Recruitment Agencies are external companies that help companies find suitable candidates for vacant roles. When any company approaches recruitment agency, they either find someone from their existing database or post job online to find out suitable candidates for the role.
As WordPress Developer myself, I did have some mixed experiences with recruitment agencies, most of them are good ones and some of them are bad ones.
How does Recruitment Agency work?
Whenever there is any vacant roles in any company, either the company or recruitment agency approach each other. Once agreed, recruitment agencies will try to find the best candidate and send it to the employer. If both parties agree, an interview is set up between the company and probable candidates.
A recruitment agency can find candidates in one of two ways as:
- From an existing database of candidates
- From advertising on various job websites
You have to also keep in mind when there is an opening for a vacant job, more than one recruitment agencies might be fighting to hire the right candidate. For example, when Company A is looking for a developer Agency B and Agency C might be in-market to fill the same role.
How does recruitment agency make money?
Recruitment agencies get once you get hired by the company. Payment or fee can either be a flat fee or percentage-based. This depends upon agreement between the employer and the agency.
Is applying through recruitment agency good idea?
Going through recruitment company really depends upon what you are looking for. Since the employers have to be some sort of commission or fee, most of the time you are applying with decent companies. Very often is the case when a smaller company use a recruitment agency because of the fee involved.
Recruitment agencies also act as an intermediate between you and your employer. An agency with a good reputation already has a host of companies using them to hire their employee. So the process will be faster and easier. A good recruitment agency with a reputation will help your chance of getting a job higher.
Applying through a recruitment agency is a waste of time
Recruitment agencies aren’t always good. There are some agencies that do publish some random jobs to get applications from job seekers. This will help them to keep a large database of probable candidates and provide more option to an employer when they really need to pitch for actual job openings.
It’s a good idea to do a fair bit of research before applying through a recruitment agency.
Personal Experiences
My honest opinion - when I was new to the market I used to think recruitment agencies are waste of time or they can’t do much to get you hired.
But as I got more experiences, recruitment agencies aren’t a that bad option. As a Mid-Level Developer or Senior Developer, going through agencies can be a good option. As the company is willing to pay more, they are more than happy to pay a commission to the agency. This does help the company looking to hire to get more options from the job market.
The responses and feedback from both recruitment agency and employer as Mid or Senior level developer is much better compared to when you are new in the market. Personally, in my case, I have landed a few interviews and opportunities through an agency. My current role was through a recruitment agency too, and I am super happy where I am at the moment.
What to ask for a recruitment agency?
When you apply an advertisement published by recruitment agency one of the questions you can ask would be about the company background and work culture within the company. They will be more than happy to share and advise about the company and job specifications.