Agency Interviews

**northernladuk** · 3 March 2010, 12:27

This has been asked recently I believe and I think the general consensus you will get is that the agent is fishing. It is unlikely an agent will spend the time interviewing candidates before sending them to the client to be interviewed. None of mine ever have and I think most will concur.

Now the questions as to do you go or not? Where most would say don't he is fishing I would ask how much of a ball ache is it for you? If it's an hour out, costs you a bit of petrol then I would go. Sometimes to get to know a face can help you if nothing else at all. Ok so he ends up fishing you, you lose an hour you were doing f all in anyway.

If it is 100's of miles away then thats your call, how much do you have to do on that day and how much can you afford to spend if it came to nothing.

If I was on the bench right now I wouldn't say no to much however pointless it may appear to be.

**TheFaQQer** · 3 March 2010, 12:38

Originally posted by northernladuk View Post

This has been asked recently I believe and I think the general consensus you will get is that the agent is fishing. It is unlikely an agent will spend the time interviewing candidates before sending them to the client to be interviewed. None of mine ever have and I think most will concur.

Now the questions as to do you go or not? Where most would say don't he is fishing I would ask how much of a ball ache is it for you? If it's an hour out, costs you a bit of petrol then I would go. Sometimes to get to know a face can help you if nothing else at all. Ok so he ends up fishing you, you lose an hour you were doing f all in anyway.

If it is 100's of miles away then thats your call, how much do you have to do on that day and how much can you afford to spend if it came to nothing.

If I was on the bench right now I wouldn't say no to much however pointless it may appear to be.

WHS

**Cloud9Umbrella** · 3 March 2010, 12:47

Originally posted by MrC View Post

My ponderings: Should i go?
If so what does one wear for agency interviews? (I usually go suited but wonder if this is necessary)

I am looking for a gig but am not sure if my time/effort cost of travel etc would be better spent looking on jobserve/polishing CV etc. After all, the agent has very little to lose here; he simply has to be in his office and take 5 mins of his time.

What do most of you guys do when invited to an agency interview (not related to a specific client role)?

I used to work for Michael Page recruitment agency and regularly invited candidates/clients in to meet with me. My main reason in doing this was to find out how they would conduct themselves in an interview situation, give them feedback on appearance and interview technique and fish for information.

My personal opinion is that you should go and treat it as an interview as the agent will more than likely be more proactive in helping you secure interviews (it's easier to sell a client to an employer if you have met them personally). Go suited and ask for feedback on what you should improve upon. They will also ask you questions to get information from you but they will make it seem like they aren't fishing. I normally went for the direct approach and let my clients know that I was gathering information, then they were more likely to provide me with it. It's really up to you if you want to give out information and potentially have more competition put forward for the same jobs you applied for.

Hope this helps.

Nicola

**DodgyAgent** · 3 March 2010, 13:12

Originally posted by Cloud9Umbrella View Post

I used to work for Michael Page recruitment agency and regularly invited candidates/clients in to meet with me. My main reason in doing this was to find out how they would conduct themselves in an interview situation, give them feedback on appearance and interview technique and fish for information.

My personal opinion is that you should go and treat it as an interview as the agent will more than likely be more proactive in helping you secure interviews (it's easier to sell a client to an employer if you have met them personally). Go suited and ask for feedback on what you should improve upon. They will also ask you questions to get information from you but they will make it seem like they aren't fishing. I normally went for the direct approach and let my clients know that I was gathering information, then they were more likely to provide me with it. It's really up to you if you want to give out information and potentially have more competition put forward for the same jobs you applied for.

Hope this helps.

Nicola

Why would you waste time interviewing large numbers of people 99% of who would never get jobs through you?

**MrC** · 3 March 2010, 13:15

Originally posted by northernladuk View Post

This has been asked recently I believe and I think the general consensus you will get is that the agent is fishing.

Apologies, I did search the site for "Agency Interviews" without finding anything relevant- could you post a link?

Originally posted by northernladuk View Post

Now the questions as to do you go or not? Where most would say don't he is fishing I would ask how much of a ball ache is it for you?

On this occasion it's not a huge time or cost I suppose really. Central London which means about 50mins each way and £7. Only day 1 on the bench and i'm away on holiday in 10 days time for a week so am hesitant about re-entering the mindset that comes with seeking gigs before my holiday. Spent 4 months on the bench towards the end of last year so its quite a concern especially after reading various posts on here about the lack of contracts out there. On the flipside i made the mistake last year of not seeking contracts for the first 5 weeks (seemed like a good idea at the time) which needlessly elongated my time out of work. Any thoughts?

**Cloud9Umbrella** · 3 March 2010, 13:15

Originally posted by DodgyAgent View Post

Why would you waste time interviewing large numbers of people 99% of who would never get jobs through you?

I selected who I wanted to interview therefore wasn't wasting my time with interviewing large numbers. I also had a very high conversion rate and most jobs I advertised were filled by my clients, most of which were ones I met face to face.

**MrC** · 3 March 2010, 13:20

Originally posted by Cloud9Umbrella View Post

I selected who I wanted to interview therefore wasn't wasting my time with interviewing large numbers. I also had a very high conversion rate and most jobs I advertised were filled by my clients, most of which were ones I met face to face.

Thanks Cloud9Umbrella.

Can you think of a way i could phrase a question to the agent to clarfiy their agenda/intentions for the interview without giving the impression i fear it will be a waste of time?

**Fat Dave** · 3 March 2010, 13:27

In other words, it's agents trying to look busy when they're not. Don't bother.

**norrahe** · 3 March 2010, 13:28

I have found it a complete waste of time.

Unless they have got a potential gig for you then don't bother.

Agency Interviews