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Demystifying the role of a recruiter

What is it exactly that a recruitment agency does?



We have discussed a lot of these topics in our blog. One topic that remains unclear for most people at this point is Recruitment agencies. How do They work? Lets take a look:

Recruitment agencies find you a job, wrong! This is a major misconception people have. They also do not handle your employment, nor do they employ you. This is what a labour broker does and recruitment agencies are NOT labour brokers. Labour brokers offer human resources to a industry such as mining or transport. They outsource their workforce to labour intensive projects for a determinable time.

A recruitment agency is approached by a company with a vacant position or opportunity. The recruiter goes to work on developing a criteria for the position and start searching through their database of candidates. Recruiters will use keywords when they search for suitable candidates, making it one of the most important elements of your CV. Good keywording!

If they do not have any good candidates for the position, they will advertise the opportunity and start reviewing their feedback, i.e. CVs that applicants have submitted. Once they have shortlisted a suitable amount of candidates, they will call you for a “first interview”. This happens before you get to sit down with the real interviewer at the company offering the job.

How do they make money by placing you? Usually, a fee is calculated by the recruiter and is payable by your prospective employer. This would be a percentage of you annual package. If you are placed but decide to jump ship in the first few months, the recruitment agency has to pay back a part of their fee to the employer.

After you have come into contact with a recruitment agency, they will more than likely ask you to send them your CV. You should spend some quality time on this document. This is the only marketing material you have of yourself in the recruiter’s office. Check out ProCV for great advice and relevant articles.

Beware of scams or identity theft. The latest trend today is being contacted randomly from a recruiter, usually with a free yahoo or gmail account. They will ask you for a copy of your CV and sometimes even an admin fee. Make sure they are legit guys, you have a lot of personal information on your CV. I see a lot of posts where people are lured to “1181 Pretorius str, 9:00 am, and please bring along R600.00 admin fee”.

My advice to you is to work on your professional online profile and a good looking CV with relevant content. Target a specific job that interests you. There is no point in sending out 100s of CVs and hoping for the best. You are wasting time. If you are willing to take any job, you are unemployable.


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JM Klopper:     072 433 8392
F Bodenstein:   061 650 4969
Email:               procv@multitalented.co.za

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