Securing a job in Jersey can be a difficult and time-consuming exercise. This is where recruitment agencies can help. But choosing the right recruitment firm is crucial for a successful placement.
Here are some insights into the world of recruitment industry and advice for candidates on choosing the right recruitment consultancy.
Speaking as someone who has certain understanding of the recruitment industry in Jersey, and with the memory of being a candidate from my days in financial services still fresh in my mind, I thought I should share with you what things look like from the other side of the fence.
As we all know, Jersey is a small place. There are a finite number of companies advertising a finite number of roles.
The pushing and shoving between agencies to get their candidate out to a potential employer is almost palpable, but don’t be fooled into necessarily thinking that they have your best interests at heart. Far from it – pound signs glaze over their eyes, hoping to land a commission from an uncouth piece of "recruitment".
This is not how a recruitment agent should operate – the "if you throw enough muck at the wall, some will stick" mentality is to be avoided at all costs. Or else within weeks your CV will become diluted and worthless, through no fault of your own.
For this reason, you should be very careful when selecting the agency with whom you wish to work, and also avoid the enticement of window adverts and website roles which are either many months out of date or, worse still, never existed in the first place.
Your choice of agency should be very much like any choice you make in life – choose what is most appropriate for your circumstances and what is likely to benefit you the most. When choosing a recruitment agency, be pragmatic; if you are a Managing Director of a corporate service provider, would you want your agent to be involved with part time data input roles?; if you are a Senior Infrastructure Manager, would you register with agencies that specialise in the provision of building site labourers? Clearly not.
Therefore, at AP Group, we have clearly defined divisions of AP Executive (senior level appointments), AP GlobalEnergy (appointments in the oil and gas sector), AP Personnel (junior to mid-level appointments in finance and commercial sector) and AP Technical (IT/Communication appointments), each providing specialist recruitment service to job seekers.
When registering, it goes without saying that absolute discretion and confidentiality are assured, and the service you get will be tailored to suit you and your experience. Your CV will be sent, only with your express approval, to companies for specific jobs, and your application discussed with the hirer afterwards for feedback. The service provided is bespoke to each individual candidate, and not a hit and hope exercise in which your CV is sent in desperation to every company in the yellow pages without any forethought or applied knowledge.
It is, after all, the way recruitment should be done.
With 25 years of experience in providing bespoke professional service, we have developed an extensive client network and in-depth market knowledge, offering the highest standards of career management service to professionals.
*This article was written by Kieron Lambert, former Executive Consultant.