Medijobs Blog | All Things Allied Health

How can a recruitment agency help me find the right job?

POSTED BY FARAH RIZVI-HAMMOND

Thursday, July 21, 2016

How can a Recruitment Agency help me find the right job?

Just like any other industry, there are different types of recruitment agencies – and quality varies. A great recruitment agency will not only help you apply for jobs, but understand what would make the best role for you and ensure you’re well-equipped for success. A recruitment agency is paid by the employer for finding great employees. Employees don’t need to pay the agency, but they can benefit from their expertise.

Here’s what you should expect if you apply for a job through a recruitment agency.

1. Confirmation email: Once you apply for a job via a job-board or on an agency website, you should receive an email from the agency acknowledging your application.

2. Phone or face-to-face conference: Within 48 business hours the agency will call you to discuss your application and what you are looking for in a role – they find out about your salary, location, career aspirations, what you love and dislike about your job, your skills base, your education, your professional development, the kind of employer and team that you would like to work with and more. This information guides them in selecting roles which will be suitable for you. They may discuss potential employers that they feel may be the right fit for you. If you have already applied to any of these employers either directly or via another agency, it’s essential that you let your recruitment agent know – if an employer receives a candidate’s application from multiple sources it looks very unprofessional.

3. Resume feedback: Agencies see a lot of resumes and are best placed to help you improve your resume if that is needed. Once your resume is complete, it’s formatted into the agency template and your contact and referee details are removed.

4. Communication with potential employers: Once you’ve decided together which employers to approach, your agency will send your resume only to those employers. There is an RCSA Code for Professional Conduct which stipulates privacy requirements – and sending a resume to an employer without a candidate’s position is in contravention of the Charter. If you are unsuccessful in obtaining an interview, your recruitment consultant will provide you with feedback about why your application was unsuccessful.

5. Arranging interviews and providing interview feedback: Your recruitment consultant will arrange interviews with employers. They can conduct interview preparation sessions with you and further brief you on the client, their expectations of what preparation you will have done for the interview, how to get to the client site, their website so you can browse that in your own time, whom you will be meeting and a job description if the client has provided them with one. Your recruitment consultant can explain behavioural interview techniques so that you can structure your responses to the employers’ questions.

6. Post-interview feedback: Your recruitment consultant will ask you for feedback about the interview, and also provide you with feedback from the potential employer. If you were unsuccessful, they should tell you why you were unsuccessful in that interview so you can use that feedback to improve for next time.

7. Referee checks: If you are successful in securing a role, your recruitment consultant will contact your referees. A good recruitment consultant will ensure that you have contacted the referees to let them know the agency or employer will be calling, and be appreciative of the referee’s time.

8. Package negotiation: Your recruitment consultant will negotiate your salary package, start date and location of employment with the employer. Salary negotiations can be especially delicate and having someone else who is an industry expert will expedite the process. Be honest with your recruiter about your expectations and ask questions of them about what is reasonable for the role and market.

9. Post-placement check in: Your recruitment consultant will often check in with you on your first day and a few weeks later to ensure that you and the employer are happy.

At Medijobs we follow the above process for every single one of our candidates. It is evidence-based, best-practice recruitment and has great results. We believe you deserve an Agency that values what you bring to the table and treats your application with the due care, respect and confidentiality that they would like if they were themselves job-seeking. Knowing what to expect from an agency empowers you to select the agency who will work best for you. If we can be of assistance, we’d love to hear from you.