Employment Agencies
Enlisting the help of an employment agency can greatly benefit your job search. Employment agencies have the inside track with numerous companies and are trusted to present the cream of the crop in job candidates.
When you register with an agency, dress the part. Treat this interview as if it were a job interview. That means be polished from head to toe. Ladies should wear dress pants with a blouse and jacket and court shoes, a minimum on jewelry, modest make-up and tidy hair. Men should were a suit with a dress shirt and should pay attention to unruly hair.
Being on time for your appointment is very important. First impressions count, and being late does not leave a good impression.
Take along a resume of no more than two pages. Your resume should be a typed document in pristine condition. That means no creases and definitely no stains of any kind. Be sure to check for spelling and grammar before printing.
Give as much information as possible and pay attention that the information is current. Have your recently switched phone numbers or email addresses? Be sure to give a correct phone number and email address. List your previous employers by name and location. Mention your occupation, who you worked for and what your duties were.
If you have to take computer tests, do the tests to the best of your abilities. When tested in a certain program, be sure to get a high score. Most companies set a standard and if you do not reach that standard you will not be considered. If your score is not to your liking, ask if you do the test over. Most agencies will not object, as your professional abilities are to their advantage.
During the typing test do not only concentrate on speed, but on accuracy as well. A typing test of a hundred words a minute full of mistakes is not going to impress anyone. On the other hand, eighty words a minute, without any mistakes, will.
During the interview with the consultant, be honest about your experience and clear about your goals. It is important for the consultant to know in what area of the city you want to work and for what kind of company. If you are the type of person who rather works in a small family business versus a big conglomerate, be sure to mention this.
State your salary expectations, whether or not you can work full-time, part-time and whether or not you are interested in doing temporary work.
Follow up your meeting with the consultant with a thank you card or email. Ask your consultant whether she prefers a call or an email. A lot of consultants have blackberries nowadays and prefer that form of communication. If she prefers a phone call and you cannot get hold of your consultant, leave a voicemail. Do not badger your consultant though; one communications per week is enough.
Look at the agency’s website for job postings. If you see a job you would like to apply for, bring this to your consultant’s attention. She has hundreds of candidates and cannot remember all of them.
If you are sent for an interview with a company, follow up with your consultant. Let her know your impression of the interview. If you didn’t get the job, ask her for feedback on that too. You might learn something from a missed opportunity and use it to your advantage the next time.
In case you are doing a temporary assignment for an agency, treat this temporary job as a permanent job. That means showing up on time and doing the work to the best of your abilities. The job may seem insignificant to you, but a small job could lead to bigger and better things.
Act like a professional and you will be treated as one.
