Recruitment Agencies

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nobulltiger said:
So how do the agencies that you don't pay make money if they get you a job?
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They get a % of your salary.

The recruitment agency and the company will agree on a percent. Let's say 15%.
You get offered the job and your salary is $100,000

The company will pay the recruitment agency $15,000
 
nobulltiger said:
So how do the agencies that you don't pay make money if they get you a job?
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nothing wrong with earning a living for providing a service.

but it is important to recognise that you are not the client (you are the commodity) therefor it is important to recognise they do not have your best interest in mind.

A lot of people don't realise that, thus raising those issues is just to highlight their tricks of their trade.
 
Had a friend who was on unemployment benefits for a few months a couple of years ago and as part of his pathway plan he had to sign up with a job agency called Job Prospects. Anyway he was doing some casual/part time work at the time (anywhere from 1 and half days to 3 days work as a cleaner - was working from approx 7am until 3-4 pm). His case worker or manager or whatever they are called told him to come in on a Wednesday as he didnt usually work that day. So he goes in and the guy tells him he has found him a full time job but he has to sit through an interview first. He was pretty excited as you can imagine as he had been on Newstart for a few months now. So he goes to this place and arrives 10 minutes early as you always want to make a good impression on a potential boss.

Anyway the guy ask him a couple of questions that you normally get asked at interviews eg how keen you are to work. My mate thinks to himself he possibly has this job in the bag and then the guy asks him how much welding experience he has. My mate responds that he hasn't had any kind of welding experience not even in high school as he did woodwork... The boss looks at him strangely for a few seconds with a puzzled look on his face and pauses for a few seconds and says we will let you know if you get the job.

About 30 minutes later he goes back to job prospects as his case manager wants to see him and his case worker asks how do you think you went. Mate replies well i think i was looking alright for the job until they asked if i had any welding experience. That was the only job interview that job prospects had got my mate and he was with them for 4-5 months.

My mate the next day changed to a different recruitment agency and got a full time job within 3 months of switching agencies.
 
Hartletts Heroes said:
Had a friend who was on unemployment benefits for a few months a couple of years ago and as part of his pathway plan he had to sign up with a job agency called Job Prospects. Anyway he was doing some casual/part time work at the time (anywhere from 1 and half days to 3 days work as a cleaner - was working from approx 7am until 3-4 pm). His case worker or manager or whatever they are called told him to come in on a Wednesday as he didnt usually work that day. So he goes in and the guy tells him he has found him a full time job but he has to sit through an interview first. He was pretty excited as you can imagine as he had been on Newstart for a few months now. So he goes to this place and arrives 10 minutes early as you always want to make a good impression on a potential boss.

Anyway the guy ask him a couple of questions that you normally get asked at interviews eg how keen you are to work. My mate thinks to himself he possibly has this job in the bag and then the guy asks him how much welding experience he has. My mate responds that he hasn't had any kind of welding experience not even in high school as he did woodwork... The boss looks at him strangely for a few seconds with a puzzled look on his face and pauses for a few seconds and says we will let you know if you get the job.

About 30 minutes later he goes back to job prospects as his case manager wants to see him and his case worker asks how do you think you went. Mate replies well i think i was looking alright for the job until they asked if i had any welding experience. That was the only job interview that job prospects had got my mate and he was with them for 4-5 months.

My mate the next day changed to a different recruitment agency and got a full time job within 3 months of switching agencies.
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Do you know which one he went to? I'm currently with Job Prospects and they're doing very little for me.
 
Wright Away said:
They are parasites.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk
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Couldn't have been said better. Recruitment agencies are used widely throughout any industry because:
  1. They offer payroll services so that employers don't have to worry about paying contractors directly
  2. Employers don't have to worry about setting up employment contracts with employees, only payment contracts with recruitment agencies
  3. Better agencies properly and thoroughly vet their applicants before passing their information on to employers
nobulltiger said:
So how do the agencies that you don't pay make money if they get you a job?
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They sign agreements with a contractor to pay at X rate including tax and Super on top. They sign another agreement with the employing company to charge Y rate. This is anywhere from 20% to 50% depending on the agreement. For instance, I work with PoV and the agreement between PoV and my recruiter is +33% for every hour I work. Say I work a standard fortnight of 40 billable hours, my employer will be charged my rate +33%, which is over $7,000. But they need to pay me 66%, so the difference is really ~$2500. Personally, I'd rather that they pay me directly and bill it through services and consulting accounts rather than deal with my recruitment agency. They're a pack of campaigners really.

craffles said:
Hi all,

Just looking for some information on Recruitment Agencies. More specifically the questions below, but happy to use this as a forum to discuss other information too.

1. What are the ways recruitment agencies structure their fees to clients eg a portion of the successful candidates wages, retainers, flat fees etc.
2. What value do recruitment agencies have for non entry level roles? I've established myself in my industry and have a few networks so don't see them as anything other than a pain in the ass.
3. Who are the most reputable agencies, who are the ones to avoid?
4. What dodgy things have you seen from agencies (advertising for non existing jobs to build candidate pools etc).
5. Tips for dealing with agencies from a candidate perspective.


Cheers guys
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1. It depends on the agreement between the agency & the employer. For instance, some have a finders fee, paying $10k up front for a successful placement, others have a small up front, say $2k-$5k and then an ongoing percentage of wages. Others like mine, have a small up front and a large on going portion of wages, 33% in fact.
2. If you need to find work quickly, these guys usually have a lot of contacts and might be able to find you something quicker than looking for yourself. Besides, if you come from a well known, established and trusted recruitment agency, the employer will consider you to be appropriate to the position and you'll stand a better chance of employment.
3. Depends on your industry really. Just google 'reviews <insert agency here>'
4. Absolutely, they do this all the time and they do it to build candidate pools and horde information. Just be careful with seek, but if you get connections from linkedin, you can contact them directly, or at least post a status on linkedin that you're looking. In my opinion, it's a better job source, it's where I've got my last few from.
5. Be honest, find out the employer and do the research. Don't be afraid to ask about the agreement they have with the employer because you might be caught out with different expectations between the employer and the recruiter. Eg. hired for a base role but the recruiter charges the same as a senior role.
 
chunkychicken said:
They sign agreements with a contractor to pay at X rate including tax and Super on top. They sign another agreement with the employing company to charge Y rate. This is anywhere from 20% to 50% depending on the agreement. For instance, I work with PoV and the agreement between PoV and my recruiter is +33% for every hour I work. Say I work a standard fortnight of 40 billable hours, my employer will be charged my rate +33%, which is over $7,000. But they need to pay me 66%, so the difference is really ~$2500. Personally, I'd rather that they pay me directly and bill it through services and consulting accounts rather than deal with my recruitment agency. They're a pack of campaigners really.
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Yeah, my agent didn't have a very happy tone when i told them i got a new job as a sub contracter and they will have no involvement. Sounded very disappointed, they can suck it.
 
Labour hire companies charge the employer double what they pay you
 
First time in 28 years i have been unemployed so have never had to deal with recruitment agencies, but reading through some of the previous posts strikes a cord.
Have had a few agencies contact me after i applied for some positions and the lack of transparency from their side leaves me feeling very uneasy about been involved with them. Often get the feeling that there was no job on offer and they just wanted another number on their books.
The whole industry seems dodgy as hell, but it seems to be the preferred method these days?
 

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I was unemployed straight out of university after getting my teaching degree (only 1 month after graduating). Applied for over 100 positions but many already had someone in the position or that there were 80 applicants for 1 spot.

As I was on NewStart and I had to sign up with Salvation Army. They were absolutely pathetic. They couldn't help me with my application as they had no idea about selection Criteria and wanted me to be prepared to do labouring and look at doing bar tending at a winery (which when I went for the interview were annoyed I didnt have my RSA which was a requirement).

I told the recruiter that I would not be looking at anything outside or teaching as I just spent 4 years doing my degree and they refused to accomodate in looking through Seek etc.

Ended up spending the times I checked in explaining how many jobs I applied for and if I got an interview or casual work.

Ended up getting my job after doing casual stints at a school.

I found they ignored my plea and put it in the too hard basket. Better for people without degrees.
 
Bleeeeeeeeep said:
First time in 28 years i have been unemployed so have never had to deal with recruitment agencies, but reading through some of the previous posts strikes a cord.
Have had a few agencies contact me after i applied for some positions and the lack of transparency from their side leaves me feeling very uneasy about been involved with them. Often get the feeling that there was no job on offer and they just wanted another number on their books.
The whole industry seems dodgy as hell, but it seems to be the preferred method these days?
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Yea they will ask what skills you have but will put you down for an interview regardless of preference. I refused to show up to a labouring job as I told them I had a stuffed knee and only just completed my teaching degree and wanted a role in education.

They weren't happy and told me not to be fussy. I replied that I wasn't and said I don't want a tradie/labouring position.
 
Jack Richards said:
Yea they will ask what skills you have but will put you down for an interview regardless of preference. I refused to show up to a labouring job as I told them I had a stuffed knee and only just completed my teaching degree and wanted a role in education.

They weren't happy and told me not to be fussy. I replied that I wasn't and said I don't want a tradie/labouring position.
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WTF. Sounds like they are just after numbers.

I haven't signed up with any, but the few dealings i have had leaves me less than impressed to do so.
But it seems it is the done thing these days, especially for low skilled work which i am happy to do.
 
Bleeeeeeeeep said:
WTF. Sounds like they are just after numbers.

I haven't signed up with any, but the few dealings i have had leaves me less than impressed to do so.
But it seems it is the done thing these days, especially for low skilled work which i am happy to do.
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Yea. I was engaged at the time so desperate for a teaching gig but the fact they just got me in to have a chat and see how I am progressing to get a job (and subsequently miss some days doing casual work) was less than ideal. Only positive to this place was they were across from an awesome cafe where I got brekky and a coffee before entering.
 
Bleeeeeeeeep said:
First time in 28 years i have been unemployed so have never had to deal with recruitment agencies, but reading through some of the previous posts strikes a cord.
Have had a few agencies contact me after i applied for some positions and the lack of transparency from their side leaves me feeling very uneasy about been involved with them. Often get the feeling that there was no job on offer and they just wanted another number on their books.
The whole industry seems dodgy as hell, but it seems to be the preferred method these days?
Click to expand...
I wouldn't put all of your faith in them brother. It probably doesn't hurt to have them doing things for you in the background on the odd chance that something comes up, but definitely keep looking and searching and your own. Recruitment agencies get paid by the employer for filling a position so that underscores who they actually work for in all this. They like to amass a collection of resumes so they can show an impressive on-paper talent pool. And if you come across any that offer you "training" just hang up immediately.
 
Nuggs Bunny said:
I wouldn't put all of your faith in them brother. It probably doesn't hurt to have them doing things for you in the background on the odd chance that something comes up, but definitely keep looking and searching and your own. Recruitment agencies get paid by the employer for filling a position so that underscores who they actually work for in all this. They like to amass a collection of resumes so they can show an impressive on-paper talent pool. And if you come across any that offer you "training" just hang up immediately.
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When I was doing CRT work for teaching agencies the dodgy stuff they were doing was BS.

- Telling workers to let them know if they get an interview at the school they have been working at (if done through agency) so they get a finders fee (usually a couple of hundreds of dollars).

- making resumes where they don't include references just a 'Contact <agency name> for references to ensure they get a finder fee.

This on top of their prices per day for relief teachers they get ontop of the wage of the teacher.

Usually the teacher gets $150 a day or thereabouts.

I use to go private through the school directly for casual shifts just to save them money. Made $4k in 4 weeks straight out of uni.
 
I think a ton of recruiters are simply excessively uninvolved, they don't actually push sufficiently hard.
 
amandapage said:
I think a ton of recruiters are simply excessively uninvolved, they don't actually push sufficiently hard.
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Yep. One I was with:
Them: Lets look at your resume
Me *hands over resume*
Them: Ah ok. Looks great, cant help with that.

Couldn't find me any jobs and the one they did send me to (bar tending) they didn't know I needed my RSA lmao and I didn't have it.

This was after I had it done professionally and was only looking for a job as a teacher.
 
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