One IT professional said every now and then a recruitment agency will stand out which is useful and honest. -If you find a good one you are best to hang on to them," he said.
The IT pro, who primarily does contract work, said he looked for honesty in particular when dealing with agencies. He said this can include advertising jobs which actually exist, explaining to candidates where they got the job, and whether the consultant had talked to the HR or hiring manager for details about the role.
In addition, the IT pro said one of his bugbears was reasonable and see-through charges. -Normally you do not know what percentage the agent is taking on top of your rate," he said.
Likewise, Victor Pastor, a Visual Basic developer with SQL server, ASP and HTML skills, said he commonly uses recruitment agencies when looking for either contract or permanent work.
Pastor said he'd set himself up a database of the ones he dealt with, and often did Internet searches for roles when he was on the hunt for a job. -I ask if the position is a real one, because sometimes there is nothing behind those [ads]," he said.
Integrity also seems to be a common thread when you ask IT pros what they look for when dealing with recruitment consultants about IT jobs.
Simon Woodhead, vice president of non-profit organisation, the System Administrators Guild of Australia (SAGE-AU), said that the issues at the moment were very much based around integrity.
-One of the problems we hear about from our members is some of the recruitment agencies do not screen their jobs or their applicants properly," Woodhead said.
He said this could be annoying for technical people who didn't want to waste time applying for jobs which weren't suitable.
In regards to how IT pros found recruitment agencies which matched their needs, Woodhead believed it was largely word-of-mouth. He was also aware of IT pros who listed with multiple agencies because they wanted to increased their chances of finding work.
He advises that IT pros should look for agencies which have a solid understanding of the technical skills of the candidate. -People won't go back to a recruitment agency if they've had a bad experience," Woodhead said. -To understand technical people's skillsets requires a knowledge of those technical skills...[job hunters] are looking for a synergy with the organisation they're looking for a job through."
From my experience I have found two main types of IT recruiter in Australia, the Geezer and the Administrator. Both serve different purposes:
The Geezer – Your average IT recruiter, usually from the UK. Hard-working and fast-talking, usually in a pinstripe suite, always has heaps on the go (even when they don’t), usually knows enough about the jobs he/she is covering to match a candidate. They are always quite likeable. Hook up with 3 or 4 geezers and, if you have good skills you will get interviews. However they will talk you into taking the job at Wollongong even if you live in Hornsby.
The Administrator – Usually fresh out of uni/tafe/high-school, with very little understanding of business and IT operations. Is bound strictly by job requirements has no understanding of complementary technologies. Will always ask stupid questions i.e. "What's your worst quality?". If the job spec calls for experience with object-oriented technologies you had better clearly state “I have experience with object-oriented technologies” in your resume because XML or J2EE just won’t cut it with these folks. These types are best for finding IT Helpdesk type work in a Microsoft environment.
I'm not saying they are all like this, just most.
Most of all remember that the recruiter is not your friend, they might be friendly, but they are only interested in one thing, “the placement fee” and will use you or any other candidate to ensure they make their quotas.
Take the initiative and apply personally to the companies you want to work for, make a phone call and find out who the hiring manager and send your resume, write a good quality cover letter and customise it for each company you apply to. Do this 20 times and you should get a result. Looking for work is a full-time job in itself and uninformed recruiters can be a roadblock to your success.