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The Employment Triangle: Candidate - Agent - Employer

Updated: Jan 11, 2020


Making sense of the employment process becomes easier with each attempt at finding the right job. When you enter the market for the first time it can be a maze. The relationship between candidate, recruitment agent and employer is better understood when broken down. We take a look at how the three parties can maximize their roles during the recruitment process.


The Candidate


FOCUS

Decide what your best selling point is. Is it your qualifications, could it be your experience or do you have a specialist edge to offer?


JOB REQUIREMENTS

Take a close look at the job requirements. Ask yourself, “What is it that I bring to the job that is most needed for a good fit?”


PICK AN AGENT

Choose an agent carefully by doing thorough research to see if you can work together. Develop a good relationship as the agency could do the heavy lifting for you, to make a good placement. Follow advice diligently and remember that the agent does not require a fee of any kind from you.


OPTIONS

Do not restrict your application to the online search. Explore all possibilities, such as referrals from contacts. If you have been headhunted, a good presentation is still important. Persist in requests for updates on your application, as this reflects your interest and enthusiasm for the job.


UNSTATED REQUIREMENTS

The time to flesh these out is at the interview, but do wait to be invited to ask any questions. You will have a better idea by then of what exactly the dynamics of the company are and how your role will be positioned. A written contract, once you secure employment, safeguards the position and your responsibilities.

The Recruitment Agent


ACCESSIBILITY

Make the applicant feel comfortable by showing a genuine interest in them. Always maintain follow-up communication with the candidate.


CONFIDENCE

Inspire confidence in your ability as an agent by showing the applicant, not simply telling them, about your track record in placing candidates with the right positions. A record of your good relationship with employers also helps. Detail any affiliations your agency has with other companies.


STAY POSITIVE

Always be positive, to motivate the candidate to maintain optimism in the face of despondency; which can set in when things are not shaping up well.


PROVIDE ASSISTANCE

By offering practical assistance to the applicant, for example through providing tips on CVs and cover letters, this helps to enhance the agent’s profile. This, in turn, encourages the applicant to maintain a long-term career relationship with the agency.


YOUR REPUTATION

A good agency develops a solid reputation with both candidates and employers. A record of delivering the right match, of the candidate to the position, secures this.


The Employer

There are two things an employer needs to do for a good three-way relationship - one is to hire an agency that will best serve the interests and requirements of the company. Two is to make the right final decision to employ a candidate who, not only satisfies every requirement for the position but one who will be happy to work for you and stay. With the tendency, of young people with many choices, to move frequently it will require a good hiring skills-set to make sure you have the right person. The applicant’s work history will help to make this assessment as well as an in-depth final interview. Probing, in a relaxed and casual surrounding, often gets behind the social masks we all wear.


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Lynda Stephen (Rogle)

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