Are you on a quest to find your dream job but you can’t seem to land a role that suits you? Maybe you’ve already applied to hundreds of jobs on job boards and on LinkedIn but failed to get invited to an interview. You’re entitled to feel as if finding a job is the most difficult thing on this planet. Well, there are things you can do to improve your odds of success.
The role of recruitment agencies is to play the middle man between employers seeking to fill their job openings and you, the candidate who’s looking for a job. Their job is to match the job requirements and the skills and experience of their candidates, in order to find the ideal person for the vacancy. This means recruitment agencies can help you, can’t they?
The Recruitment Agency Process In A Nutshell
Basically, an employer who needs to hire someone like you, but lacks the time or the resources to receive and screen CVs and to conduct hundreds of interviews, can outsource this process to a professional recruiter. They would hand over a detailed job description and maybe ask to see the top ten most suitable candidates for the job.
The recruitment agency compares the requirements of the vacancy with the skills and the experience of candidates in their database, in order to select the suitable ones. Next, they contact these candidates to ask for permission to forward their contact details to the employer. Sometimes, the recruitment agency may conduct preliminary interviews to narrow down the shortlist to the best candidates available.
How Can I Play An Active Role In This Process?
You can use the recruitment agency to your advantage, in order to increase your chances to land the desired job. The agency knows very well what the employer wants, so they can advise you on how to act during the job interview. Nevertheless, you should keep in mind that recruitment agencies aren’t at your service, so you shouldn’t rely solely on them to find you a job.
Anyway, let’s speak about getting involved. Search for recruitment agencies that specialise in the industry or sector you want a job in. Contact them and let them know you are available and currently seeking a job opportunity. If you aren’t sure which is the industry you’d like to work in, take a career test to make this decision before you reach out to any recruitment agency. They are not your career advisors, so they won’t help you decide upon your ideal career choice.
Some of the recruitment agencies will invite you to an interview, either face-to-face or over-the-telephone. They will ask you about your career goals, skills, qualifications and salary expectations. Make sure what you tell them matches what you’ve written in your CV. Also, when you write your CV, consider adding some of the most relevant keywords for the job type or career choice you’re interested in. This will help your CV pop up when someone performs a search for a relevant job. If you are looking to get into the field of marketing then see marketing recruitment agencies.
What Are The Next Steps?
Once your CV is in the system, the recruitment agency will get in touch with you when they’ll have a suitable job opening. This won’t happen overnight, especially during summer, when most people take their holiday.
If you don’t hear from the agency within three-four weeks from the interview, you may contact them to ask whether you’ve missed any opportunity. You may also discuss other career paths or things to do to make yourself more appealing to employers. If they don’t call you back within one month or so, consider reaching out to other recruitment agencies. Also, don’t give up your job search on LinkedIn and on job boards, as you can never know what the future has in store for you.