Should You Use A Recruitment Agency?

12th January 2021

Finding a job can be a tough, lonely process so it makes sense to use as many different options as possible to support your job search.

What Is A Recruitment Agency?

Recruitment agencies, like us, are engaged by employers to manage their recruitment for them.

We help employers fill their job vacancies by finding skilled people who match the requirements of the job vacancy. We propose or "short list" them and arrange interviews for the candidates who are selected by the employer.

Recruitment agencies are paid by the employer clients and our service to job seekers, our candidates, is absolutely free. We like to call it priceless.

But we cannot help every job seeker.

To provide the best service we can, we focus on specific disciplines, these are called our recruitment specialisms. That's the first thing to check to find out if we are the right agency for you. Across all our specialisms we recruit for temporary, contract and permanent positions.

Accountancy & Finance
Engineering
Executive Selection
Human Resources
IT
Legal
Office Support
QHSE
Supply Chain & Contracts
Trades

Job hunting takes patience and perseverance. We may not have the type of job you are looking for right now, but we will in the future, so it's important that you stay in touch with your recruitment consultant. Another good reason to stay in touch is that, sometimes, we don't advertise every job that we're working on for client confidentiality reasons.

How Do I Join Your Agency?

We can only represent job seekers who are registered candidates. The first step involves sending us a copy of your CV, so we can begin to understand if we help you.

Send Your CV

From there, we'll meet to discuss your CV and what you are looking for from your next job. This is an important step in making sure we really understand your skills, experience and aspirations.

If you find a job on our website that you'd like to apply for, submit your interest and one of our consultants will get in touch with you. Alternatively, call us to talk with a recruiter on 01224 327 000.

My aim is to get the candidates I'm representing into a position that matches their skills and aspirations and what they're really looking for from their working life. ~ Emma Hunter

What Are The Benefits Of Using An Agency?

It's in our best interests to select the right candidates for every job vacancy so we take the process of offering a great recruitment service seriously.

Our trusted client relationships mean that we may be working on exclusive assignments, this means jobs that you won't find anywhere else. It's also part of our service to:

Share advice on the job market.
Provide constructive feedback on your CV.
Share information on the employer and job role.
Help you prepare for interview.
Keep you up to date on the progress of your job applications and provide post-interview feedback.
Support you through the job offer and acceptance process.

How Much Does It Cost?

It's important to remember that our service to registered candidates is free of charge, there is no cost.

There's more advice from Emma, one of our Office Support recruiters, about how a recruitment agency may be able to help you in this video:

Video transcript

[00:00:04.630]

Hi, my name is Emma, and I am a recruiter at Thorpe Molloy McCulloch Recruitment and in this video I'm going to explain how a recruitment agency can help you.

[00:00:14.800]

So let's get into that. OK, so first of all, let me explain what a recruitment agency is and why you might want to consider using one. Recruitment agencies are chosen by companies and employers to help them fill their job vacancies.

[00:00:31.360]

It makes the process more efficient and faster because companies don't have to spend time managing the application and advertising process, potentially reviewing hundreds of CVs and also setting up interviews.

[00:00:44.090]

One of the most valuable tools for a recruitment agency is the database of registered candidates.

[00:00:51.440]

These are candidates who are job seeking. They are looking for a new role, looking for a promotion.

[00:00:58.800]

And that is my aim to get the candidates I'm representing into a position that matches their skills and aspirations and what they're really looking for from their working life.

[00:01:09.710]

Recruitment agencies are paid by the client company when a successful job vacancy is filled and placement is made. So this usually comes as a really pleasant surprise for candidates when registering with us, when they find out that our service is, in fact, priceless. And by that I mean that there is absolutely no charge.

[00:01:32.890]

Recruitment agencies focus on specific disciplines or sectors. So the first thing to do is check whether the recruitment agency that you would like to register with as a candidate actually works in your area of expertise. All of the information on our specific specialisms can be found on our website, tmmrecruitment.com.

[00:01:54.160]

So if an agency does work in the profession that you are looking to register for, it's normally a pretty straightforward process. And the first step involves you sending in your CV. If the agency believes that they'll be able to help you, the next step will be meeting with the recruiter where you can get to know each other and really discuss what you would like to achieve from your job search.

[00:02:16.090]

OK, so imagine you have found an agency that you want to work with and they're able to support you. Fantastic. You do still need to, however, be patient and resilient. Chances are, especially in a difficult market, there might not be a lot that is suitable for you straight away.

[00:02:33.590]

Another word of advice, agencies don't always advertise every single vacancy they're working on. So if there's nothing that sparks your interest on their website, it's not a waste of time to enquire and to see if there may be other opportunities that they could potentially support you with, as well as putting you forward for appropriate job opportunities when they arise. A recruitment agency can also help you in a couple of other ways. A recruiter is sometimes able to give you a lot more background information about a particular hiring company or client information that you might not find in other places.

[00:03:07.490]

If you choose a specialist recruiter, they will have specific knowledge on the job market and be able to provide relevant and constructive feedback on your CV specifically tailored towards that particular area. They can also help with interview preparation, post-interview feedback and answer any questions you have about the specific application process and the role itself.