i guess some on here have far more experience dealing with agencies so was wondering if someone could offer a few pointers.

Basically i see job on website, send off CV, ring to make sure they have CV leave message because the person you want isn't available, and then hear nothing more.

is it a case of ringing and ringing until you get the right person, picking specific agencies, in which case how do you know? anything else.

pretty much it.
What field?- I've only experience in IT. You can try chasing them down to see why you missed the cut to be put forward to an employer, but don't expect to speak to them unless you're lucky!.
Make sure the cv and cover note are tailored to the application. Make sure that you've got the keywords/skills required for the vacancy in both your cv and the cover note- when they're skimming through the hundreds of applications your cv has to make the grade. When they call you back and say they want to submit your cv, but can you change this, that and the other, you know that you're on the way.

Having all the right key words in the CV and recent experience in specific job, is what agencies like.
The agancies are paid to and judged (by employers), on their ability to get the right people, with the right whatever its is that the employer is looking for.
The agency does not benefit from suppling almost nearly possibly… the good enough fit.

Key words . Some CVs are not read by a human, only if they have the right keywords will they be read.

The Perfect CV by Tom Jackson is worth a read.

You'll find a lot of agencies tout false jobs around to gather candidate info. There isn't actually a job all they want is your CV and details.

They then cold cold comapnies or email saying they have some new and excelent people.

We must get 20-30 calls and emails a day from agencies trying to place people. We have no requirements and wouldn't pay the fee anyway (10-20% of the agreed Salary)

All just speculative not based on a job or requirement. So don't get your hopes up.

Very few companies will use an agency to advertise a job for them.

Very few companies will use an agency to advertise a job for them.

eh? Every professional job I've ever had was gained through an agency. That's at least 6 different companies, two of whom are absolutely ginormous (100,000+ employees).

+ Samuri, I've never found an IT job that wasn't though an agency (well except my very 1st one, for a small company).
My experience is that agency's pick up on your CV from sites like jobsite and then ring you when they have position to interview for (after the employer has seen your CV too)

Admittedly I've been out of the job seeking market for 5 years, so have no idea quite what it's like at the moment, though will soon have to….

all i know is from my experience, very few jobs that are of interest are advertised by employers, they seem to be routed through agencies, and the one interview i have had so far, part of Lloyds banking group, came through an agency.

I know that agencies are basically scum and waste everyones time, but it seems to be the way the market is working.

Very few companies will use an agency to advertise a job for them.

What a load of crap.

i saw a job tuesday, didnt bother sending through the website, just clicked the 'more info' button got hold of the guy ion the agency who was dealing with it and chatted to him direct.

he then gave me his personal email to send my cv to

this agency seems to be ok'ish from my experiences years ago. end of the day they want to make a buck and get their cut sometimes to the expense of their client and you.

posted this in a previous post about recruiters/finding jobs, hope it helps.

I 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.

There are some good ones out there i'd suggest chatting to them via phone and being picky about the adverts you apply to. They also come in handy for negotiating terms once you've got the job as well.

Why they never get back to you?

They spend most of their time on forums I bet. 😐

Burn the recruitment consultant!!!!!

A Graphic design studio earlier

I am actually doing some illustration work at the moment Hora. Got my tongue hanging out the sie of my mouth and everything 😀

A recruitment consultant earlier.

I am a long termer, 5+ years which is a long time in recruitment

5+ long term? Pah, try 21 years.

Very few companies will use an agency to advertise a job for them

ever hear of a little old webpage called monster.com?
thats effectivly an agent of sorts.

samuri – Member
A recruitment consultant earlier.

Racialist!

I am actually doing some illustration work at the moment Hora. Got my tongue hanging out the sie of my mouth and everything

I know. I am your Client and currently watching you.