Employment Articles | TNZ Web Solutions

The Beginner’s Guide to Recruitment Agency

Mar 1, 2022 | Employment

Finding a job in this economy is hard for many people. It may be because they don’t know where to find jobs. It could also be because they don’t have the necessary tools with them. But, there is always a recruitment agency that has these tools and resources.

Such agencies are always connected with a pool of employers and employees. Their job is to find jobs for other people.

In this article, we have discussed why you should work with a recruitment agency.

What Is A Recruitment Agency?

Recruitment agencies are like a bridge that connects job seekers with employers. Employers are the ones who contact these agencies about certain job openings. A company explains everything about the vacant job position. Once all the information is shared, the search begins.

Usually, it was the employer only who did this task of finding a candidate. However, with so much workload, the employer can’t find a suitable person by themselves. This is the reason that they hand this task over to a recruitment agency.

All Recruitment Agencies cater to sourcing talent and filling either generalist roles across all professions or concentrate on specific industries. They may provide a mix of permanent and temporary placement services. There are varying types of recruitment agencies around the world but the following models are the most common in New Zealand.

These agencies come in various types:

Traditional Recruitment Agencies - also known as Contingency Agencies:

Contingency recruiting is when an organisation asks one or more agencies to find candidates for an open position. The company may also advertise the role directly. The recruitment agency only gets paid a fee by the company if the candidate they put forward is hired. The fee is normally calculated as a percentage between 10-25% (depending on the agency/profession/location etc) and is based on the successful candidates' salary package. This does NOT come off the candidates' salary and should not affect the offer made, as it is an extra price that has been budgeted for by the company using the recruitment agency's services.

Recruitment Outsourcer - also known as Contractor Agencies:

These agencies provide differing levels of services to assist the hiring company. Some just cover basic jobsite marketing and database management at a fixed price. Others like One21 Recruitment work as outsourced contractors engaged exclusively by the hiring company to provide the full recruitment process from marketing through to onboarding. This is done at an agreed fixed price that does not fluctuate with a candidate's job offer and also ensures a tailored and often more thorough hiring process. As the only agency engaged to recruit for the role they can invest more time in doing their due diligence and with a deposit covering marketing costs they can advertise the role extensively plus the client benefits from company-branded marketing that results in quality applicants who know who they are applying to. The final fee to the employer is considerably less than traditional contingency fees, as there is less risk of not making a placement.

Job Seekers, please note the following misconceptions:

In New Zealand, you will NEVER be required to pay a Recruitment Agency for placing you in a Job. The hiring company pays the Recruiter not you!
The fee DOES NOT come off your first year’s salary. If you think it does then try asking for that amount in a pay rise next year and you will soon see that’s not how it works! If a contingency fee is charged it is simply calculated on the percentage of your salary package, but should not affect what you earn at all. If a hiring company wants to claw back the amount it cost them to hire you, then you really don’t want to be working for them.

Why Work With a Recruitment Agency?

One of the main functions of a recruitment agency is to find people for a specific job. These people who are job seekers need the help of such agencies for various reasons. A job seeker has only limited resources that he or she can use to find a job.

It’s a recruiter who is connected with many types of industries. Through the connection of a job recruiter, one can find the right job for themselves.

For instance, let’s say that you’ve worked as a banker for the past 15 years. Now you want to switch your job. You can try to find a new job the way you found your first job. But, in the past 15 years, a lot has changed. You’re not up-to-date with these changes. Recruitment agencies know the changes that take place in organizations. To get the best option for your needed job, you’ll need to hire a recruiter.

If you're thinking, “How would they guarantee me the best job position, do they know my career goals?” The answer to this question is yes. They do know your job goals. One of your responsibilities is to communicate clearly with them.

When you do that, they ask you about your goals. These goals aren’t always related to the job positions. They can also be about your other wants and wishes. When you clearly define these wishes to them, they use their best tools to fulfill them.

These agencies exist to push people in the right direction. They don’t think that their job is done until you’ve got the satisfaction. Once you’re happy with your new job, they’re happy with theirs.

Image Credits

Why Use a Recruitment Agency?

There are many benefits of working with a good recruitment agency such as One21 Recruitment. They connect people to jobs. Other than that, they also have expertise in various aspects that are related to a job.

These are some benefits of using recruitment agencies.

Faster and better hiring process: Businesses need recruitment agencies because they’re faster. These agencies are connected to many people who are looking for jobs. A recruiter can connect you to the best candidate for the job in no time.

Recruitment knowledge: Recruiters have a lot of knowledge. They know about company policies and they know about hiring systems. These people also know and recognize the skills of job candidates. The agencies understand what is needed for a particular type of job.

Better candidates: A business has a higher chance of hiring the best quality candidates because of these agencies. They know many talented individuals who are looking for jobs. They interview such individuals on a daily basis. They can easily find out who would be the best person for a job role.

Job market knowledge: Not only do they know about the candidates, they also know about the job market. The recruiters provide you with wise advice when it comes to jobs. A recruiter who has worked in the field for a long time gains quite useful knowledge about it.

Not only that, but recruiters also write ads for companies. In these ads, they make sure that they write the correct information about the job. It’s their effectiveness in the recruitment process that helps both the company and the job seeker.

How to Choose a Recruitment Agency?

A recruiter is a person who’ll get you your future job. You’re putting your trust in them. Thus, when it comes to choosing a recruiter, you need to pay attention to some things. The below-mentioned recommendations would help you in choosing your recruiter.

Do your homework: Yes, there’s homework here too. When you’re putting in so much of your trust in them, you should know about them too. Look at their LinkedIn profile and other social media pages. Talk to the people who’ve been recruited via that recruitment agency.

Take their interview: Interview the recruiter when you’re choosing them. Ask them why they think a particular job would be suitable for you. You must also ask them how long the whole process will take.

Ask about their experience: When you’re talking to a recruiter, you should ask them about their experience. It’ll let you know how long they’ve been in the field. You would understand what kind of challenges job seekers face.

Consider the terms: All recruitment agencies have their own terms for carrying out the recruitment process. Go over these terms with the recruiter. You want to work with a person who does their job fast and creatively as well. Therefore, analyze the terms of the agency and of the recruiter too.

Review the track record: You should find out how well an agency is working. Know when was the last time the agency helped a job seeker in finding a job. Additionally, you must also find out their strategies of working.

How to Reach Out to a Recruitment Agency

Coming in contact with a recruiter from an agency is not that hard. You can ask other people or search the internet to find an excellent recruiter. Once you’ve found a recruiter, you need to reach out to them.

You’ll present your case to them and communicate with them all throughout the process. Here are some tips you can use to reach out to a recruitment agency.

Express yourself: Don’t be vague when you’re discussing your job requirements. Express all your concerns and doubts. Not only that, tell them about your job experience too. Be confident about what you’ve done and what you need in the future.

Show your research: You must let the recruiter know your research. You don’t go to a recruiter empty-handed. Tell them what you found and where you found it. This way, they won't tell you about openings which you’ve rejected. When you tell them about your research, it’ll also show them that you’re dedicated to your work.

Avoid complications: Keep and simple and be straightforward with them. You’ve to share things so that you can have clear communication with them. However, there’s no need to tell them unnecessary details. When you’re only reaching out to them, keep your conversation to simple yes and no.

Be respectful: Recruiters are helping you out with many things, they save you time and help you build your network. So, when you’re reaching out to them, show respect in your actions. Let them share their knowledge and opinions too.

How to Register With a Recruitment Agency

Follow these steps to register with recruitment agencies:

Think about your requirements: When you’re registering with a recruitment agency, think about your non-negotiables. These lists of non-negotiables may include money, location, size of company, position, and more. Some people wish to work in a different state, while some work in their own state. Whatever your requirements are, convey them to the recruiter.

Have some conversation: Before you send in your resume to the recruiter, talk to them. Have some conversations, express your wishes, talk about your previous job. Enquire about job openings in your industry.

Connect via emails: It’s important that you connect with the recruiters via email. Through emails, they’ll inform you of available positions. They can also ask for some documents, which you can send them via email.

Fill out documents: Some recruitment agencies require you to fill out some forms and documents. In these documents, you only have to fill in some general information. When you’re done filling the document, you’re added to the agency’s database.

Once you’re done with all these processes, then you can begin with the next steps. One of the personnel from the recruitment agency would be assigned to you. They will assist you through these steps. You should send in your CV to this individual. Then they’d keep you updated about the jobs you need. You should also call your recruiter every one or two weeks to know about the updates.

Why Use a Recruitment Agency to Find a Job?

Whether you’re joining the workforce after a long time or you’re new to this, finding the right job is difficult. You don’t know the rules and policies of various institutions. There are all sorts of questions in your head.

To clear out these doubts, you need the help of a recruitment agency. Here are the reasons why you should use their help:

To save time: When you’re looking for a job by yourself, you use so many hours to find the right one. It takes you so much time to know about job roles and responsibilities. When you connect with a recruiter, they do the work at a faster pace.

For networking purposes: Recruiters stay in touch with executives from many organizations. When you talk to a recruiter, they can help you connect with these executives. They may also help you have contact with other people who work in the same field as you.

Job-related needs: The process of recruitment is long and tiring. Throughout this process, you need them for many things. A recruiter is there for you for all your job needs. When you choose the right recruiter, they’ll answer all your questions.

To have access: Sometimes companies don’t post all their job openings on website portals. But, job recruiters have access to and knowledge about the available positions. So, they can enlighten you with many offers that you won’t see on websites.

To stay in job databases: Just because you don’t get hired by the company, the recruiter doesn’t throw away your CV. They still stay in contact with you. They keep you updated about other job postings depending on your job needs.

The Takeaway

A recruitment agency connects potential employers to employees. Working with such agencies is beneficial for both employers and employees.

For employers, it helps them find the best candidates for a job. In the same, for the employees, these agencies help them find the best position.

Before choosing a recruitment agency, you should know about their track record. You should also know their work experience. How many people did they successfully connect to the employers? How long have they been working in the recruitment field?

Using recruitment agencies will only help you in saving time and staying connected with other industry people.

Beginner's Guide to Recruitment Agency

Featured Image Credits: Pixabay

About the Author

Shristi Patni

Content Writer

Shristi is a content writer and owner of F and B Recipes and Snazzy Women. When not writing, she can be found reading or trying new recipes.

Beginner’s Guide to Employment Law

Feb 3, 2022 | Employment, Legal & Accounting

Employment law is a field of law that is specific to a work environment. Work cultures are hectic and demanding. Both employers and employees have to work in their industries knowing their rights. But knowing about them is not enough, they should be aware of how to utilize them in case they sense some difficulties arising in their workplace.

These laws are decided by the federal and state government of the countries. Employment laws or labor laws originated differently in different parts of the world. Some early influences can even be found in the medieval world. However, it was in the 18th century Industrial Revolution when labor laws were brought into practice.

Today, many businesses have implemented these laws to establish an ideal organization.

In this article, we have discussed the importance of such laws and how they impact a business.

What is Employment Law?

Employment law is a broad concept. It is the law that regulates the relationship between an employer and an employee. This law changes frequently because employees are always at the forefront of changes that take place in society. Every state and country has laws specific to their work ethics and situations.

It is also known as the labour law in many parts of the world. As an employment lawyer, it is your duty to protect your client, i.e., an employee, from being subjected to an unethical work environment.

The law assures the employees that they get treated fairly at their jobs and that they are safe. These laws also serve the interests of employers. For instance, if an employee has made false accusations against their employers, the employment lawyer would find out the basis of those accusations and present evidence if they are actually true or not.

An employment lawyer’s skills and responsibilities require them to be empathic. Being an empathic person, you should be able to relate to your clients, as many of them have to deal with situations that are too stressful and personal for them. You are required to draft letters, and litigations, and analyse legal documents. Your research skills should be excellent because even small details could have a huge impact on a case.

As mentioned earlier, it is a broad concept, there are different types of employment laws. They include:

Equal Pay
Minimum Wage
Holiday Pay
Whistleblowing
Health and Safety
Family and Medical Leave
Worker’s Compensation
Employee Benefits
Labour Relations
Parental Leave
Discrimination based on gender, age, race, etc.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Employment Law

When you become an employment lawyer, you will face a world that never stops. Problems keep coming, they never disappear. That might excite you to find solutions to these problems, but there may be some obstacles in this field of law.

Here are the advantages of employment law.

New challenges: No two cases will be the same. You will always find something different about them. This means that every project that you take on and become a part of, will bring you something new. The challenges never cease to amaze you.
Learning and growing: Even if you are a trainee in a law firm, you will be given the duty to work with clients. There are many opportunities in this field that will help you grow as a person and as an employment lawyer.
Skill development: This field is huge, you work with people from different walks of life. This means that you will have to work on your people's skills. There is no need for you to be a people pleaser. But you should be able to help people in finding the best and easy solutions.
Social connections: When you interact and work together with so many people, you’ll eventually form social connections. Through this work, you will always find an interesting and unique story connected to these people.

Here are the disadvantages of employment law.

Handling crisis: Because each case is a person to the client, be it an employee or an employer, they can have emotional reactions to it. People can lash out, and in extreme cases, they can even become violent. An employment lawyer has to mediate such a crisis.
Hard to catch up: Since the laws are changing with the changes in work cultures, it might become difficult to catch up with everything at once.

Importance of Employment Law

Employment law is important for several reasons. Many aspects of a work situation are governed according to these laws. There are certain rules that both the employer and the employee have to follow. Any successful business needs that the employer and the employee have a mutual understanding between them. These employment laws are how people create this understanding between them.

Improving the employer-employee relationship: The employers provide their employees with documents like the offer letter and the employment agreement. These documents help the employees to understand the demands of the job, and what their responsibilities would be once they get the job. Besides this, the employer gives growth opportunities to future or current employees.
Ensuring the health and safety of workers: Such laws promise the employees that their physical and mental health is a priority. Furthermore, their workplace is safe for them to perform the duties they have.
Treating the employees as equals: All the employees get treated as equals. The duties and responsibilities are given to the employees based on their skill sets. All that matters and all that should matter to an employer is the quality of work an employee does.
Parental rights: When an employee becomes a parent, they can ask their employers for their parental rights. These rights include maternity and paternity pay. With the payment, they should be allowed to have a period of leave.
Work permits: Employment law states that employers in any sector or industry should thoroughly check the rights of working of an employee. Especially in the case of international employees. If an individual from another country does not have a permit to work in your country, then they should not get hired.

Impact of Employment Law on Business

Employment laws impact all kinds of businesses. Doesn’t matter if a business is big or small. The CEOs of all business organizations have to abide by these laws to make their workplace safe. Moreover, to attract job seekers to come and work for them.

These are the various ways through which employment law can affect a business.

Recruitment process: Businesses should have a fair requirement process. All the employees should go through the same process. The process may prepare the employees for what the job would require them to do. The employer must highlight all the terms and conditions of the workplace.
Payment details: When the employees go through the recruitment process, the employers should discuss the payment with them.
No Discrimination: A business should avoid discrimination on any basis. Employment laws have laid down the rules that businesses need to follow. In general, these rules outline that an employee can’t get discriminated against because of their skin colour, gender identity, the language they speak, religious beliefs, etc.
Working conditions: Businesses should have safe working conditions. Safety here means physical safety and mental safety. Employees shouldn’t feel burdened or threatened by other colleagues or supervisors. Their concerns should be addressed.

Why Should I Take Employment Law Advice?

You can’t run a business when you don’t know how to deal with the changing situations at the workplace. You, and your employees, both have their needs that have to be met. This is where employment law comes in. Such laws aim at balancing the relationships between you and your employees. Employment lawyers provide you with honest advice, including:

Save yourself some time: When you run into legal trouble at the workplace, the first person that should come into your mind is an employment lawyer. Finding solutions to these problems through other means would cost you time and even money. Employment lawyers can address your worries and solve them without wasting your precious time.
Face no judgment: When you present your case to an employment lawyer, they will advise you to take the easiest way out. Easy may mean something that won’t stress you out too much. But if you want to move ahead with the case, they will fully support you in that decision without any judgments.
Helpful tips: The whole world might give you a piece of their mind in your legal situation. While many of these people mean well and want to help you out, it is only a professional who would give the best tips to you. It is an employment lawyer who has studied similar cases to yours, so their knowledge is what will get you out of your messy situation.
Keep you stress-free: Conflicts at the workplace are stressful. You become the main topic of conversation among fellow employees. During these times, putting your trust in an employment lawyer would help you out. By cooperating with an employment lawyer, you can find useful solutions and keep your stress away.