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.

Coming to a blog near you!  The media today is full of bad news, so for a change we decided to give you some good news and something to look forward to. Jackie Brown Medical is expanding into the field of scientific and technical recruitment.

Despite the downturn which has had a clear and devastating affect amongst almost every sector of the Irish economy, Jackie Brown Medical has bucked this trend and experienced extensive growth amongst its clients. As a relationship based company which has won the unqualified trust of its clients by offering a consistently high quality service, Jackie Brown Medical has received numerous requests to supply R&D, scientific and  technical personnel in the past which has led to a decision to  expand its services we currently support amongst our clients.

As NRF Best Recruiter award winner for 2008, Jackie Brown Medical will provide recruitment opportunities for professionals working within the areas of R&D, Life Sciences, Medical Devices, BioPharma, Pharmaceuticals and semiconductor technology.

Working with established and prestigeous clients, Jackie Brown Medical has already developed a well deserved  reputation for professionalism and commitment amongst both clients and candidates alike and looks forward to a time beyond the downturn. In the mean  time we are here to meet your Medical, Science, Recruitment and Employment needs. Look to the future and give us a call.

For further information stay tuned and please visit our Blog/News Page

I just read a press release about a new directory of recruitment agencies.  At first I thought “not another recruitment agency directory” but I had to go and look at it anyway.

What a surprise.  Yes it is just like other lists of agencies in some ways, but it is also different too.

The advice section is great.  So great that I’m going to provide a link to it right here. Recruitment Agency Advice.

Read the advice well if you are currently job seeking or are an employer using a recruitment agency.  The advice for job seekers section is very close to the advice on Jackie Brown Medical, which was probably the first site to show such open and honest insight into the world of recruitment.

Needless to say we signed ourselves up straight away.  I loved the fact that you could search for a recruitment agency by speciality as well as location.

The site has an associated Recruitment News section, some of which may be of interest to readers of this blog.

I just read an interesting article that I would like to share. There is a small medical company in Dublin who 10 months ago got an overdraft of € 100,000 from a well-known bank to grow its business. This same company got a letter from the said bank a week ago to let them know that their overdraft has been reduced to € 30,000. As a result, two people had to be let go and the market share of the medical company has been reduced drastically as a result. The Irish problem is an old one ‘Unemployment’ and in order to beat this problem, banks have to allow small businesses the chance of survival, not bring them down on their knees. SME’s are only trying to help our ‘unemployment’ problem by hiring new medical staff but every opportunity that is created for growth is taken away by the banks just as quickly. Medical companies may have to move away from this way of funding and start thinking of new ways of raising new capital for 2009…..