CVs and Interviews

Many individuals I support through Career Coaching give out about recruitment agencies which I think is sometimes over the top as agencies provide a free service to the jobseeker. The main complaint about agencies revolves around the lack of communication from recruiters. The Irish Independent article below has some comments from my good friend Ivan which can help explain why recruiters are struggling to get back in touch.

OVER a third of recruiters have lost their own jobs, due to the record hike in unemployment.
The industry dedicated to matching vacancies with workers has itself been decimated over the last 12 months with a total of 4,500 jobs lost in what was once a 12,000-strong sector.
Many employment agencies have drastically reduced their staffing levels as the numbers signing on soared by 97pc.

The group representing employment agencies, the National Recruitment Federation (NRF), saw just a handful of clients go to the wall but has recorded a massive drop in the number of employees.
NRF president Frank Collins, said he knew of one agency where staffing levels plummeted from 12 to just one person, and another where they fell from 28 to eight.

He said “green shoots’ were visible in some sectors of the economy, although employers were waiting to see if this would lead to a recovery.

Managing director of recruitment website employireland.ie, Ivan Stojanovic, said his business survived purely because it was not heavily dependent on placement adverts.

“Recruiters have been the hardest hit of any sector,” he said. “As time goes by, it’s getting worse and worse. I believe the figure of those who have lost their jobs in recruitment could be around two out of three.

Next week should see the end of my travelling so it will be back to posting more useful articles around CV writing, Interviews and Job Hunting. I will explore the area of motivation and maintaining a positive attitude in a tough job market. I am meeting many disheartened jobseekers keen to work and struggling. For many negativity has crept in which is understandable but dangerous as it can impact your results greatly.

In the meantime you can read my recent post on RecuitIreland. This touches on the subject of rejection and persistence when job hunting. Job Hunting Advice.

On a more positive note there are some great deals to be had around the country when booking hotels and don’t forget to negotiate. I am also amaze how well some hotels are coping with these challenging conditions – just show you that the right attitude, the right ideas and effective marketing can work wonders.