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I've had an odd problem for the last year and a half or two. I've been working with one temp agency but a lot of the positions they have aren't what I really want or need, especially now that I'm beginning to make a career shift toward IT and such. I've been starting to look at other agencies more tailored to my field to get some entry level experience since most jobs, even entry level, ask for 2-3 years of experience (go figure); I do have some decent certs though. Some of these agencies even have long term or temp-to hire or direct hire opportunities that I think should apply to me.
But with four other agencies, when I signed up with them, and had an interview/discussion about my interests, skills, and background, the same thing happens: they just seem to ignore me and softly drop me for some reason. We seem to have a good conversation or interview and they tell me that as soon as they go through my references and background, they'll start sending me relevant or applicable opportunities. Only that never happens, even if I seem to meet many or most of the qualifications based on what they have online.
After more than a week I email the lady I work with to check in and see if everything is okay, and even ask her politely if there are certain skills or certs that she thinks would make me a more attractive candidate for their positions, but get no response after several days (same thing happened with other agencies). Sure some of my references are quite old or not people I've dealt with in a while or for a long time, since most of my other work experiences were either internships (years ago) or temporary positions, in which it's hard to get a solid reference for only a few weeks at a time work. But is that that big of a deal for entry level?? And I'll admit I was somewhat late because of unforeseen traffic issues and Murphy's Law hitting me hard the day of interview, but is that really enough to completely write me off as a candidate and consider me unreliable?. I didn't necessarily see anything in their tone after the discussion that made me think they didn't like me. Could it be that the agency I've worked with in the past is a competitor of theirs and they don't want to get involved with me then? This is getting really annoying, as I really hoped I could use this strategy to get my foot in the door or at least get the necessary basic experience I need to break into this industry.
With some other agencies, after enough times me trying to contact them to see what was up, they tell me "sorry we just haven't found positions that are that well suited for you, but we assure you we will keep an eye open and let you know as soon as we do!"
There are other staffing agencies I got on a list from a friend of mine that he says are good contacts, and I emailed them with my updated resume, but got no response from almost any of them oddly... like wtf?
Should I try calling this one soon and maybe reiterating how dedicated and committed I am to doing good work?
Unfortunately that is par the course for most staffing agencies. They bring you in to meet the recruiters contact quota and just dump you in their database. They are also not very good for changing careers because if you don't already have in demand skill and experience they don't need you. The thing is anyone who can get placed by a temp agency really has no need for them and would be better served getting their own job.
If a staffing agency contacts me and they don't have a job for me, I'll be glad to chat with them on the phone and do a phone screen. But if they ask me to take a long drive to a far away location to meet with them in person, I'll tell them to bring me a job first and then we can go down that route.
Yes, I do understand that some staffing firms have a contractual requirement to meet with the candidate in person prior to submitting them to a position. But they must have a position first to do that. If they don't have that, it is a waste of time.
Too many third party recruiters have this "contact people and put their info in database" quota.
Remember, if a third party recruiter comes to you empty handed (i.e. no job) - they're likely not good recruiters. They're likely to be in a slow period and looking for new business.
Ugh, that's not very reassuring. Anyone have any ideas or advice on what I can do to ameliorate this situation?
The only other hangup I can think of on their end is the employment gaps I have, which I've tried explaining to them. Some were due to actually being in school or studying for GREs, others due to travel, family issues (dad passed away last year after a long battle with illness, and then having to help my mom with things and driving to the other state she lives in often), taking courses for certs, and yes some were simply just unemployment because I was looking for a job. But in none of these times did I just do nothing at all and sit on my ass. Even when I didn't have an internship or temp assignment, I was learning about investment and using practice accounts there, or volunteering with nonprofits, or working online for friends as an editor, or doing odd jobs that were paid more under the table. And even so, most importantly I now want to actually get into this new field earnestly, set my career straight and make up for any past mistakes; I know I can do it well, having the right knowledge, and will put all my effort into doing good work... I just need to get started is all. But convincing people of that seems to be the hard part... they just assume the worst based on your resume work history.
Is volunteering a decent idea? I wonder how much employers will actually consider that as real experience.
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Back to the temp agency topic itself, so based on my experiences, I'm guessing that I just initially happened to stumble upon a decent temp agency when I first graduated, or at least one well-matched to me (which always did have assignments for me, even if not very long term or not what I want to do now), but most of the others I've applied to recently seem to just, like you guys said, add me to the database and then pretty much not contact me again unless I'm a perfect match for something compared to others, which is unlikely...
Yes, I do understand that some staffing firms have a contractual requirement to meet with the candidate in person prior to submitting them to a position. But they must have a position first to do that. If they don't have that, it is a waste of time.
Too many third party recruiters have this "contact people and put their info in database" quota.
Remember, if a third party recruiter comes to you empty handed (i.e. no job) - they're likely not good recruiters. They're likely to be in a slow period and looking for new business.
I've had recruiters flat out lie about it. I had one [The LaSalle Network] tell me they had a direct placement job on the table to lure me in there and when I got there I figured out no recruiter was just lying. I negative Yelped the heck out of them for that. Avoid temp agencies they are mostly a waste of time and most of their jobs and clients are as lousy as they are.
Ok, so then if temp agencies are generally BS, how do I get my foot in the door in a new industry that I have no actual hands-on experience with, but plenty of theoretical book knowledge?
Volunteering/offering to initially work for free? I think a lot of employers would raise their eyebrows at that, cause it makes you look desperate and like an uncertain prospect or gamble. Plus it looks like you're trying to circumvent the normal application process.
Networking your way in by just contacting random people on Linkedin or through emails that you find from companies in some servile manner, or going to receptions and shmoozing around with people to maybe get a chance at an interview? I really really hate that kind of thing, and that's one reason I moved into IT, thinking it would be more merit and skills-based (with more practical, in-demand skillsets) as opposed to the policy and think tank world I was in before, where kissing ass was the way to move up often.
Starting at the absolute bottom rung in a company despite your technical qualifications? Taking more unpaid internships?
Exaggerating/embellishing your qualifications or experience? I guess I've seen many people do that, but I don't like it.
OK. I read your post. Why are you working with temp agencies? It's possible to get a job without using one. Temp agencies and their clients see temp workers as disposable so yes, you'll get treated poorly. The people I know who have been heavily reliant on temp work for years are all broke and cobbling together paychecks here and there, they have no health insurance and are one step away from living on the street. That is your future if you continue to work with "temp agencies".
I've had recruiters flat out lie about it. I had one [The LaSalle Network] tell me they had a direct placement job on the table to lure me in there and when I got there I figured out no recruiter was just lying. I negative Yelped the heck out of them for that. Avoid temp agencies they are mostly a waste of time and most of their jobs and clients are as lousy as they are.
Yeah, I have about 5 agencies on my personal blacklist. That was one of them. Every time a new recruiter from my blacklist contacts me, I tell them I had a bad experience with [insert bad recruiter] and don't want to deal with them.
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