Along the way applying for jobs recently, I have requested various information packs and application forms. Obviously I try and keep my grammar and e-mail etiquette up to scratch. So it really irks me when, after writing out a cover letter or such they (commonly) reply with;

please find attached the application pack requested

No capitals, no punctuation, no 'Dear Jimmy', no 'Thank you for getting touch', no 'Good luck with your application'.

If I wrote my application in the same manner would they even look at it? FFS.

Hey at least you get a reply! Half the time I don't even get an acknowledgement of a CV submission or application, or heaven forbid something along the lines of "thanks for your interest but you don't quite match what they're looking for".

True, I wasn't even at that stage. They send me an application form but that's usually the last I hear from them…

Recruiters have no etiquette, manners or principles.

When they chat to you and ask who else you've applied to, who you saw there, its only to find out which other companies are in the market, so as soon as they've put the phone down on you they call the people you named to say "I've got the perfect candidate for the vacancy you've got". And they don't mean you.

I've been applying for jobs for the last six months. In that time i've had two companies reply to my CV submissions.

When they chat to you and ask who else you've applied to, who you saw there, its only to find out which other companies are in the market, so as soon as they've put the phone down on you they call the people you named to say "I've got the perfect candidate for the vacancy you've got". And they don't mean you.

When they ask you that it normally means they've got **** all on themselves and will probably discuss fictitious roles with you then pump your cv out speculatively.

recruiters are ****s. Hora's actually considered to be too nice to be a recruiter by other recruiters 😉

I should clarify, agency recruiters are in a league of their own. I'm talking about people from individual companies who are generally f**kwits when it comes to dealing with people, and yet part of their job description will inevitably include "Communicate effectively to internal colleagues and external customers" or such like.

If I had the choice, I would not give these buffoons the time of day. All the more annoying that I don't have a choice.

Recruitment agents are parasites and the nature of their game attracts/makes them behave like w*nk*rs.

Applying for a position via a recruitment agency is to be avoided as far as possible by anybody sane.

One of their other less-than-subtle tricks is to ask lots of details about your current work-place so that they can cold call your current employer to peddle their services to them. Just say no and, if the position applied for is 'no longer available', then get them to cross your name off their list.

I'd go so far as to suggest that recruitment salesmen(they're not 'consultants') are worse than estate agents.

recruiters are ****s. Hora's actually considered to be too nice to be a recruiter by other recruiters

Going to be honest. Im not a proper one. We get proper ones in and the first thing they do is look round for easy targets/soft people and aim to conquer (rather than make friends like normal people would in a new job).

I hate the over-familiarity. They will ask a couple of questions about me (you'll see them thinking) then they have formed their opinion on you. Idiots. Whereas I wont ask any personal questions about anyone new. Just get to know them first. See if there is any shared ground.

There was only one rec consultant I actually liked- top bloke and it turns out he was banned twice for drink driving and was still driving round with no licence.

They make noises, stamp around, say what they are going to do and how good they are. Then they are gone, onto the next company to lie abit more about their achievements. The ones that are left behind are the account management-specialists who ring up with a real job. Tell you the facts, let you decide, place you, then move on to the next person.

I've been called 'too old, the old man/Im better than you as your passed it/recruitment is a young and dynamic persons game..bullshit bullshit..'.

Oh yes- someones said this before- the girls in recruitment. Its all true 😆

It sounds like a wonderful environment to work in….

Recruitment agents are essentially people who have failed at there chosen profession who then were not good enough to teach. Still it is fun waiting for them to call after you have got yourself a job so you can be as smug as they are. good luck to those searching for work.

Worse than the above employers who offer "internships" where the job is very highly skilled. Do people actually apply for these positions?

It sounds like a wonderful environment to work in….

I used to work in Woolies and Habitat's head offices- those were MORE political to work in. Just a more intelligent political environment.

Recruitment (like any sales role) attracts more bullsh*tters than a normal company. They are attracted by the big figures bandied around….what they cant grasp is that you have to put alot of intelligent work in to reach those figures not snide and shafty.

I posted this in a previous post about recruiters, hope it helps.

Like Hora I too work in the trade (IT and telecoms Recruitment), I am a long termer, 5+ years which is a long time in recruitment terms, I’d like to think I’m one of the good guys but I’m sure some people will think differently, so here is my take on a few things mentioned:

Do they actually have vacancies? Mostly yes, but they have a whole lot more candidates. At present (certainly in IT) there is a huge amount of candidates and not very many jobs.

Why do they never come back to me? I set an auto response to any adverts I place, but it is very difficult to respond personally to every applicant due to sheer volume. To give you an idea of numbers, a contract project management job in London can easily expect to get 200 applicants within 24 hours of advertising. If I submit you for a job (something I won’t do without speaking to you first) you will always get feedback from me, positive or negative.

Why do they never find me anything? Mostly a combination of the above. If I’ve got 200 applicants for a job only the very best 20 or so will get called, only 5 or 6 will make a shortlist, of which the client will see 3 or 4 CV’s, interview maybe 3, offer 1. So in honesty, the odds are stacked against you from the start.

Why do jobs keep disappearing? Combination of things, mostly nothing to do with the recruiter. A lot of companies decide they need to hire someone, go through the interview process then realise they can’t afford to hire someone. They also come to us with a “live job” only to tell us after submitting candidates that it was for a bid. There is also the whole moving to goal post approach where a client only realises what the want after receiving some CV’s.

How can I increase my chances? Only apply for jobs that are less than 2 days old and arguably less than 24 hours old. Don’t waste your time with a cover letter, I won’t read it. Instead tune your CV to every application (or at least have 4 or 5 CV’s that emphasis different areas of expertise) so that it reflects what the advert is asking for, make sure the CV is no longer than 3 pages and that the interesting stuff is on the first page. Only apply for jobs your CV says you can do, you may think you’re a wonderful project manager but if you’ve only ever been a business analyst on your CV I won’t call you. Answer your phone when I call, I know that sounds arrogant but if you call me back 24 hours after I have left a message I may have found the number of candidates I require already.

Sorry for the long winded post but I thought it may be nice to give the perspective of someone on the other side of the fence. We're not all idiots, some of us are nice guys who work hard and genuinely do care.

TBH though, in general recruitment consultants are vapid, shallow and over-familiar **** of the highest order. At least traffic Wardens keep the roads clear.

Hora, I would not argue with that comment for 1 moment.

Ok. So why do I do it? I like risk. Every day could in theory be my last. I do come across people who worry like crazy as their company have planned rounds of redundancies in two months time and that wouldnt even phase me personally.

Plus I like the financial rewards, doing something right and (this sounds daft) but I STILL like finding people jobs. I love it when people say thank you. 🙂

You don't work in engineering recruitment do you Hora? 😆

I've been looking recently, but the job market is (as I expected) a nightmare at the moment. I think I've had 1 reply so far from all the CVs I've sent out. The worst was a company that I sent a speculative CV to – I called to get the name of the person to send it to (the MD as it turned out), wrote him what I felt was a very good cover letter and received nothing in reply. How hard is it to get the secretary to type up a 1 paragraph 'thanks but no thanks'?!

This is all a bit harsh. I do recruitment too.

Actually on second thoughts it's pretty much spot on. There are however the odd few recruiters who are not complete bell ends, I like to think I am one of the OK ones. Then again I'm 40 odd don't wear pointy shoes and pointy hair and actually do give a shit about the people I talk with.

Generally speaking though it is a business where relatively unqualified people can earn 100k plus and that tends to attrect a certain kind of person.

clubber – Member

recruiters are ****s.

Conker that, parasites the lot of them. ;O)

Ideally -for a recruiter-, a candidate will be found a job that is identical their previous job (which the recruiter will fill with a new candidate) they'll stay for the minimum period for payment and then consult the recruiter to find them another identical job. The recruiter will then find someone to fill their now vacant position and a new position, ad infinitum.

Basically, recruitment agents are just there to facilitate a sort of jobs merry-go-round and take a cut. There are finite candidates and finite vacancies, so the process requires stabbing people in the back, vague promises and, if the sale of various elderly relatives helps, then so be it.