From posts in the looking for work section, and probably the general attitudes towards them, why is there an ill-feeling towards recruiters and agencies?
Any of you who've used recruiters/agencies like to tell about your experiences?
I don't dislike recruiters as a rule of thumb, however, i (with a passion) hate recruiters that spam a job. Particularly leaving a message for a bunch of people who may or may not be qualified (the recruiter doesn't bother looking at the persons qualifications). And also recruiters who just collect a bunch of resumes and send them to the employer without actually doing any work sorting through the applicants themselves.
I personally don't see why the australian game industry needs to use recruiters considering it's size and the number of people who are trying to break in. This obviously only applies to lower level positions, not to more senior positions that may require specialized skills from perhaps outside the normal circle of game industry people, or management positions.
But, mainly my biggest issue is the spam, and recruiters who just don't seem to give a shit about who gets the job.
I also agree with Pantmonger, that agencies that misrepresent themselves are annoying. Agency ads should always start with "My client..." or something to make it clear that they are an agency, so that applicants can respond appropriately.
CYer, Blitz
My dislike of agencies stems from 3 main areas. The way they sometimes operate, their pointlessness and their cashing in. I?d lake to state at the start that all do not suffer from these faults and some only suffer from some of them.
The way they sometimes operate.
The fact that some spam, sending out bulk e-mail or cut and past posting in forums the same information that a simple single post or link could provide. They rarely read the guidelines of forums that they do this in. The fact that they rarely state in the e-mail / post that they are an agency collating a collection of applicants but instead give the impression that they have a job that?s just right for you and that they want you for. In short misrepresentation of themselves and annoying practices.
Their pointlessness. The fact that they add another layer that is unnecessary and therefore up the expenditure of those who are after the applicants. There are plenty of sites such as this one filled with people keen to work in the field and other job advertisement sites and lists. So the agents existence in this roll is pointless.
Their cashing in. Due to the nature of their job and the reputation they need to maintain that is gained and lost due to the quality of the applicants they sent to the employer, an agency has to be very picky about who they put forth for a job and who they don?t. What this means is that the more qualified the applicant is the more they are pushed. Yet the more qualified the applicant the less they need pushing as they have the skills to land a job without the agent, ergo the agent cashes in on those who need their services least.
Pantmonger