The Temp Agency Thread: Whinge & Moan Here

[dnairn8417 10]

I have also been on both sides of the recruitment thing. I registered a few years ago with one agency and they called me the next day to work as a temp admin person in their office.

My experience is that anyone they feel they can 'place' easily and earn them commission they will be very nice to, if you don't fit the profile they won't waste time on you, they will tell you to fill in the forms but that's the end of the story. To be fair they are under a lot of pressure from head office to meet targets but I still think a lot of them could treat people with a bit more respect.

[Rich 12]

Last year I went for an interview at an Agency in Town, without naming them (as I know the Mods would rather I didn't), it's the one next door to the Ha Ha Bar on Pinstone St, following a phone call after I applied for a temp admin job on mysheffieldjobs.co.uk from this Agency.

 

Anyway I went for the interview, supported by someone from the Supported Employment Project at The Source, as soon as this woman interviewer saw me she denied all knowledge of ever ringing me up to go in for this interview!

 

OK the job was only temporary admin somewhere on Eccleshall Road for 3 weeks but come on, just because she saw I was disabled and thus had someone supporting me, to deny all knowledge of the interview?! WTF?!

 

Anyway I did an online typing test for them, and despite the fact I've been typing for over 25 years, used to spend hours typing in BASIC programs on the Spectrum, and have had formal typing lessons, they said my typing speed was only 3570 words per hour (59.5 words per minute), and their minimum requirement was 60 wpm!

 

I officially give up!

 

Every time I try and get ahead to shut the Mail readers up, I get this crap!

[Rich 12]

I once asked for temporary work in Kelly Services and the woman looked at me as if I'd just thrown up in her face and then pushed her down a flight of stairs.

 

I went to see Kelly Services in Town last week after a friend recommended them, I asked for part time admin work, this woman looked at me like I'd just told her there's no Father Christmas!

 

Agencies can kiss my arse.

[*binty* 10]

Rich, i think i know which Agency you're on about and i did the typing test and i failed too!!! She said it's not unusual for people to fail. Some of those keys was really hard to press - like they'd had sweets all over them!

 

Sounds stupid but if it's not a decent Keyboard then i don't want to know!

[MTheo 10]

Rich, i think i know which Agency you're on about and i did the typing test and i failed too!!! She said it's not unusual for people to fail. Some of those keys was really hard to press - like they'd had sweets all over them!

 

Sounds stupid but if it's not a decent Keyboard then i don't want to know!

 

I got one of best scores they have had....mwahahhaha lol....but it did take 2 attempts coz i touch typed and first time put a space in wrong place so every following letter was wrong! so got both the best and worst scores haha

 

but yeah...avoid kellys

[myriadmike 10]

I think most agencies advertise mythical jobs, its weird.

[dnairn8417 10]

When you call them about a job, they ask you what experience you have and you tell them. They say great we need you to register first. Once you register all of a sudden you don't have the relevant experience for said job. Oh but you need to have so and so they say. If it's that important to have so and so shouldn't it be in the description?

[Ruby79 10]

There are some extremely good agencies and some extremely bad ones, same as with anything else really , car showrooms, supermarkets, hairdressers etc etc . You just have to keep going until you find a decent one. .

 

Remember as much as there are some really crap ones .. you aren't actually paying anything for them to help you. Go to a smaller agency where you will get a more personal service and they will look after you. And maybe if people have had a really good experience they should also post it so then people don't think finding a job is all doom and gloom, sometimes it can be ok, and people get decent jobs and good careers out of it , of jobs that haven't appeared in the paper or on the Internet.

[alternageek 10]

There are some extremely good agencies and some extremely bad ones, same as with anything else really , car showrooms, supermarkets, hairdressers etc etc . You just have to keep going until you find a decent one. .

 

actually we are paying the agencies jobs as if its a long term contract they get a percentage of our pay from the company we work for. so if an agency is advertising a role for £7 they are probably being paid about £10 an hour from the company looking for help. though theyd rather place you in a perm placement as the commision is higher.

 

for the most part the agencies forget this and walk all over people making them feel like scum and 2nd class citizens.

[Ruby79 10]

When i have recruited using an agency .. i have stipulated 1 .. what i pay the person im recruiting say 7ph and then what i am prepared to paid the said agency for recruiting them , as its a temp role the only way they charge his is to put their fee on top of the hourly rate they are paying you. I recruited an admin person a while ago , salary wise the going rate is 7pound , so why do you think by charging me 10 they are taking a cut of your money ? they are paying hol pay and ni , and then take their cut. I completely agree some agencies do try and pay the candidate less and charge more so get a bigger whack , but i ensure they tell me what the candidate is getting and what i'm paying including how much hol pay and nat ins is and then its completely honest and transparent .

 

I completely agree that some agencies are useless !!! believe me ive used them but the one i use I am able to get hold of practically round the clock , and all the people I have had have rated them highly. Like anything there are good and bad , and maybe we should start a thread about the crap workers of sheffield who cant be bothered to work and never turn in again!!! ha ha

 

My best advice to anyone would be upfront with an agency , get it all in writing, your honesty will either make them poo themselves and think they cant treat you like rubbish and in turn they will treat you with more respect.

 

Good Luck

[alternageek 10]

My best advice to anyone would be upfront with an agency , get it all in writing, your honesty will either make them poo themselves and think they cant treat you like rubbish and in turn they will treat you with more respect.

 

Good Luck

 

ive done that only to never hear from them again. or if they do call you back say they have x and you agree to an interview and it winds up being y. now then if i told them i refuse to do sales, why describe the role to me on the phone as not being sales based but when i get there its either half or all sales? not only do i look like a moron on the interview because it appears i havent read up on the role, but make me trust the agency even less than i already do.

 

i feel the majority of the agencies just want to collect a cv and then call you when they are in desperate need. we're just a paycheck to them and they dont give a damn. its one of the reasons why i dont want to leave my current job, because i just hate dealing with them. it seems like the only way to get work in this city is through them... i dont know why employers use a temp agency as it costs them more money to use one then just hiring directly and placing an ad in the paper.

[Ruby79 10]

A lot of agencies are targeted on how many interviews they get, so hence why people get sent on things im sure they dont want to go to, doesnt make sense really as then gives the agency a bad name , but people don't , so felt seem to think that far ahead.

 

When I was last looking for a job, i used 2 specialist agencies, internet and paper so felt i had all bases covered should one fail the other could help. Never use them as your only port of call, never register with just 1 . Ive been done over by an agency before when i got offered a role and the salary was 5k less than they said !!! but i negotiated my salary with the company direct and got what i wanted . but the way i see it is your job or your potential job is under your control, if you go for a crap , non relevant interview its experience , but not looking for a job because you hate dealing with them seems awful !!

 

Finding a job isnt meant to be easy , get stuck in, there are some decent agencies out there dont be put off and if same happens again find another ! What sort of job are you looking for maybe i could suggest some people who have recruited for me ?