Placement consultants are professional and from their individual capacity they went on to establish HR organizations supporting job seekers as well as employers (even large organizations). But all of them cannot be trusted blindly as we hear scandals about them in the news and how candidates were lurched in a foreign country without basic documents. Some of them cheat candidates by charging them so called ‘Recruitment fees’ or ‘Placement charges’ which are actually not chargeable.
There were days when candidates made rounds to various offices holding the CV in one hand, and wiping their forehead with another. Today a group of professionals are ready to present a candidate’s bio-data before helping him or her to bag the best available job.
Placement consultants have become a buzzword with employers and candidates, considering the rising demands in certain job sectors.
With a large number of placement consultants in the country candidates have many choices. But it would be wise for the candidate to exercise some caution in dealing with them, especially when the placement consultants promise more than expected and in real quick time.
It’s really tough to find a good placements consultant. Unfortunately, some of them don’t have a clear understanding of the requirements from both ends – the candidates and the employer. Supposing a candidate has to present himself for an interview at an ad agency, and in such a situation the consultant has to advise the candidate on the dress code, communication, body language etc that will suit that particular post. Interview guidelines for a media job will be far different from those for a job in the bank.
If the placement consultant is just warming his/her seat, it’s time to find another one. Here are a few pointers that will help in the process:
* Check the client portfolio: Ask the consultant to furnish list of clients the consultancy claims handled on a regular basis. Try to learn more about the background of the consultancy, number of years they have been in business and their successful placements, testimonials etc. This will help the candidate to ascertain their credibility
* Check job description: Please ensure that the consultant has a proper job description for the position being offered. .Every consultant should have a copy of the job profile with him/her.
* Meet the consultant in person: Insist on meting the consultant who is representing the client that is employer. This will help the candidate gauge whether the consultant is competent enough to handle his CV.
Normally, recruiters always hurry in placing candidates for IT and ITES sectors because of the demand from employers. There have been instances when recruiters have pushed under qualified candidates for certain positions with disastrous effects. The firm sacked the candidates as well as filed cases against the recruiters.
The job profile should ideally match the candidates profile but allowances can be made for fresh graduates. Employees have a zero tolerance attitude qualifications towards discrepancies in educational qualifications, previous work experience, salary and reasons for quitting previous job.
So, in case if a placement consultant tells a candidate to conceal or polish drawbacks in the CV, one must not do it in the long term interests.
It’s difficult to determine whether a placement consultancy is a genuine one or not, especially if it’s not well known. Many consultants extract huge sums of money from candidates promising them lucrative jobs. Some of them cannot even arrange interviews or furnish proper job descriptions.
On the brighter side, most placement agencies are professionally run organizations having the clients’ interest at heart. But it does no harm to find out some facts first.
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