So, you are in the job market.  Where do you start?  You could use a recruitment agency.

Let’s face it though.  Recruitment agencies have not got the best of reputations.  Here are 5 reasons not to use a recruitment agency.

Do not use a Recruitment Agency if….

1. You have years of experience in writing CV’s or are willing to pay someone to work on your CV for you. - A recruitment agency will not only give you advice on your CV, but will make it specific for the job you are applying for.
2. You don’t like interview feedback beyond the very basics. - A recruitment consultant can ask for more detailed feedback from an interview than you can.  This can give you a head start at a second interview or tell you where you went wrong for next time you get called for an interview.
3. You don’t need any career advice. - Recruitment agencies are full of career advice.  They can tell you how to upskill and what areas you need to work on to make yourself more attractive to a prospective employer.  If you do not need any career advice, then a recruitment agency may not be for you.
4. You know the jobs market very well and have good contacts in all the companies you may wish to apply to. - Recruitment consultants livelihood depends on building good connections like this.  If yours are as good then you may be able to do without a recruitment agency.
5. You are not intending to change your job.

The list may be a little flippant, but the reality is that if you use a reputable recruitment agency they can help you find your next job. More than that they can give you valuable advice on what your career options are.  Importantly they will do this without charging you for it.

You do need to pick your recruitment agency well though.  Read through this advice on dealing with recruitment agencies before you start the job seeking process.  That is a suggestion but it probably should be a requirement for anybody who is entering the jobs market.

Medical Recruitment in Ireland is undergoing somewhat of a shake up.  As the economic depression plants its roots firmly in Ireland recruiment agencies in other sectors are being squeezed.  The multitude of recruitment agencies that sprang up to support the construction industry for example are in deep strife.  The clever ones started preparing for the decline several years ago and are now becoming well established in the market in other countries.

Other Recruimtent agencies have not been so fortunate and we have already seen more than a handful of agencies fold.  the figures are startling.  25% of Recruitment Consultants employed in 2007 are no longer working as recruitment consultants.

For those recruitment agencies that are at risk of going bust as their markets dry up Medical Recruitment looks like an attractive market that may save their companies.  This is because medical recruitment has not been subject to the same level of decline as other sectors.  The bottom fell out of financial recruitment.  Pharmaceutical Sales remained strong.  There have been shocks over the past 12 months in Medical Recruitment.  Pharmacists and in particular Pharmacy technicians have had a rough ride.  Overall though, the medical industry has held firm when compared with nearly all other sectors.  IT is the only other sector that still performs well, but even in IT there have been setbacks.  Dell announcing the winding up of it’s manufacturing base in Ireland has already led to rumblings of bad news from Intel and more can be expected.  Software remains one of Ireland’s strongest exports though.

Because Medical Recruitment has escaped fairly lightly to date we are seeing a huge rise in the number of recruitment agencies that now offer Medical Recruitment.  I even saw a recruitment agency that previously specialised in Catering now offering Medical Recruitment Services - an interesting mix.

While nobody likes to see businesses fail, the sad truth is that we are going to see a lot more recruitment agencies vanish before the end of this depression.  During the ‘Celtic Tiger’ years recruitment agencies were blooming, with new agencies opening up regularly.  The economy can no longer support the number of Recruitment Agencies that we have in the country.

There is a plus side to all of this for both Client Companies and Job Seekers.  The focus of the remaining agencies will have to shift more towards providing better service if they want to stay in business.  Larger Recruitment agencies will be able to sustain themselves through varying periods of decline, but for smaller agencies it is quality of service that will be the defining factor in giving them a fighting chance of being one of the survivors.

This is particularly true of Medical Recruitment.  Experience in the medical field is vitally important.  All recruitment consultants need an in depth understanding of the industry they are recruiting in. Nowhere is this more important than in Medical Recruitment.  However without providing a good service to Client Companies and Job seeking candidates, knowledge of the industry is worthless.

We are about to enter a phase in which the very best Medical Recruitment agencies will rise to the top and those who do not make the grade will be relegated to the dole queues.

Hi guys,

I recently had an editorial published in the Sunday Independent reflecting today’s medical job market since the ‘recession’ took it’s toll -

The medical recruitment industry is not reporting the same dismal problems seen in some sections of the recruitment industry

 Although recruitment in general has been badly affected by the world economic crisis, one branch within it — medical recruitment — has remained relatively unscathed.

While the general recruitment sector has felt the squeeze from the downturn in the economy, not all areas within it are feeling the strain. On the contrary, for the medical recruitment sector business continues apace, according to Jackie Brown, managing director of Jackie Brown Medical.

Indeed, the medical sector has long lamented Ireland’s lack of medical practitioners, dentists and nurses, so it probably comes as no surprise to those in the know that recruitment in this area remains strong.

Jackie Brown Medical covers all areas of the medical sector, procuring both medical and non-medical staff for medical or healthcare-based companies, hospitals and clinics nationwide.

Brown argues that the medical recruitment industry is not reporting the same dismal problems seen in some sections of the recruitment industry. This fact notwithstanding, she has seen a shift in the sector.

“I’ve been recruiting within this industry for the past eight years, and over the past few weeks I’ve had candidates come back to me who have been made redundant. That’s the only evidence of the downturn I’ve experienced, but there are jobs still available,” she says.

Brown adds that another sign of the changing times is that medical companies are now outsourcing their training needs. As an aside, the outsourcing sector is one industry that is likely to benefit from the shifting economic times as companies try to save on costs and become more competitive.

“The medical market is shifting: in some areas the downturn is actually creating employment, which is quite bizarre. You are unlikely to find professionals within the medical sector scrambling for jobs or on dole queues,” she says.

Brown does accede however, that there has been a drop in salaries for pharmacists, but adds that this has more to do with cutbacks by the Health Service Executive (HSE) rather than the current economic climate.

“Pharmacists’ salaries have dropped by over 10pc. Where previously their salaries would have reached €75,000- €85,000, now they range somewhere between €65,000 and €75,000.”

Likewise, recently qualified radiographers whose contracts have just expired are also finding themselves back on the recruitment market. On the other hand, there are some vacancies available, as radiographers have always been in short supply in Ireland.

With an increase in the number of private healthcare providers now operating within the medical sector, Brown believes that many medical professionals are moving from the public to the private sector, “because with private comes a lot of security,” she says.

Brian Crowley, director of healthcare recruitment company TTM Recruitment, agrees. “HSE restrictions on recruitment mean that, for example, clinicians and nurses on temporary contracts in public hospitals have started to look towards the private healthcare sector. This leads to a certain amount of brain drain from the public to the private system,” he says.

Further good news for medical professionals seeking employment, and Jackie Brown Medical in particular, is that despite the continued economic turbulence, business has been hectic for the medical recruitment firm. In the past four weeks alone, the company has signed up five new clients, all of whom sought it out.

Of course, Jackie Brown Medical’s profile reached new heights recently as it was named Recruiter of the Year at the National Recruitment Federation Awards last month. Having the same name as Quentin Tarantino’s famous hit film Jackie Brown hasn’t done the company any harm either.

Brown launched Jackie Brown Medical in October 2007, having previously worked for five years in acute nursing and for eight years in the medical recruitment industry. To win the Recruiter of the Year award is an impressive achievement, especially for a company so young.

“I was absolutely honoured by the award. It was the single biggest achievement of my professional life,” says Brown.

It was perhaps Jackie Brown Medical’s innovation that won it the award. The firm not only prides itself on the high level of customer service it provides, but also on its extensive use of technology. It recently launched a forum for medical and healthcare workers in Ireland: Jackiebrownmedical.ie.

The forum allows workers within the sector to log on and share any issues they have, get advice from contemporaries or simply let off steam. While it is still in its infancy, it has gotten its fair share of hits, and is expected to grow as it becomes more established.

“The recruitment industry is heavily reliant on web-based services. Recruitment is also a hugely competitive sector and our web presence is a vital ingredient to our success,” says Brown.

“Our website was developed in-house and we have made a point of embracing the social-networking phenomenon that has swept the web by including social bookmarking facilities and the forum for medical and healthcare workers.”

I have to ask what recession?

We have had a recent surge within our Medical Recruitment in particular in the last 3 weeks!

There is always the rush up to Christmas and new jobs for the new year, but more than that, people are on the move as there are vacancies and choices still!

This is very good news indeed for the Medical recruitment Industry and we have Medical and Pharmaceutical Companies knocking down our door seeking experienced Medical Professionals.

The salaries are remaining the same, so no change there either.

All in all, things are good for Medical jobs in Ireland and in the Medical Recruitment sector.

Areas particularly busy are Radiography, Medical Sales, Pharmaceutical Sales, Nursing and Medical Admin

Here’s to 2009!

Good evening,

I am Jackie and have been in Medical Recruitment in Dublin now for 9 years.

My background is within Surgical Nursing and 9 years of Medical Recruitment.

I now recruit across the entire Medical sector and am available to any job seekers in this area who have queries etc.

My speciality area is Medical sales jobs in Ireland.

Medical jobs in general have not been badly affected yet by our current climate, but there has been some evidence of a slow down in Pharmacy, Radiography and Allied Health.

I will be back in touch with more information very soon in relation to Medical sales jobs in Ireland.

Nice talking!

Jackie