- Register with the top 3-4 maximum preferably. In today’s market jobseekers are sending their CVs to up to 15 agencies. Whilst it’s important to keep your options open, it’s equally as important to forge relationships with the recruiters. Your CV landing on a HR managers desk 3-4 times is likely to have a negative impact on your application

-If possible, try and find out the specific names of recruiters that friends or colleagues have used in the past. IDeally you should be targetting experienced individual recruiters. If you check their profiles on linkedin, you see the depth of their experience. Tell the recruiter that they were recommended by “X” – it may make them feel more obliged to help! Getting a recruiter who understands you area is key. Recruitment employee turnover tends to be quite high, so in some organisations the majority of recruiters can have less than 1-2 years experience

 - Always call in advance if you see a job that you are interested in. Clarify that the role is still open. When recruiters advertise roles, they generally put them up on the sites as soon as the job comes in, and then start working through their database. A lot of consultants can submit shortlists from their databases and don’t end up considering people who apply. A good recruiter will only submit 5-6 CVs to a client maximum

- Request a meeting with the consultant. If they say no, push back on them and say that you would really like to registrar. If they have met you in person, it is far more likely that they will remember you

- When you meet your consultant should be able to provide you with more factual information than what is outlined on the written job spec. Ask them specific questions eg structure of the team, reporting structure, a background to the business.  If they do not know this information, I would question just how strong a relationship they have with the client. Are they going to be able to influence your application or have they rang the client after noticing the job online. 

 - Clarify when next contact is going to be made and ask them if it is okay for you to call them every so often to touch base. Tell them you would like to remain in regular contact and ask them if they agree that this would be a good thing? Im sure they will agree to everything, so it is something you can bring up again if they do not do it!

- It is up to you to chase up recruiters. They are being pulled in every direction at the moment and cant really win! They are managing an increased volume of applications, making hundreds of cold calls and more to get jobs on their books.

- If an agency say that you are not suitable for a job, the best thing is to just accept it and move on. You should always try and get feedback if you can, but it is in their interest to get good quality across to their clients, so bear this in mind if you are not shortlisted

Be honest with your recruiter regarding interviews that maybe progressing elsewhere or if you have concerns relating to salary, hours, reporting structures etc. They can help!

Never tell a recruiter what other companies you are interviewing with.

Do not deal with agencies who have not requested your permission to send your CV to a client. It is not fair on the agencies who follow the correct process and earn their commission. Your CV landing on the same HR managers desk by numerous agencies does not reflect well on you. The last thing HR Professionals want to do is get involved in a squabble between agencies.

Some recruiter will tell you the things you want to hear. I would have more respect for the recruiters who are honest and direct than ones who give general  feedback such as “ you don’t have enough general experience” . You should be getting something more precise which you can learn and move forward from

Mairead Griffin, Career Mentors, http://www.careermentors.ie, 01-2160880

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Truth, Integrity, Respect

 for the recruitment industry in Ireland. Representing over 100 approx recruitment agencies throughout the country, the NRF seeks to provide it’s members, who have opted for self regulation, with the best possible service in terms of support, communication, advice sharing and problem solving and in doing so to promote professional competence within the industry.

The NRF Code of Conduct ( perm roles )is as follows:

1. GENERAL

Member companies and employees engaged by them shall comply with the Code of Conduct of the Federation and by the rules and regulations outlined below

 2. LICENSING

 It is a condition of Membership that the individual, agency or company is properly licensed to operate as an employment agency within the terms of the Employment Agency Act 1971 and any amendments thereto.

3. APPLICANT HANDLING/CONFIDENTIALITY

 - Applicants must be treated in a courteous and dignified manner at all times. Their right to privacy must be respected including their right to be interviewed in a private area in accordance with health & Safety regulation. Regard must be had to the Employment Equality Acts 1977 and 1998.

 - All applicants must be interviewed by the agency prior to being put forward to the client for interview. c.

- Applicants must be given full details of any job for which the agency intends to recommend them and permission sought from the applicant. An applicant’s permission must be sought and obtained before his or her details are revealed to an employer. The agency should also determine whether or not the applicant has been approached by another agency about the same job.

- Applicants must be kept informed of the progress of their application.

-References must not be sought without an applicant’s consent.

- Members must protect the confidentiality of any information contained on applicants business in the course of a recruitment assignment and use such information only for the purpose of staff selection and recruitment. The agency must have regard to the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998.

 GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

When a complaint is recorded a copy of it is sent to the Members involved and any other parties involved. A written response is required within 7 days. On receipt of same, the Disciplinary Committee (DC) will investigate the complaint and may at its discretion interview all or any of the parties involved. The DC will make a decision on the complaint/grievance including recommending any action, which is required, based on facts placed before it at that time. A complete record of events will be kept. The Executive Committee (EC) may decide to hear an appeal against a decision of DC. A decision on an appeal will be final. If the appeal is to be heard, the President and two members of the EC nominated by the EC and who are not members of the DC will hear the appeal. The DC or the EC at their discretion may adjudicate on a complaint/grievance or appeal as the case may be based on written submissions or oral representations or a combination of both. Under section 12 of the Articles of Association, a decision may be made whether to suspend or expel the member.

NRF has an important role to play in continuously improving standards within the recruitment industry. Complaints against NRF members whether from applicants, clients or other Members will be investigated at all times. For more information on these standards go to http://www.nrf.ie

Mairead Griffin, Career Coach @ http://www.careermentors.ie 

Email: mairead@careermentors.ie

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Recruitment Agencies – Do’s and Don’ts

• Find out who the best agencies are specifically for your discipline in Dublin. These arent always the biggest agencies
• Registrar with the top 3-4 maximum and work to build a rapport with your recruiter
• If possible, try and find out the specific names of recruiters that friends or colleagues have encountered. Otherwise you could go on forums and ask others who they would recommend
• The main thing is getting a Recruitment Consultant with at least 2 years experience, and understanding of your discipline, who has forged good relationships with clients in your field. Recruitment is a high turnover industry, so this can be difficult, but it is doable if you do the right research
• Always call in advance if you see a job that you are interested in. Clarify that the role is still open. When recruiters advertise roles, they generally put them up on the sites as soon as the job comes in, and then start working through their database. A lot of consultants can submit shortlists from their databases, so don’t end up considering people who apply. A good recruiter will only submit 5-6 CVs to a client.

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• Request a meeting with the consultant. If they say no, push back on them and say that you would really like to registrar. If they have met you in person, it is far more likely that they will remember you
• A recruiter should give you some feedback on your CV. It is not their responsibility to go through it in too much detail, but it is in both your interests that you present yourself to your full potential
• When you meet, the consultant should know more than what is just outlined on the job spec. Ask them specific questions eg structure of the team, reporting structure, a background to the business. If they don’t know this information, I would question just how strong a relationship they have with the client. Are they going to be able to influence your application or have they just rang the client after noticing the job online??
• Clarify when next contact is going to be made and ask them if it is okay for YOU to call THEM every so often to touch base. Tell them you would like to remain in regular contact and ask them if they agree that this would be a good thing? Im sure they will agree to everything, so it is something you can bring up again if they do not do it!
• It is up to you to chase up recruiters. They are being pulled in every direction at the moment and cant really win! They are managing an increased volume of applications and are working extremely hard to get more jobs on to approach you about
• If an agency say that you are not suitable for a job, the best thing is to just accept it and move on. It is in their interest to put the best candidates forward, so they would if you were right for a job. You should always try and get feedback if you can.
• Remember, recruitment is a sales business. It is in their interest to get the best people in front of their clients. ALWAYS be honest and upfront with recruiters on everything eg. Do you have other interviews going on? Will you only move for XX salary? Is the location right for you? If you have concerns it’s in both your interests to get them addressed. Ireland is too small a place to annoy potential employers
• Never disclose to a recruiter what other companies you are interviewing with.
• Do not deal with agencies who have not requested your permission to send your CV to a client. This is the worst form of practice an agency can do. It is not fair on the agencies who follow the correct process and earn their commission! You should always be met by an agency and called about a job in advance.
• If it ever becomes an issue, I would suggest sending an email directly to the client indicating that you would like X company to represent you. Squabbling amongst the agencies is the last thing HR Professsionals in organisations want to get involved in.
• Quite often they will tell you the things you want to hear. I would have more respect for the recruiters who are honest and direct than ones who give general feedback such as “ you don’t have enough general experience” . You should be getting something more precise than that

For more advice contact Mairead Griffin  - mairead@careementors.ie – www.careermentors.ie  or 01-2160880

Use http://www.becomed.com to keep track of where your CV is going!

Nowadays jobseekers are applying to multiple jobs through many different mediums. As a result, they can lose track of what roles they have applied to and where recruitment agencies are sending their CVs.

Why manage your job applications?

- It will cause problems with the agencies if companies already have your CV on file and it is also submitted through an agency. It will damage your relationship with your consultant and reflect poorly on your with the organisation

- It helps you track the progress of your job searching process. What medium is creating the most responses to your CV? Do you need to re-channel your efforts in another direction?–

- You need to be prepared for interviews that may arise. The job spec may have been removed from the web by the time interviews progress.

Try http://www.becomed.com to manage your job applications. It will add time to the process, but it will give you a sense of achievement