Recruitment Agencies

[Allen]

Hi all,

Due to circumstances at work (redundancies) I am now in the process of looking for a new job. It's hardly the best time to be doing it, but this current "crisis" is forcing it upon me.

Anyway, I'm registered with Reed, Monster, Total Jobs and CW jobs and I'm also doing the regular of checking local papers and local companies for jobs. However, I'm just wondering if anyone knows of any other decent recruitment agencies in and around the South West London area who specialise in IT recruitment.

Thanks in advance, and please keep your fingers crossed for me (and any others out there looking for work), there doesn't seem to be a lot about!

Allen

[TheAnimus]

Depends what kind of IT.

RealIT resourcing aren't too bad in my experiance (from the other end too).

[SiM]

efinancialcareers
They have some positions for IT people in finance

[smargh]

Lots of different agencies deal with lots of companies. No single one will have what you are looking for when you look for it, and it's unlikely they will remember your name for future vacancies unless you talk to the same person regularly.

Tips: put your CV onto Monster.com. Re-upload your CV every Sunday to Thursday at about 6pm UK time for it to be searchable by jobseekerseekers from about 8am the next day. The secondary sites are...

totaljobs.com
jobserve.com
jobsite.co.uk
indeed.co.uk
cwjobs.co.uk
silicon.com

indeed.co.uk is quite a nice aggregator and catches some ads on sites you wouldn't always check. They all do RSS feeds - be sure to use them *very* regularly. With targeted RSS feeds you can call recruiters within an hour or two of the advert being posted, which can impress them especially if you focus on what they're looking for (and you *sound* like an awesome candidate - be awake and eloquent) when you talk to them.

[noTHINGface]

Our preferred suppliers and who I recruit from;

• Lorien
• Parity
• Elan
• Spring
• Hays

[Bugbait]

If you're looking at contract work apply for the job, not the agency. Agents are basically a pack of wolves (I originally used a much harsher word) who will do anything for their commission. Have yet to meet one that's totally above board. The majority of my friends are contractors in IT and Engineering and none of them have a preferred agent. My wife has been with Elan for a while and they pay in timely fashion but beyond that, are nothing special.

Best thing to do is upload your CV to the popular job boards (smargh supplied a good list). Proactive agents will contact you and when you apply it's easier if it's already uploaded. Be prepared to go into telemarketing mode and chase the agents for the jobs you really like, especially in this climate.

[Brucelles]

What type of IT? If you are into financial IT I can probably give you a name or two. Also are you willing to contract (as in 'work on a contract', not as in 'get smaller')?

Also, I have to agree with Bugbait. Agencies are in it for themselves, and suck like a vacuum in the middle of a black hole, generally. They can be a necessary evil, but if you can get in touch with the companies themselves you will save yourself a lot of time, money and heartbreak.

[zulander]

Found agencies a real pain to deal with when i was looking - i have pretty much given up now - too many say they will get back to you and don't or dont return calls when you chase them.
Anyway defo reupload your cv every few days my phone went mental when i did it.
Push for as much info as you can get out of em when they first call some of them can be ultra cagey about the post and then pass your CV to the company they are recruting for without the post really being suitable
CWJOBS and Jobsite seemed to be the best for having real jobs not just the same one advertised long past a closing date i think Reed did that too me a couple of times.
Without a shadow of doubt the only agency that i thought were any good were Spring Technology who kept me in touch at all stages of the jobs i went for and found me stuff that i was perfectly suited for.

Good luck

[noTHINGface]

I work for a blue chip in the SE of England as an IT project manager - we will not touch anyone who doesn't come through an agency. We do not advertise our CW places. This is common practice.

[Brucelles]

I work for a blue chip in the SE of England as an IT project manager - we will not touch anyone who doesn't come through an agency. We do not advertise our CW places. This is common practice.

I work for an expanding company based in London, New York, Boston, Stockholm and France (head office is virtual) and we prefer people who don't come through agencies. If we can get someone on a recommendation we prefer that by miles.

[tiggerai]

I've been placed twice by Huntress - in London. They'd be my first stop if I were to lose my job.

There isn't much out there though... its shocking the amount the job market has dropped over the last 6 months or so.

[noTHINGface]

I work for an expanding company based in London, New York, Boston, Stockholm and France (head office is virtual) and we prefer people who don't come through agencies. If we can get someone on a recommendation we prefer that by miles.

Which is the other side of the coin. What I'm suggesting is that the OP doesn't reduce his visibility to large corps (banking, pharma's, telecoms etc) by avoiding agencies, even though they may be evil and deadly.

[Bugbait]

Which is the other side of the coin. What I'm suggesting is that the OP doesn't reduce his visibility to large corps (banking, pharma's, telecoms etc) by avoiding agencies, even though they may be evil and deadly.

I agree. It's best to apply directly AND use agencies. Just don't buy any of the "care" agents like to spin. It's all about their commission. The only time agents would call me once I was in a contract as if I missed or was late with my invoices as this would directly affect their commission payments for the month. Well, they'd kiss up at renewal time too .

Same applies to permanent positions I guess, since most agencies get a bonus after the probation period (usually 3 months) and another at 6 and/or 12 months.

[klongers]

removed

[Splash]

I'm in a similar position (job-wise, not location-wise) so I can certainly empathise. I've not had a good experience with Elan, but Spring, Hays, Lorien, Huntress, Modis & Claremont Consulting have been pretty good for me in the past.

Website-wise I don't bother with TotalJobs (it's run by the same people as CWJobs, so I prefer to have to sift through less detritus) or Monster, though my CV is available on both. My daily search involves CWJobs, Jobsite, Jobserve and Planet Recruit.

Best of luck in your search!

[Allen]

Thanks for all the replies people, I've been looking at most of them on a daily basis, should defo be helpful.

And thanks for the warning, I am well aware of how agencies are in it for themselves and not for me, been using them for years!