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Is this par for the course at temp agencies these days?

tuxedo cat

By tuxedo cat
in Business and Professional Relationships

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tuxedo cat Established Member

tuxedo cat

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Sorry for the number of threads. Just trying to navigate the job market here.

 

So I just enrolled at my first temp agency in NY. I read a bunch of rave yelp reviews about this company so I scurried over to their site, enrolled and uploaded my resume.

 

Most people on yelp said they enrolled online, called the company minutes after and then were able to immediately speak with a recruiter and schedule an interview (for the agency, not a specific job). There was a specific recruiter that people recommended.

 

So right after sending my resume I called the company and asked the receptionist whether I could speak with an available recruiter (I mentioned this guy's name but said I'd be happy to speak with anybody). She told me that she was not authorized to connect me with him unless I had been referred by somebody else. She said that it may take two weeks for the recruiter to look at my resume. I know from experience that if you just apply online and don't follow up with a real person, your chances of ever hearing back are minimal.

 

I've never had this experience at a temp agency but I also haven't been registered with one in about five years. Usually, you're able to call and schedule an interview to come in immediately. Why were other people on yelp able to reach a recruiter? Did I do something wrong here?

CarrieT Established Member

CarrieT

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Why were other people on yelp able to reach a recruiter?

My bet is that the Yelp reviews were bogus and the recruiting agency padded their reviews...

 

With Temp agencies, you need to register for more than one - definitely. During my last stint, I was registered with five of them and never wanted for work...

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tuxedo cat Established Member

tuxedo cat

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My bet is that the Yelp reviews were bogus and the recruiting agency padded their reviews...

 

With Temp agencies, you need to register for more than one - definitely. During my last stint, I was registered with five of them and never wanted for work...

 

Yeah, I was wondering the same thing.

GemmaUK Established Member

GemmaUK

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I think bogus too.

 

In the UK you call, mail your CV and within 24hrs get an appointment with someone who knows your field.

 

I have never applied online. I always call.

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tuxedo cat Established Member

tuxedo cat

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Carrie-- did you meet with recruiters in person before being offered a job? If so how did you go about doing this.

pink_sugar Established Member

pink_sugar

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It varies from agency to agency. Some find you. One of my agencies did after I applied to her client's position...then I formally joined the temp agency before she sent my resume to the client. Another temp agency had me come in after I sent my resume. However, that same company told my husband that they would call him if interested. Another one was useless and when he called to set up an interview, she just told him they couldn't help him because he didn't have "enough experience" really?!. Since my last assignment ended I hear a lot from my temp agency I'm with about new opportunities. Some you never hear from. I've had some over the phone tell me they don't have many opportunities in my field. It really depends.

CarrieT Established Member

CarrieT

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Carrie-- did you meet with recruiters in person before being offered a job? If so how did you go about doing this.

 

Absolutely.

 

Also, most temp agencies (in the states) require the applicants to come in and go through a series of tests; Word, Excel, spelling, PowerPoint, etc...

 

They usually will call you to ask you to come in and take the tests, meet you in person to see how presentable you are, and determine your career direction.

 

I did get to a point where I asked the first agency to give me a print-out of the tests so that I could just give them to the other agencies. Some of the tests are available online, so you can either prep or do them in advance and provide the numbers.

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tuxedo cat Established Member

tuxedo cat

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Absolutely.

 

Also, most temp agencies (in the states) require the applicants to come in and go through a series of tests; Word, Excel, spelling, PowerPoint, etc...

 

They usually will call you to ask you to come in and take the tests, meet you in person to see how presentable you are, and determine your career direction.

 

I did get to a point where I asked the first agency to give me a print-out of the tests so that I could just give them to the other agencies. Some of the tests are available online, so you can either prep or do them in advance and provide the numbers.

 

Right, I always did this with temp agencies in the past but things seem to be different in NY? I just applied to another temp agency and got the same response -- apply online and we'll call you if we're interested (person I was speaking with hadn't looked at my resume). Nothing about coming in for an interview. It's unfortunate because I usually kill on those tests. Ten years ago when I was applying to temp agencies in Boston as a college student I had no real job experience but was able to get plenty of temp work because I aced all of my tests, was reliable and had a fast typing speed.

pink_sugar Established Member

pink_sugar

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Right, I always did this with temp agencies in the past but things seem to be different in NY? I just applied to another temp agency and got the same response -- apply online and we'll call you if we're interested (person I was speaking with hadn't looked at my resume). Nothing about coming in for an interview. It's unfortunate because I usually kill on those tests. Ten years ago when I was applying to temp agencies in Boston as a college student I had no real job experience but was able to get plenty of temp work because I aced all of my tests, was reliable and had a fast typing speed.

 

I never did any of those tests for my current agency...it could be because their client didn't require them.

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tuxedo cat Established Member

tuxedo cat

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I never did any of those tests for my current agency...it could be because their client didn't require them.

 

btw, how much admin experience did your bf have when he was looking for a job and having trouble?

pink_sugar Established Member

pink_sugar

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btw, how much admin experience did your bf have when he was looking for a job and having trouble?

 

Not that much, maybe a year or so of experience.

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tuxedo cat Established Member

tuxedo cat

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Not that much, maybe a year or so of experience.

 

Was he eventually able to find something and if so, how?

pink_sugar Established Member

pink_sugar

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He went back to a former employer.

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