Employment Agency rant

[metalblue]

Recruitment consultancies are not there to find a job for a candidate, they are there to find candidates for employers. Because employers pay the bill.

I'm an employer and I'd look very cynically at your CV.

Good luck finding work, but don't shoot the messenger.

Exactly correct. I am a twat and work in recruitment for one of the worlds largest consultancies and I wouldnt touch someone with a barge pole who has been out of work for 2 years.

A couple of month to relax and refocus fine but 2 years shows a poor work ethic.

The work ethic is for the potential employer to judge, if a person is suitably qualified and capable they should be put forward, your own personal opinion might be depriving your client of a very capable employee. If I found out that any of the consultants I speak to had that attitude I'd make sure they were removed from the PSL.

OP, for the last two years you've been a "freelance lifestyle coach/consultant" let's you creep in some of the voluntary roles you've done as well, I employee personality first rather than skills, naturally they are important but so is, equally, your ability to fit in.

Good luck blue

 

[Dirty Harry]

Recruitment consultancies are not there to find a job for a candidate, they are there to find candidates for employers. Because employers pay the bill.

I'm an employer and I'd look very cynically at your CV.

Good luck finding work, but don't shoot the messenger.

Exactly correct. I am a twat and work in recruitment for one of the worlds largest consultancies and I wouldnt touch someone with a barge pole who has been out of work for 2 years.

A couple of month to relax and refocus fine but 2 years shows a poor work ethic.

The work ethic is for the potential employer to judge, if a person is suitably qualified and capable they should be put forward, your own personal opinion might be depriving your client of a very capable employee. If I found out that any of the consultants I speak to had that attitude I'd make sure they were removed from the PSL.

OP, for the last two years you've been a "freelance lifestyle coach/consultant" let's you creep in some of the voluntary roles you've done as well, I employee personality first rather than skills, naturally they are important but so is, equally, your ability to fit in.

Good luck blue

Excellent and very important point there mate, someone I knew years ago who did i/v skills and techniques amongst other things(talking 1989 here, she was well ahead of her time)she had a small list about 5 points long in order of importance when considering someone for a role, the first two went like this :-

1/ Can they do the job ?
2/ Will they fit in ?

Those two always stuck with me for some reason.

On a personal note, I much prefer the old interviews, where the interviewers had to trust their own nouse, interviewing skills and judgement instead of relying on this scripted, 'pro-forma' style interview we see now, but then again I would, I got every job I ever went for under the old style.

 

[peoffrey]

I can see where they are coming from but think in general they are unnecessarily cutting down their talent pool. I looked far and wide when I was looking for candidates in my last job. Unfortunately at the moment the pool is massive.

This explains why the Employer will overlook you if they have any doubt whatsoever about your employment history. There's many more candidates who don't have that undeserved doubt hanging over them.

I've recruited before and could pick apart a CV in seconds. Ask someone to do the same with yours and see where you can make some changes. I also used to take alot from the first phone call I made to the Applicant to get them in to an Interview. Just be prepared, basically.

 

[LittleStan]

Recruitment consultancies are not there to find a job for a candidate, they are there to find candidates for employers. Because employers pay the bill.

I'm an employer and I'd look very cynically at your CV.

Good luck finding work, but don't shoot the messenger.

Exactly correct. I am a twat and work in recruitment for one of the worlds largest consultancies and I wouldnt touch someone with a barge pole who has been out of work for 2 years.

A couple of month to relax and refocus fine but 2 years shows a poor work ethic.

So would you stand up in court and tell the judge that I was unemployable because I had taken two years out to look after my kids?

Regardless of the fact that I have continued my professional development and voluntarily worked in management positions that allowed me to work around my kids?

Would you say the same if I was a woman returning to work?

edit: Would your company start with 'H' and consist of 3 letters or be two words with initials MP?

 

[LittleStan]

I've recruited before and could pick apart a CV in seconds. Ask someone to do the same with yours and see where you can make some changes. I also used to take alot from the first phone call I made to the Applicant to get them in to an Interview. Just be prepared, basically.

You make a good point and I have revised my CV over the last few years. In general it gets very good feedback, I know I had confidence problems in interviews so dealt with these. After my last interview I asked for some specific feedback and got a good response as well.

1. Interview style, did I approach the interview in the right manner?. (This was the first interview where I had prepared a project plan showing how I would integrate into a company.)
Yes I think you did, in interim positions you need people that can hit the ground running so preparation of a project integration plan is very useful.

2. Credibility - Did I come over as the person you expected after reading my CV?
Yes I would say so.

Finally, what would I have needed to do to be successful in getting the position?
I think if we were doing the project off site, you would have been successful as you have more senior management experience than our chosen candidate.

So there are companies who look past the gap, there are agencies who put somebody like me forward and I do show a bit of intelligence towards their work. The particular company who put me forward got return business because of the range and quality of candidates they put forward.


I also know that the most likely way I will get a role is by finding them outside the system, I am doing this and it is working, but some companies will only go via an agency so I accept that they do have a job to do and I need to work with them.

 

[LittleStan]

OP, for the last two years you've been a "freelance lifestyle coach/consultant" let's you creep in some of the voluntary roles you've done as well, I employee personality first rather than skills, naturally they are important but so is, equally, your ability to fit in.

Good luck blue

I did try something like this towards the end of last year, the problem is it is not true and I was not comfortable in the interview, it came over and the interviewer was good. It did nothing for my credibility.

I get your point all the same.

 

[fluffy_blue]

Don't normally post but this 'poor work ethics' shit by the recruiters and employers that was posted here makes my blood boil. I was out of work for nearly 3 years. It is not because I am lazy, or work shy, or want to be on the dole (and I didn't claim any unemployment benefits and continued paying for my season ticket, mortgage, and everything else out of my savings - and I have a huge debt right now because of it). I was not working full time because I did NOT have any other choice. My partner developed severe disability and I basically cared full time for her until she passed away. Other people will have their own reasons. Is it too much to ask these recruiters to have a broader look at the circumstances. This prevailing 'tick in a box' mentality results in absolute muppets getting into jobs (I am talking about the IT industry here - don't know about others) who then line up their next job while on the current one because it soon becomes apparent that they are incompetent for the role. So while they are picking up big wages for doing sweet f.a. these lovely recruitment agents are ringing them and lining them up with the next job becuase this person ticks all the boxes and obviously has a high work ethic becuase they always employed. But they are just playing the system. And the employer can't even provide a bad reference for these cowboys. And before someone says this is not true, I am just commenting on personal experiences, in IT industry, for over a decade working with a number of very large companies as clients (and often in their offices).

When I started looking for a job it took me 5 months to get an interview. This is not becuase I am shit (1st class in all my uni subjects and a distinction, and add to that 8 years work with a top consultancy where I was often asked by clients to leave and go work for them). However there is a 3 year working gap on my CV (I still did try to start up my own business but didn't have time to see it through and I also did some things with the army). So when I started looking for a job, out of 250+ applications, I got a response to maybe 30. Out of those 30, I spoke to a recruitment agent on maybe 20 occassions. Out of those 20, only 3 knew what they were talking about (I was over qualified for 2 and unsuitable for one). Ok fair enough, there is a large technical aspect to what I do and these recruiters are not experts (as they'd most likely work in the field I guess) but it annoyed me so much when you spoke to someone who clearly wasn't able to understand the technologies being discussed. It was that 'tick in a box' approach. It was the 'poor work ethics' approach. Anyway, in my case eventually a friend of mine asked me to go and have an interview and do some tests at place where he worked. I went there, didn't do any tests as after 45 minutes they knew what the score was and asked me if I could start the following Monday. I've been there nearly 2 years now, and I am a better employee than I ever was before (due to my time off and coming to realisation of what is important in life). I could earn more money elsewhere, and there have already been attempts by recruiters to get me to switch. But I wouldn't dream of leaving - this company put their faith in me I will repay it by being loyal and working my arse off.

The op here seems like a person I would certainly be interested in talking to (I get asked to review CVs and applications by my current employer) and what a lot of recruiters/employers don't realise is that even being off work sometimes can actually improve that persons credentials as often they have developed as a person. They often become someone who can appreciate work and life, who is dilligent and responsible, who will get on with the job the best they can, who will be loyal as they will probably feel a bit of gratefulness perhaps for being given an opportunity after so many let downs. I'd rather employ someone like that than some jump start whose main goal in life is career progression (as that often ends in switching companies).

Anyway, my main point is, could the recruiters and employers that read this please just not immediately dismiss someone who has been off work for a long period. Have a glance further down the CV please. There is a lot of quality resources that have been out of work for prolonged periods. The competition for places is high. People often don't work as there is no available work, or their personal circumstances forced them off work. Doesn't mean they are lazy. Just give them a chance and for a moment treat them as you would other applicants. You might be pleasantly surprised.

 

[Dirty Harry]

A great post with some great points there Fluffy.

 

[peoffrey]

You make a good point and I have revised my CV over the last few years. In general it gets very good feedback, I know I had confidence problems in interviews so dealt with these. After my last interview I asked for some specific feedback and got a good response as well.

Interview feedback is a great way to gain some ideas on where to go following your last interview. I've never been remotely offended when a better all round candidate has beaten me to the job. Fair play to them.

The most successful interview I ever had was when I managed to give the Employer several good reasons regarding why I wanted to work for them specifically. Fortunately, they were in an area I had personal experience in and I was also really keen on their motivations etc. It may well have been that little bit extra that got me the position when someone else lost out. It can be that close.

 

[4HeatonsBlue]

Recruitment consultancies are not there to find a job for a candidate, they are there to find candidates for employers. Because employers pay the bill.

I'm an employer and I'd look very cynically at your CV.

Good luck finding work, but don't shoot the messenger.

Exactly correct. I am a twat and work in recruitment for one of the worlds largest consultancies and I wouldnt touch someone with a barge pole who has been out of work for 2 years.

A couple of month to relax and refocus fine but 2 years shows a poor work ethic.

The work ethic is for the potential employer to judge, if a person is suitably qualified and capable they should be put forward, your own personal opinion might be depriving your client of a very capable employee. If I found out that any of the consultants I speak to had that attitude I'd make sure they were removed from the PSL.

OP, for the last two years you've been a "freelance lifestyle coach/consultant" let's you creep in some of the voluntary roles you've done as well, I employee personality first rather than skills, naturally they are important but so is, equally, your ability to fit in.

Good luck blue