Work w/ recruiter or not
A recruiter contacted me for a job her client represents. After talking wtih her on the phone, I found out that job is being posted on Monster.com.
Is it better to work with recruiters, or is it better to send the resume directly to the employer?
Thanks.
I honestly don't know about recruiters. From my experience, they post a job...you come in replying to that job...you sign up with the staffing firm...and they say they will call you back but you never hear from them. It's almost like you've been bated to meet their agency quota. On the other hand, I've had a good experience with some. They were good experiences because the recruiters were genuine.
I've referred a friend to a couple of what I considered to be good recruiters and her experience was lackluster in comparison to mine.
Basically you will have to kiss a few frogs before you find the right one for you and your situation.
90% of job postings are through staffing agencies. They are all over most popular job search engines. So to some degree and at some point you will have to work with them. One popular job search site had a filter that you could use to see job postings from companies only and filter out staffing agencies. Since being back in the market, I haven't seen this option on any job site.
On the flipside, recruiters do know what's going on in the job market and are a good resource to tap into in regards to coaching you on what to say and wear. With a recruiter you can unleash everything and tell them everything in regards to your job history/ experience and they will coach you on a better way to say it to ensure you get the job.
Like everything in this world there is the good, the bad, and the ugly.
I've had good experiences with recruiters, but many haven't. I would say if you have the opportunity to apply directly, do that.
What a rip off. I just had to write and make it known so that others are not misled or taken advantage of by a so called company in Florida. It is Allen and Associates. They start off with a phone call telling you that they will find you a job. From their schpeel, they came represented themselves as a recruiter or headhunter not a marketing company. They offered coaching and a research area for you to search out companies. They offer to redo your resume and cover letter, which is not done in a current format that gets noticed. They will send you a list of companies to choose from and will mail around 200 resumes for you. Then they have you do the follow up with the list of companies that they mail to you. I paid $3175.00 for what they told me was to get me in front of hiring managers and that the hiring bonus would pay for the fees they charge. Well, I got about a dozen responses of not interested from the mailing of nearly 200. Not a single phone call or interview. They refuse to offer me a refund and I come to find out, they do not have a good record with the BBB in Florida either. Guess I should have looked there first.
Wolf
catyhsin,
I have mixed emotions about recruiters/temp agencies, also. I have worked with several, before, with varied results.
You can get lucky, and obtain a good job through them, but you have to be extremely cautious. First of all, I agree that a good 90% of all the jobs currently being advertised on the job sites are through recruiters and agencies. And, from my experience, I'd guess that half of these "jobs" aren't actually real, open positions at all. They are just "dummy ads", with just enough info to make them look like legitimate job openings. The agencies run them to peak your interest, hoping you'll respond, and then they get you to come in and fill out the mountains of paperwork, and take all the tests. You are then entered into their databases. They have quotas, and you may just be filling that quota for the day. As someone mentioned before, chances are you'll never hear from them again.
While I feel the majority of companies are using the agencies because they either don't have the personnel, time or expertise to go through the employment hiring process, some still are handling it on their own. Some companies have one or more agencies working for them at the same time, as well as trying to find an employeee on their own. If you find a position advertised direct from the company, of course go through them directly. If not, use the recruiters, but tread very carefully.
Good luck on your endeavors!!