or in the future, to working through the interview processes and eventually the start of new jobs. Job search is arguably one of the most draining experiences people go through. To help in minimizing the stress and strain exerted on people by this process, employment agencies that have been established. Engaging such agencies can have lots of benefits for you as a job seeker in a manner of ways.

One of the burdens that recruitment agencies help offload from your back is the problem for sending your CV and application letter for the wrong jobs. Due to the frustration many people go through, they broadcast CVs with the hope a suitable job will be found along the way. In these cases, they send the CVs in response to virtually any advert they see just hoping for a favorable consideration even when they are sure they do not meet the minimum qualifications. Registering with recruitment agencies help in considering your qualifications and sending them only to employers they feel require your set of qualifications. This is called targeted job search. The agency is able to match your qualifications with the needs of the employer hence reducing the frustrations of applying for the wrong jobs.

Many job seekers indicate lack of access to job adverts as the single most frustrating experience they have to go through. They feel like they have the qualifications yet they can’t locate who needs them. Increasingly, employers are opting to advertise for open positions through the recruitment agencies. Some employers would not want to go through the hassles of perusing through the thousands of job applications that are usually received per advert placed in the mainstream media. They hence send them to the agency who considers the persons in their database first before circulating in the mainstream media. In this case, your CV would be considered for interviews against many adverts as opposed to waiting for the classified section of the papers every week. Many adverts will never make it to the papers.

There are employers who would only accept CVs from recruitment agencies and not from individual job applicants. This assures them that the candidates’ credentials have been verified hence what is written on the CV is what is true. The agency will hence forward your CV to potential employers on your behalf.

As recruitment agencies compete to ensure they attract the best CVs in the market and deliver results to their clients, they engage in processes aimed at building the capacities of the job seekers in various competences. They support with CV writing tips, mock sessions on performance at interviews, training on transition management and even support with information relating to the company that is helpful at the interview process. These are very important processes as they help the job seeker not only get the job but also retain it. These are life skills that the job seeker will require through their careers.

As part of building capacity of the job seekers, the recruitment agencies are usually kind in providing feedback to the candidate regarding their performance at the interviews. Since in most cases the recruitment agency’s representatives will be at the interview panel, they usually take notes regarding the performance of their candidates to ensure they share constructive feedback. This is an invaluable support they offer. Many people keep making the same mistake through their job search process leading to frustrations. I am sure you would want to learn more about the strengths and weakness of your performance through an interview process.

While recruitment agencies have positive linings, the demand for their services has led to the rise of fake agencies. Many people have been duped to sending monies for nonexistent jobs. We will discuss this on another date but the caveat is that you should be extra careful before engaging the services of such agencies. There are however several registered agencies you may want to look out for including Manpower, Adept Systems and Preferred Personnel.