By MARIE WILSON
Q. I've been in the job market for four months, including a stint in Sydney.
My problem is I can't get an interview when I go through recruitment agencies. I have had three interviews going directly to the companies involved, so my skills are not lacking.
I have 12 years' commercial marketing experience, and four to six years' IT commercial experience (depending on your read of what constitutes "IT"). I'm a friendly, outgoing, level-headed individual who socialises well.
In my humble opinion I think recruitment agencies pigeonhole you too much, based on your work experience. I am open to a wide and diverse range of work, but find the agencies hinder more than they help.
Do recruitment agencies work on some kind of old boys' network? Do you need to know someone inside the agency to get an interview?
A. You haven't suggested that these were the same jobs and that you were able to get interviews with the company but not with the agencies, so you are not comparing like with like.
Recruitment agencies normally have a brief for a position, and are looking for the candidates who best fit that position at the time.
They are also in the business of matching candidates and the position they are given, which they - as businesses - will try to do in the most efficient and effective way possible. That makes them a bit ruthless in the decision whether or not to pursue a candidate, and somewhat traditional in the way they match the skills and requirements of the customer company with applicants.
Companies, on the other hand, may not have spent as much time establishing what it is that they are really looking for.
And they may have a broader range of possibilities when deciding whether or not to interview someone.
Managers may also interview because they identify that someone might have potential either for a current position, or for another position that may arise in the future.
Both are options worth pursuing, together with networking and direct approaches to companies that you would like to work for, but that don't have any positions advertised currently.
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Q. I applied for a job that was advertised as "exciting", "challenging" and with "growth opportunities".
I've just interviewed for the job, and it looks pretty dull and dead end to me. I feel like I totally wasted my time even applying.
A. If the job is described unrealistically, the advertiser hasn't just wasted your time, they wasted their own time and money as well.
In their desire to attract high-quality candidates, employers sometimes oversell jobs. But international research suggests that a more realistic approach works better for everyone.
A realistic job preview starts when a job is advertised, and should include a balanced look at the position.
People are attracted to different things in a job, and you are better off attracting people with needs and expectations that match what the job is able to offer.
One of my favourite simple ads started off with "great pay, good team, ghastly hours" and then went on to describe the nature of the job (stevedoring) and its requirements.
A balanced look does not mean that everyone will agree with you - you may be difficult to excite - but if an employer is saying that the job is exciting, they should be able to say what is exciting about the job, as well as where these "growth opportunities" may be found.
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