There are literally hundreds of Recruitment Agencies to choose from, but which one is the best for you? Your ideal recruiter could be a specialist like Lloyd Barnes Accountancy Recruitment, someone who understands your specialism. There are plenty of agencies who try to cater for everyone and everything, but the chances are you won’t get the same level of expertise, service and quality of roles.
Recruitment Agencies are regulated by numerous statutes and regulations including, The Employment Agencies Act & The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations. However, these regulations do not govern the standard of service or the ethical practices of an agency. Many reputable agencies choose to abide by higher standards and become voluntary members of a professional recruitment body, Lloyd Barnes Accountancy Recruitment are members of REC the largest voluntary body in the UK.
It’s illegal for a recruitment company to charge a candidate a fee to find them a job, so recruitment agencies generate their income by charging companies. The recruitment market is highly competitive and if you register with more than one agency you could find several agencies racing to send your details to the same employer. Unfortunately, this multi-agency approach often leads to unethical practices and disputes in which a candidate can find themselves stuck in the middle.
There are things you can do to mitigate this happening. When registering with an agency, stipulate in writing that you do not wish your CV to be sent to any employer without your express permission. By law, agencies must obtain confirmation that you are willing to work in the particular role they put you forward to, but some agencies try to avoid this by placing implied terms in their registration forms or website, by asking you to allow them to send your cv to any employer they think suitable.
Some recruiters will refuse to tell you who their prospective client is because of “confidentiality issues”. On rare occasions this may be true, but it won’t be for every job. So, if a recruiter continually refuses to tell you where your details are being sent, you may wish to question their integrity and whether you want to continue risking your CV being sent somewhere you didn’t want it to go.
Ultimately its worth remembering that recruitment agencies are only as good as the people they employ and the ethical practices they abide by.