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.

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.