Should I Use a Recruitment/Temp Agency to Find Work?

[StarSoup]

Recruitment/Temp Agencies?

Hello,
I posted awhile back about not being able to find a job, I'm still in that same boat.

Background: I graduated 6 months ago with a Chemical Engineering degree. Good 3.4 GPA, I've done 2 internships, very sociable, outgoing, blah blah blah...

Im havin a heck of a time finding work. I've applied to millions of online apps, I've tried networking with previous and new contacts and attending career events. I am not really getting anywhere though.

Ive decided to start pursuing low paying grunt work within my target industries to get a foot in the door. I was checking out my state government's online job board and there's currently tons of temporary lab, technician, and grunt jobs posted in the industries I'm interested in. However, every posting says, in order to apply I need to visit an office of this local temp agency. In addition, I was actually recently contacted randomly by a another agency and asked if I was interested in a temporary lab job with a pharmacy company.

I've always felt kind of wary of employment agencies. Should I try it out? Could anyone who has used one share their experiences? Can they actually find you work quickly as they promise? I already know to stay away from any that charge fees upfront, but is there any other catch I should be aware of?

Thanks for any insights.

 

[lisab]

At one point when I was in college, I ran out of money and had to stop taking classes and get a full time job. I used a temp agency, and after a few lousy placements I found a really great place to work. Many other temps worked there too, mostly young people who had just graduated. About half of us ended up getting full-time, well-paying jobs there.

The company even paid for most of my remaining classes to graduate!

So, my experience with temp work was very good. I think some companies use temp agencies to try out employees to see if they are a good fit, before making a commitment. Makes sense, you can only learn so much about an employee through the interview process.

Btw, it goes both ways - you will learn fairly quickly if you want to work for a particular company, or move on to find a better fit.

 

[Evo]

Credible temporary agencies can be a valuable tool. My older daughter used one when she first started college and landed some very nice jobs, and yes, she, like lisab, was offered permanent employment. It just wasn't what she wanted to do as a living though. She has the job she wants now.

Are you willing to relocate? One of the mistakes many people make is to restrict where they are willing to work. You have to be willing to go where the jobs are

Also, keep networking, in the department I worked in, positions were only filled through personal referrals, we never hired "off the street".

 

[Astronuc]

Hello,
I posted awhile back about not being able to find a job, I'm still in that same boat.

Background: I graduated 6 months ago with a Chemical Engineering degree. Good 3.4 GPA, I've done 2 internships, very sociable, outgoing, blah blah blah...

Im havin a heck of a time finding work. I've applied to millions of online apps, I've tried networking with previous and new contacts and attending career events. I am not really getting anywhere though.

Ive decided to start pursuing low paying grunt work within my target industries to get a foot in the door. I was checking out my state government's online job board and there's currently tons of temporary lab, technician, and grunt jobs posted in the industries I'm interested in. However, every posting says, in order to apply I need to visit an office of this local temp agency. In addition, I was actually recently contacted randomly by a another agency and asked if I was interested in a temporary lab job with a pharmacy company.

I've always felt kind of wary of employment agencies. Should I try it out? Could anyone who has used one share their experiences? Can they actually find you work quickly as they promise? I already know to stay away from any that charge fees upfront, but is there any other catch I should be aware of?

Thanks for any insights.

Has one tried the American Institute of Chemical Engineers?
http://www.aiche.org/

http://www.aiche.org/resources/member-services
http://www.aiche.org/resources/careers
http://www.aiche.org/resources/careers/networking-opportunities-career-tools

Usually one's department would probably have some contacts.

 

[StarSoup]

Thanks for the replies. I think I'll go ahead and give it a shot. I believe this particular one receives some state funding so I would hope they hold a good standard.

And yup, I'm willing to relocate. I've applied to tons of out of state positions. However, it just seems pretty difficult to make out of state connections. I imagine most states graduate a few hundred engineers each school year. It's hard to stand out as a non-local candidate without much experience. I live on the west coast though, and between WA, OR, and CA there's a ton of high-tech industry so I should be able to get something over here.

Thats a good idea too Astronuc. I'm also scheduling an appointment with my departments career adviser. I'll email some professors too and see if they'll meet with me.

Thanks

 

[Astronuc]

There's plenty of biotech in San Diego.

 

[Jupiter6]

I personally think most recruiters are full of crap when it comes to professional jobs. Sure they can find you work on an assembly line.

The two jobs I have gotten through temp agencies were because my resume fit their needs exactly so they called me out of the blue. The places that have you come in and fill out an app with no specific client in mind are just looking to pad their resume database. Remember, recruiters are basically used car salesmen/pimps and it is okay to be firm but polite with them.

If you can't find exactly what you want, take the next closest thing to get your foot in the door. Opportunities will most always present themselves if you're a good worker. The worst thing you can do is take a job that's unrelated to your chosen field. I know how rough it is but I got to say, persistence is key.

 

[Evo]

I personally think most recruiters are full of crap when it comes to professional jobs. Sure they can find you work on an assembly line.

The two jobs I have gotten through temp agencies were because my resume fit their needs exactly so they called me out of the blue. The places that have you come in and fill out an app with no specific client in mind are just looking to pad their resume database. Remember, recruiters are basically used car salesmen/pimps and it is okay to be firm but polite with them.

If you can't find exactly what you want, take the next closest thing to get your foot in the door. Opportunities will most always present themselves if you're a good worker. The worst thing you can do is take a job that's unrelated to your chosen field. I know how rough it is but I got to say, persistence is key.

Recruiters and temporary agencies are two different things. Temp agencies get requests from companies for a skilled person to fill a "temporary" position, that doesn't meant that the person hired for a temp position might not get an opportunity to get a permanent job, if one opens up.


Recruiters or "headhunters' as they are often referred to try to find qualified "Full time" candidates for usually managerial positions. The better headhunters will have a contract with the hiring company to bring them experienced people that already meet the criteria of the hiring company for a specific position.

Of course there are a lot of so called "recruiters" that don't actually have positions to fill, they are just trying to collect a herd of names in the hopes that a job comes along that one of their herd might land and they can collect the finder's fee.

You should be aware of which recruiters are legitimate in your field. Getting on the radar of a legitimate recruitment firm can be very valuable.

 

[Physics_UG]

Recruiters and temporary agencies are two different things. Temp agencies get requests from companies for a skilled person to fill a "temporary" position, that doesn't meant that the person hired for a temp position might not get an opportunity to get a permanent job, if one opens up.


Recruiters or "headhunters' as they are often referred to try to find qualified "Full time" candidates for usually managerial positions. The better headhunters will have a contract with the hiring company to bring them experienced people that already meet the criteria of the hiring company for a specific position.

Of course there are a lot of so called "recruiters" that don't actually have positions to fill, they are just trying to collect a herd of names in the hopes that a job comes along that one of their herd might land and they can collect the finder's fee.

You should be aware of which recruiters are legitimate in your field. Getting on the radar of a legitimate recruitment firm can be very valuable.

Actually, people called recruiters and head hunters also place people into contract/temp positions.

 

[Evo]

Actually, people called recruiters and head hunters also place people into contract/temp positions.

But not often, because that's not how they make their money.

 

[Locrian]

I personally think most recruiters are full of crap when it comes to professional jobs. Sure they can find you work on an assembly line.

Really? Which profession is it you're finding they aren't helpful for? Recruiters are certainly very common and reasonably useful in my profession and my wife's profession (actuarial/health professional).

 

[Physics_UG]

But not often, because that's not how they make their money.

Recruiters/head hunters make a lot of money hiring contractors/temps. Every hour a contractor works the contract house gets a sizable commission. I have been working with contract houses for a while. Generally, these recruiters don't have a choice in which positions to fill and how they get paid.

 

[Physics_UG]

Really? Which profession is it you're finding they aren't helpful for? Recruiters are certainly very common and reasonably useful in my profession and my wife's profession (actuarial/health professional).

I am an engineer and it seems most positions for engineers are hired as contractors recruited by headhunters. These were all very high paying positions.

 

[Jupiter6]

Recruiters and temporary agencies are two different things. Temp agencies get requests from companies for a skilled person to fill a "temporary" position, that doesn't meant that the person hired for a temp position might not get an opportunity to get a permanent job, if one opens up.

I think "staffing agency" is a more descriptive term these days. They can deal in temp work, contract-to-hire and direct placement positions. In temp work, the agency is your employer and get's a cut of your hourly pay with no mention of actually being hired by the company. Contract-to-hire is the same way but the idea is you'll be hired by the company eventually if they like you. Direct placement is where the agency gets the finders fee and you're hired by the company on day 1. More and more companies are using staffing agencies to "try out" potential employees because it's cheaper with less risk. It also gives the HR people more time to do nothing

Sure, there are "headhunters" who do nothing but direct placements in distinct professions but this is not the norm and someone fresh out of college will not be dealing with a headhunter like this.

Really? Which profession is it you're finding they aren't helpful for? Recruiters are certainly very common and reasonably useful in my profession and my wife's profession (actuarial/health professional).

Engineering. When I was fresh out of school, I had better luck with careerbuilder and monster than I did with recruiters.

 

[Physics_UG]

I think "staffing agency" is a more descriptive term these days. They can deal in temp work, contract-to-hire and direct placement positions. In temp work, the agency is your employer and get's a cut of your hourly pay with no mention of actually being hired by the company. Contract-to-hire is the same way but the idea is you'll be hired by the company eventually if they like you. Direct placement is where the agency gets the finders fee and you're hired by the company on day 1. More and more companies are using staffing agencies to "try out" potential employees because it's cheaper with less risk. It also gives the HR people more time to do nothing

Sure, there are "headhunters" who do nothing but direct placements in distinct professions but this is not the norm and someone fresh out of college will not be dealing with a headhunter like this.




Engineering. When I was fresh out of school, I had better luck with careerbuilder and monster than I did with recruiters.

All of my jobs out of college have been via recruiters. I've never had any luck applying directly to companies on career builder.