Apply directly or through recruitment agency?

[Mountaineer]

Hi all!

On the online job boards, you will often find several recruitment agencies advertising the same opening. On top of that, the position is often also advertised by the company itself. So, I was wondering whether to apply for such jobs:

1. Through one of the recruitment agencies
2. Directly at the company

I have compiled the pros and cons of option no. 1, applying through a recruitment agency:

Pros:
- Recruiter may know the employing company and their preferences very well
- Recruiter may improve the application (adjust the CV, brief me for the interview), which could increase my chances of getting the job

Cons:
- Less control over the application process (e.g., how does the recruiter change my CV before submitting?)
- Company may prefer direct applications (no fee for the recruiter)

Am I missing something? Are any of my pros and cons invalid? I am looking forward to your comments!

[sundaymorningstaple]

Local recruiters rarely change CVs. They use the shotgun process and fire anything that remotely looks like it could be in the same industry and send all they got in the hopes that one of them might get an interview. You are better off sending directly to the company, IF you know someone inside the company, you would be better off trying to go through them or networking on a place like linkedin. Agencies are generally useless.

[offshoreoildude]

Local agencies are useless but there are some good UK 'expat' style agencies that recruit into Singapore.

[Sergei82]

Just do not get into that contractors' vendor trap. Plenty of good recruiting agencies in Singapore. All MNCs here work through recruiters only.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Just do not get into that contractors' vendor trap. Plenty of good recruiting agencies in Singapore. All MNCs here work through recruiters only.

That's because most of the MNCs use local HR departments. Their HR Managers have Recruitment kaki's all over Singapore. Makes their jobs easier. Everybody knows, most like to do a little as possible so they have more time for FB or eating at their desks.

Or both.

[the lynx]

Just do not get into that contractors' vendor trap. Plenty of good recruiting agencies in Singapore. All MNCs here work through recruiters only.

That's because most of the MNCs use local HR departments. Their HR Managers have Recruitment kaki's all over Singapore. Makes their jobs easier. Everybody knows, most like to do a little as possible so they have more time for FB or eating at their desks.

Or both.

I thought companies generally block FB and other social network sites off their internet networks?

[sundaymorningstaple]

Generally speaking I've only worked in two companies since the inception of FB and both never prevented me from surfing the net. Don't know about the bigger MNCs though. But you still get my drift. They just can't be bothered as they are not professionals. Most don't even have any HR qualifications.

[Sergei82]

Facebook is blocked here. Nobody can block it on my phone though!

[zzm9980]

I thought companies generally block FB and other social network sites off their internet networks?

In my experience (as someone who would be responsible for designing and implementing such a blocking solution), many large MNCs don't. It can be extremely expensive to do it right, and many local laws (especially in some of the pinko commie parts of the EU) specifically prohibit monitoring (a pre-requisite of blocking) individuals web traffic. Reasonable expectation of privacy, bla bla. These companies usually just rely on firing disruptive or unproductive employees for those reasons, or HR complaints that may arise out of your use of those sites (say looking at porn all day).

The only thing at my company that is an automatic firing (and we don't even block it) is if we receive a DMCA or other similar notice for an employee pirating commercial media. It's a must, seeing as how we run one of the largest and most profitable online movie and music stores in the world.

[Mountaineer]

Thanks for your replies so far.

So, you're saying that you wouldn't apply through a recruitment agency, even if that agency has a good track record, i.e., many successful placements in the past? (there's a MoM site where you can look up that information)

[Sergei82]

I would say that in Singapore applying through recruitment agencies only will do the thing just fine. Recruitment agents are not real estate agents. You can deal with them.

[offshoreoildude]

FB is becoming a valuable resource for a lot of reasons; not least the amount of info people post! For me it's a good way to track down business contacts.

[sundaymorningstaple]

You still need to send your CV to the various online databases. It doesn't cost anything and at least it gets your CV out there. Just don't place all your marbles in one basket as sure as dog made little green apples, you will have a hole in the bottom of the baskets and that one job will slip through. Sure they have placement. But if you consider the numbers of appllicants you will soon realize that most of the ads are placed by recruitment agencies who do so just to keep their own databases stocked with fresh fruit. (Jobseekers are like fresh produce, they have a very limited shelf life or short use by date. (between 3 to 6 months max - after that they have to spend time (money) tracking you down to get an update on your status. It's easier to run the stock job descriptions every month or so because those will be fresh CVs.

[JR8]

FB is becoming a valuable resource for a lot of reasons; not least the amount of info people post! For me it's a good way to track down business contacts.

Which is precisely why my FB profile is under a pseudonym!

[Wd40]

Just do not get into that contractors' vendor trap. Plenty of good recruiting agencies in Singapore. All MNCs here work through recruiters only.

That's because most of the MNCs use local HR departments. Their HR Managers have Recruitment kaki's all over Singapore. Makes their jobs easier. Everybody knows, most like to do a little as possible so they have more time for FB or eating at their desks.

Or both.

I thought companies generally block FB and other social network sites off their internet networks?

Banks do. For security reasons. They also block personal email.