Boost Your Job Hunt; Use Recruitment Agencies Effectively

Careers coach Penny Strutton is writing a weekly column for This Is Nottingham with advice for job seekers. This week she looks at how to work with recruitment agencies to boost your job search.

You could be amongst hundreds of applicants when applying for advertised positions. Taking your time to create a cover letter and CV which demonstrates you meet the criteria is the least you can do. I know it's easy to fire off applications at high speed via job boards but the recruiter on the other end will quickly identify that you've not done your research and tailored your application and hit delete.

I recently met with Katie Gabbitas, Director of Future Prospects Recruitment regarding the quality of applications she receives on a daily basis. All her vacancies are advertised via her website but also via jobs boards. Many of the applications she receives are not tailored to the job, often don't contain a cover letter and sometimes have the wrong job details! Unsurprisingly these applications don't get any further attention!

Recruitment agents often get a bad reputation for being unresponsive. It's worth having a greater understanding of the way they work:  recruitment agents don't tend to approach companies with suitable candidates in the hope they'll have a vacancy. Instead they work with employers who have specific roles to fill and dedicate their time to finding suitable candidates. Most recruitment agents are in competition to fill the roles with other companies so don't have time to spend with people who don't match the criteria for the jobs they're working to fill at that time.

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This sounds rather negative; however, if you understand how to work with recruitment agents, they can help you secure a great job. Katie's message was clear on how to how to get the most out of recruitment consultants:

• Be proactive in checking the website and social media accounts for vacancies regularly.

• Adapt your CV to specific advertised jobs.

• Always include a cover letter and make sure you have the right job referenced and the right agency address details!

• Make sure you're applying for jobs that actually match your skills, qualifications and experience and jobs you really want!

• Only call once per fortnight to touch base if you're looking for permanent work.

• If you're looking for temporary jobs, call on a daily basis by 9am to check if suitable vacancies have come in.

• Keep track of the jobs you've applied for so you can you respond professionally when contacted by the agency.

The bottom line is you have to be proactive and make every effort to focus your time on vacancies that suit your skills, experience and aspirations. Spend extra time tailoring your application as it will demonstrate to the recruiter you really want the job and are not wasting everyone's time. Use recruitment agencies effectively to build them in as allies in your job hunt. 

Good luck, if you require further support please take a look at my website for further details.