I just wanted to get people's opinions on finance/accountancy recruiters. I go through them to get jobs, but I don't feel they understand anything about finance and accountancy. It's like talking to a car salesman. What is the point in having them if they don't advertise jobs properly, nor listen to a word you say.
Also, why do they not provide any feedback if you get rejected for an interview. They hardly ever get back to you.
What are your thoughts on them and who would you recommend?
I find them all so incredibly unprofessional.
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They work for a bounty. So they'll lob you every CV that lands on the main job boards that says 'accountant' or 'tax' and if you interview and recruit they get £5-10k.
I've paid for access to the reed.co.uk CV board and you can see what they are doing as all new CV's appearing with my search criteria were sent to me by the recruiter within an hour. They don't make any more effort than that as far as I can tell.
I’m not sure what geographic area you are in, but in mine there a two that really know the tax market and are really good. Everyone else is a bit of a chancer.
Not sure about accountancy recruitment generally.
100% share your thoughts on them. Well over a decade ago, it was more a field where they actually wanted to help, but since then they have indeed just become salesmen/women. There are exceptions, but on the whole, they're untrustworthy snakes who only look out for themselves first, and their firm second, and candidates / clients last.
nothing changes. 25 years ago, a recruiter sent my resume to my current employer. It was anonymous, but it was obviously me and my boss had not trouble spotting it.
Awkward.
It's the modern way where people apply for their own job
Got a CV on my desk for my last hire. Also got the same CV (anonymized) from a recruiter, unsolicited. I hired the staff member directly. A year later, I could hear her on a call with the recruiter who was clearly trying to convince her to jump ship. She told me so after the call. So if I had paid the recruitment fees, would they have done the same?
@Cardigan, yes, yes and yes again. And they would have found you a replacement for another fee.
If you want to use a recruiter use someone small and local and check they know the market. Ask them about recent placements and which firms they regularly speak to. Better yet, just go direct - many firms I know, including ours, are constantly on the lookout for talent and it's a competitive market, particularly for experienced staff.
All of the "big" recruiters will spray your CV around on the hope of getting a bite with no follow up, no explanation and certainly won't advocate for you as they rarely understand the needs of practices or people looking for roles. That's why you never get any feedback because they haven't a clue.
There are only two recruiters in the North West I'd trust and I'd be happy to pass on their details if relevant.
I once hired a specialist agency to recruit, I was after an AAT studier, they sent an ACA trainee and when I questioned it they said I'm sure they wont mind studying AAT after they have completed ACA.
Sounds like humour to us, but no surprise that it was spoken seriously
I agree. Those that can't do, sell... Recruitment agents, estate agents, car salesmen, the list goes on.
It is over ten years since I was either using them for a job or recruiting for a position but from the comments above, nothing has changed much.
One thing to beware of is that there is a massive churn in agents between the various agencies (certainly in London). If you find an individual agent who seems competent, you may find that they have moved onto another agency the next time you need them.
About as unprofessional as accountants who say they will save clients tax . I have no problem with accountants who say they ensure their clients pay the right amount of tax but the wording of a lot of websites implies they'll either fudge the figures or find suspect routes for avoiding tax.
I personally wouldn't use recruitment agents as an employer as they get paid to get people jobs. Once they've got someone a job (someone you hire), that person is in their contacts so in 6 months, 12 months etc they will at some point be contacted by the recruiter to try to make them move jobs so they can get paid again.
There's no loyalty at all to employers as the main benefit is the person looking for work.
On the other hand, if you're looking for work then there are some good ones out there to get you a job quickly. Hays have been the best in my experience, SF group the worst.
This is going back 5 years at least though
I agree re Hays.
I understand there are some agents out there who only care about the commissions they make and provide a bog standard service. However, for the past few years now, I couldn't be more happy with the consultants at Headhunter Group. I don't see Headhunter as an agency anymore and I view them more as a Recruitment Partner for my business.
More than happy to provide anyone with their contact details.