A lot of people turn to recruitment agencies when their job-hunting attempts continue to be unsuccessful. However, before you send in your CV or schedule an interview, it’s best to know a bit about how recruitment agencies work in Australia.
What Exactly Do They Do?
First of all, you must realize that a recruitment agency is different from an employment agency. The latter primarily works for you, the job seeker, while the former is hired by employers. As a result, recruitment agencies help a number of employees fill in open positions by:
- Researching and analyzing what exactly each job requires
- Identifying the best potential candidates
- Pre-screening candidates before they’re recommended for an interview
- Providing support to the employer during the interview process.
The advantage for employers is that they don’t have to spend as much effort with the hiring process. They don’t have to wade through tons of unsuitable candidates and make a shortlist themselves, when it is done for them by the recruitment agency.
How Do They Earn Money?
Most recruitment agencies work on sort-of commission basis. This means they only get paid when (and if) they find a candidate who the employer ends up hiring. However this isn’t the only way.
Some employers keep recruitment agencies on retainer. This means that a fee is paid each month or quarter to the agency. In return, the agency helps out with all or some of the employer’s recruitment efforts. In certain cases, an employer may outsource the entire hiring process to a recruitment agency.
Sometimes, the recruitment agency may simply bill an hourly rate for any service they provide.
How Do You Work With A Recruitment Agency To Find A Job?
Once a recruitment agency is given a job description by an employer, they begin to look through their repository of CVs for candidates that seem fit for the position. Usually, the employer specifies how many candidates they need. So the agency first combs through the CVs to create an initial short list. Then, they will get in touch with these potential candidates for a short interview, after which they’ll shorten the list further.
Typically, the very first thing you need to do is send an updated CV to an agency of your choice. A simple Google search should give you a list of a few reputed ones in your area. Once you’ve done that, the agency may then schedule an in-person or over-the-phone interview with you.
The purpose of this interview is to get to know you better. Hence, they may ask you about your career goals, what sort of salary you expect and may ask you to confirm a few details in your CV. Once they’re satisfied, they’ll upload your CV into the database.
After that, all that’s left to do is wait. Once the agency finds a position that matches your skillset and qualifications, they will get in touch with you. They might confirm a few things once again and ask for permission to send your CV to the employer in question.
What If You Don’t Get A Call?
If you sent in your CV during one of the slow hiring months (like during summer and Christmas), you might not hear back from them for a while. So if that’s the case, don’t panic! Once hiring season begins again, you’ll have a better chance of getting a call. In Australia that’s usually around January to March and July to September.
You can always contact the agency every few weeks or so for an update. Additionally, you should get in touch with them if there’s something you wish to add to your CV.
If you’re consistently unsuccessful with your job-finding endeavors then it might be worthwhile to work with a recruitment agency. Keep in mind that a recruitment agency works for employers and not job-seekers. Hence, they’re primarily concerned with checking if your qualifications and skills match with the job descriptions they receive.