What Job Seekers Need to Know when Choosing an Employment Agency

When you are looking for a new employment opportunity, it is important to utilize all the resources available to you. And that just may include working with an employment agency.

Now there are two types of agencies: temporary employment and regular placement. Temporary services are a good way to try out short- and long-term temporary positions in a variety of organizations in your area of expertise. However, temp work is not a guarantee of finding a full-time position.

With a regular employment agency, the staffing representative or headhunter is focused on identifying your skill sets with the hope of matching them with a current employer looking to fill a regular full-time vacancy. Candidates who have never used the services of a headhunter may not be familiar with how they work or what to expect. Here are some things to keep in mind.

Develop a List of Potential Employment Services

This one seems like a no-brainer; however, depending on where you live, there may be many to choose from. Large U.S. cities like New York, Los Angeles and Chicago are going to have different resources than smaller cities. The best way to start is to develop a list of agencies that might potentially offer the right type of service. You can do this by:

• Asking friends, family and business associates for agencies they have used themselves. They may even be able to provide the name of a contact.
• Searching the Internet using a search engine and the words "employment agency" with the city where they live.
• Looking in the yellow pages either on-line or in the soft-cover book that most people have tossed in a cupboard somewhere.
• Checking out job posting sites to see which agencies have jobs posted in their area. Monster and Careerbuilder are the two largest job sites.

Once you have a list of potential employment agencies the next step is to narrow the field down to the top three to five. You can do this by finding out:

• From those friends and colleagues that first provided the recommendation why they like this particular agency.
• If the agency is job focused - administrative, management, day laborer - or career focused - accounting, scientific, IT. The more highly defined the service, the more likely the clients offer the right jobs.
• Whether the agency has current or anticipates future job openings with clients that would be a good match with your background and experience.
• What the agency will require from you, what is involved in their screening process, and whether there are any special services that the agency offers such as resume preparation or computer skills brush-up.

Know What to Expect from Each Staffing Service

When you first use an agency, there may be several hoops you will need to jump through. These include:

• Interview. Expect that there will be an initial interview in order to determine what the you are looking for in the way of company, position, and salary. Be sure to take a resume.
• Testing. Depending on the position, there may be a series of tests from basic spelling and math to more sophisticated computer skills testing.
• Paperwork. There may be forms including an application that you will be required to complete.
• Payment. At no time should you pay a fee for services. This is paid for by the hiring company.

Understand How to Utilize an Employment Agency

Finally, it is important to understand you have a say in the staffing process. You should never feel compelled to go on a job interview for a position that does not fit your specific requirements. Be very clear with your agency representative about the type of position, type of company, location of company, and salary requirements that meet your particular needs.

On a final note, there are two schools of thought on how many placement agencies you should sign on with. More than one may be necessary in order to ensure access to a variety of job opportunities, since not all employers use the same service. On the other hand, there is something to be said about developing rapport and a good relationship with one recruiter; someone who understands and will truly takes your desires into account.

It's just like with most anything, it takes a little time and a little research to find the right employment agency, but with patience you can find the right headhunter to help you find the right job.