Reply to: Is it pointless to chase up Rec Consultants after applying ?

[NickNick]

Same as Eek for me.

Someone once reckoned their top tip for beating the resume robots was to add lots of keywords multiple times to the last page of their CV (in white ink, of course).

Nah, the smart guys put all the keywords in DocProperties.

[vadhert]

If the shoe fits. They will chase you with it on

[Elliegirl]

Do some people never check their lottery ticket?

Of course you should follow up any application. How much time and effort you spend doing so is up to each individual.

?
If the National Lottery were beating down my door to let me know I'd won, instead of putting the onus on me to check my ticket, I suppose I'd contact an agent after putting in an application. As it is, I apply and leave it to them. I've had phonecalls minutes after sending in an application, leading to successful roles. What does irritate is when I go to an interview and they don't have the decency to let me know I've not been successful. Sooo rude given the time and investment.

Apologies if I've misunderstood, Bolshie one.

[BolshieBastard]

Do some people never check their lottery ticket?

Of course you should follow up any application. How much time and effort you spend doing so is up to each individual.

[NickFitz]

I chase if I want the role. Don't chase if I won't.

But by chasing I ring once half an hour to an hour after sending my CV. Merely to ensure they have received it and using the excuse that Jobserve has been tulip in the past...

WeS.

If one manages to get through to them, mentioning Jobserve being crap establishes an instant rapport, in my experience

[KentPhilip]

In my experience, if there's even a snifters of a chance of making money form you, they'll be on the phone. They don't forget potential cash cows.

Also, IMO, chasing an agent could look like you don't have many options on the go and so could weaken your negotiating position.

They are going to be making money from someone, so by calling them it is more likely that it is going to be from you.
It shows you are more likely than other candidates to take the interview process seriously, including going to them.

I don't agree with that. Assuming you don't pester them in the way they do sometimes to you there should be no problem with this - you're just showing you're keen.

[dack]

In my experience, if there's even a snifters of a chance of making money form you, they'll be on the phone. They don't forget potential cash cows.

Also, IMO, chasing an agent could look like you don't have many options on the go and so could weaken your negotiating position.

[quackhandle]

I've applied for some (all genuine) roles and the pimp has not gotten in touch after a few days and in some cases I've already applied, interviewed and got the contract for another role in that time.*

You do think: what on earth were you doing?

What is annoying is the pimp chasing you after interview stage but whenyou try to call them you find that they've taken the day off!


*NLUK pointer: But you still go for the other role, bird in hand, etc.

qh

[tractor]

...

You have to remember that pimps only have 200 applications for each role because they are too tight to pay to dl relevant CV's from the job sites. And too lazy to do the searches themselves.

Otherwise, you would mostly get calls from them and would not need to apply. Much.

[Tasslehoff]

In my experience, agents often work in pairs answering each other’s phones. The agent answering the phone will take your name and "just see if he/she's in", if they don't want to speak to you, they're out, if they do, they're in.

If you're unlucky and they're out, just say thanks very much and move on to the next application.

THIS.

When I ring a agency now I have a script

"Hi it's Tasslehoff looking for Agent B, in regards to role C"

To save them saying "Oh yea who are you after, I will see if he is in" and just cut to the bloddy chase.

FWIW I do chase if I want a role and it has helped me in the past.

[kaiser78]

If it is a killer role I chase up with an initial phone call to at least get myself visible. This has worked for me in the past. If agent is not available I just leave it as per other posters higher up (in this thread).

[AvsFan]

So the general consensus is that it is a waste of time, which is what my experience was coming too.

The point about agents answering each other phones in pairs makes complete sense. Whenever, I phoned the no. given at the bottom of the application, if I did get through to someone it wasn't the person I was after and they would say 'their unavailable at the moment' or hold on and then after attempting to transfer the call saying the same thing. They've said they leave a note to call me back but of course I've never been called back.

So going forward I think I'll phone once just to check CV has been received and chat to the agent if I possible but if I can't get through I'll just move on and certainly won't bother to leave a message to be called back.

Appreciate the input everyone.

[RSoles]

If I've applied through something likejobserve then I'll ring once, maybe an hour later
just to make sure the application got through and to give the agent a heads up and a chance to talk to me.
If there's no answer, or 'he's busy' then I'll move on...

Saying that, I've had nearly half my contracts direct, so haven't needed to bother......

[Stevie Wonder Boy]

That's true once you are on the pimps radar. You do however need to get on their radar and I've found that ringing them once does that as it:-

1) moves your CV into their view
2) shows you can talk to people and are personable ....

Remember that agents usually have a tall pile of 200+ crap applications to go through. 2 minutes of your time moves you from that pile into the very short pile of possibles...

I don't know if that's necessarily true. Where I am right now they are trying to fill a lot of positions and the pimps can't find anyone. Rate is good, location is a bit pants.

My opinion and experience is that 9 out 10 ads are a re-post, ripoff or fish for CV's. They pay for advertising so they just keep gathering CV's. About half the interviews I've gotten were for the original advert. A lot of pimps hoard CV's and ring you if they have a fit. They don't want to advertise the role, I guess it saves on costs and prevents the other pimps for stealing their lead.

The other thing they will do if they are second tier or a chancer for a requirement is offer a higher rate and see if they can get a higher quality candidate... The "mistake" is revealed just before they put you forward.

So the best strategy is to carpet bomb, don't take it personal, don't waste your time chasing the -- Network, network, network with people you know.

Also don't be a yourself when you are on-site and the client is looking, get involved and push forward your contacts.

[SussexSeagull]

I have given up chasing agents after having an interview so chasing them after a CV is unlikely to happen.

The time to sell yourself is when you are in a contract or have dealings with other people that might prove useful in finding future work.

LinkedIn is getting more and more important in my experience.