Employment Agencies and Head-hunters

Registering with employment agencies and head-hunters can prove very useful in your search for a new job.

Of course they may not have any vacancies for which you are suitable, but it will not take you very long to find this out and it will not cost you anything.

Please note that employment agencies (with the exception of modelling agencies) are not allowed to charge you for getting you a job, instead receiving a fee from employers.

You should not rely solely on them finding you a job, and should also try other approaches as well. If possible, get a recommendation from a friend or colleague on some good agencies in your field. You should sign up with several agencies, preferably those which specialise in your field/industry. Do not just pick the large agencies; register with some smaller agencies as well, which are located in your geographical area.

Employment agencies can be found using our Recruitment Agency Finder UK. You may also want to look in the Yellow Pages and the Thomson Local Directory. A list of employment agencies also appears in the Executive Grapevine (which can normally be found in the reference section of a public library). Alternatively you may find agencies advertising the sort of vacancies you want to apply for, either in newspapers, or in trade journals/newspapers.

You should contact the agency before sending them your CV because unsolicited CVs may be filed in the bin! It is definitely to your advantage to go and talk to each agency - the best agencies should invite you to come and meet them. If they specialise in your field or industry they should be able to give you some valuable inside information on the state of the job market. They may also be able to suggest other avenues for your talents that you have not thought of and will be able to tell you what sort of positions they would consider you for and the likely salary range (you may be worth more than you thought!). Whilst you are there you should ask them to give you some feedback on your CV.

They should ask for your permission before sending your CV to a company. If another agency wants to put you forward for the same job you should inform them that you have already been put forward - if a company receives your CV twice they will not like the prospect of having to pay both agencies. If you see the agency advertising a job in the press which you are interested in - ring them up and make sure that they send your CV off.

Next: 3. Speculative approach.

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