One application for a job, or many through agencies?
November 10, 2008 3:47 AM Subscribe
Is it worth applying for the same job through several different agencies, or should I just apply once?
I'm currently applying for technical assistant/junior scientist/graduate scientist jobs around Cambridge, UK, and have found that a lot of the job listings I turn up are repeats of the same post, advertised by a number of recruitment agencies. Is it worth applying for these positions with each agency, or should I just apply through one - or directly to the company - and conserve my effort?
I'm currently applying for technical assistant/junior scientist/graduate scientist jobs around Cambridge, UK, and have found that a lot of the job listings I turn up are repeats of the same post, advertised by a number of recruitment agencies. Is it worth applying for these positions with each agency, or should I just apply through one - or directly to the company - and conserve my effort?
Once, and preferably directly to the company.
The company will need to pay a commission to the agency that provided you if they employ you, and that's made more complicated for them if several agencies put you forward.
posted by siskin at 4:27 AM on November 10, 2008
The company will need to pay a commission to the agency that provided you if they employ you, and that's made more complicated for them if several agencies put you forward.
posted by siskin at 4:27 AM on November 10, 2008
2nding lmdba's answer, it's definitely a negative if someone thinks you are shotgunning your CV/resume out.
It's also much cheaper for the company if you apply direct - if you apply through a recruitment agency it can cost the company as much as 20% of your first year salary (although usually it's a bit more sane like 5%). So if you can apply from a job site listing or newspaper ad then that would be best. (on preview, siskin beat me to it!).
Good luck!
posted by samj at 4:30 AM on November 10, 2008
It's also much cheaper for the company if you apply direct - if you apply through a recruitment agency it can cost the company as much as 20% of your first year salary (although usually it's a bit more sane like 5%). So if you can apply from a job site listing or newspaper ad then that would be best. (on preview, siskin beat me to it!).
Good luck!
posted by samj at 4:30 AM on November 10, 2008
I was recently specifically told by a headhunter agency not to apply through multiple agencies since the company receiving the application/resume is more likely to put you into the round file. And if you think about it, the person receiving the applicants and having to enter the info and/or sort them is likely going to be annoyed by receiving the same applicant multiple times. So, there might be some truth to that, not just trying to prevent competition from other agencies.
I'm not sure about applying directly, if the company prefers to use agencies. I think agencies are sort of a first filter to weed-out the majority of undesired candidates. It likely depends on the company whether they welcome direct applications or not.
posted by hungrysquirrels at 4:32 AM on November 10, 2008
I'm not sure about applying directly, if the company prefers to use agencies. I think agencies are sort of a first filter to weed-out the majority of undesired candidates. It likely depends on the company whether they welcome direct applications or not.
posted by hungrysquirrels at 4:32 AM on November 10, 2008
Only once.....
....but call them after a day and ask if they are going to put your resume forward. If they don't give a definite 'yes' then thank them for their time, ask them why not, then let them know that you will be allowing another agent to submit your resume.
DO NOT go direct to the company. They use agents to reduce noise and will probably black-list you.
posted by lamby at 5:24 AM on November 10, 2008
....but call them after a day and ask if they are going to put your resume forward. If they don't give a definite 'yes' then thank them for their time, ask them why not, then let them know that you will be allowing another agent to submit your resume.
DO NOT go direct to the company. They use agents to reduce noise and will probably black-list you.
posted by lamby at 5:24 AM on November 10, 2008
The problem with applying through multiple agencies is that, were you to be hired, every recruiter who submitted you is going to expect their commission (even though only the first is actually entitled to it). For an HR department or hiring manager facing some annoying phone calls at best, and lawsuits at worst, the easiest choice may be to just toss all of your applications in the bin and go with a less risky candidate.
Apply once, through the most reputable agency (if any), or directly, but only if you've got a really killer cover letter. With this opening being posted everywhere, they've probably got a huge pile of chaff that you want to stand out from...
posted by a young man in spats at 5:31 AM on November 10, 2008
Apply once, through the most reputable agency (if any), or directly, but only if you've got a really killer cover letter. With this opening being posted everywhere, they've probably got a huge pile of chaff that you want to stand out from...
posted by a young man in spats at 5:31 AM on November 10, 2008
Response by poster: Thanks for the quick replies, everyone! It seems quite unanimous that applying to lots of agencies is a bad idea - definitely a relief to know that for sure.
posted by daisyk at 6:25 AM on November 10, 2008
posted by daisyk at 6:25 AM on November 10, 2008
Agree with Siskin - and sorry Lamby, I personally think you can go direct. If they blacklist you for initiative to apply direct - its probably a company you don't want to work for...
posted by friedbeef at 7:30 AM on November 10, 2008
posted by friedbeef at 7:30 AM on November 10, 2008
As a hiring manager, I find it totally annoying when I post a Sr. and a Jr. version of the same job and people apply separately to both. I think the same sentiment applies here.
Call the company and tell them that you'd like to apply, and can you apply directly, and if not, which agency do they usually work with?
Do not do this. HR departments farm out this work to agencies in part so they don't have to field calls from random applicants- they just want the shortlist. Most ads, in fact, specify something like "Please, no phone inquiries" for this very reason. You may think you're showing initiative, but you're actually taking a shortcut to the trash bin.
posted by mkultra at 7:46 AM on November 10, 2008
Call the company and tell them that you'd like to apply, and can you apply directly, and if not, which agency do they usually work with?
Do not do this. HR departments farm out this work to agencies in part so they don't have to field calls from random applicants- they just want the shortlist. Most ads, in fact, specify something like "Please, no phone inquiries" for this very reason. You may think you're showing initiative, but you're actually taking a shortcut to the trash bin.
posted by mkultra at 7:46 AM on November 10, 2008
Our company had a strict no multiple agencies policy. Any resume coming from two different agencies got flushed.
My sister, who was a recruiter for a number of years, agrees - don't use multiple agencies for a single job. Most good recruiters will, when presenting you with the job description, ask if anyone else has submitted your resume to that job. If so, they'll skip it. Recruiters want their commissions, but they know not to submit someone that's already been submitted - it's embarrassing to them, in addition to being a waste of time.
Of course, now my company has outsourced our recruiting overseas, so it's impossible to hire anyone unless you specifically cut the recruiters out of the loop. But that's a different rant...
posted by krisak at 8:20 AM on November 10, 2008
My sister, who was a recruiter for a number of years, agrees - don't use multiple agencies for a single job. Most good recruiters will, when presenting you with the job description, ask if anyone else has submitted your resume to that job. If so, they'll skip it. Recruiters want their commissions, but they know not to submit someone that's already been submitted - it's embarrassing to them, in addition to being a waste of time.
Of course, now my company has outsourced our recruiting overseas, so it's impossible to hire anyone unless you specifically cut the recruiters out of the loop. But that's a different rant...
posted by krisak at 8:20 AM on November 10, 2008
Just because you're applying to a job through an agency doesn't mean that the agency is forwarding your application to the company. One of the things agencies do is screen in advance to determine who they're going to submit to the job.
So, I would certainly work with as many vectors as possible.
However, your best bet would be to find somebody you know in the company and work the connections from the inside out. Don't just send your resume to HR, but if you know Bob in accounting, then asking him to pass your CV to the right person can do you a world of good.
I'm in the US. I'm not sure what Cambridge is like, but suspect it must be similar.
posted by willnot at 8:21 AM on November 10, 2008
So, I would certainly work with as many vectors as possible.
However, your best bet would be to find somebody you know in the company and work the connections from the inside out. Don't just send your resume to HR, but if you know Bob in accounting, then asking him to pass your CV to the right person can do you a world of good.
I'm in the US. I'm not sure what Cambridge is like, but suspect it must be similar.
posted by willnot at 8:21 AM on November 10, 2008
If you apply directly through the company, be sure to apply to the right person. I got an email the other day from someone who was applying for a job at my workplace through a website and decided to circumvent the site and apply directly to us. Problem was, I am not even under the same division as the hiring department.
posted by sjuhawk31 at 8:28 AM on November 10, 2008
posted by sjuhawk31 at 8:28 AM on November 10, 2008
This thread is closed to new comments.
So I would say no; it makes it look like the application isn't important enough for you to have noticed that you'd applied twice.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 3:58 AM on November 10, 2008