Recruitment agencies still relevant
Although President Jacob Zuma announced that the ANC is aiming at creating at least six million jobs in the next five years, many South Africans biggest struggle is finding the most appropriate job that meets their needs.
Boksburg resident, Chantelle Botes, got dismissed from her job in February and despite all the effort and qualifications, she is still without a job.
Botes is a single mother with two teenage daughters and doesn’t get any support from her ex-husband who now lives overseas.
In her search of finding a job, she approached various recruitment agencies, but nevertheless, luck was not on her side.
“I left thousands of messages at the agencies, but they never got back to me,” says Botes.
“How do you find jobs when no one gets back to you? I’ve done everything I can. I just want someone to help me, because I am getting desperate.”
Saying this, the question about the relevance of recruitment agencies in South Africa’s current financial state arose.
According to Smith Garb, an accounting and financial specialists personnel agency, recruitment agencies are still very relevant because they take the hassle out of recruitment for a lot of their clients who are on the lookout for new staff members.
They screen the candidates for the company and follow an exact criteria for their clients.
Unfortunately there are a few challenges recruitment agencies face in helping their clients finding the best candidate.
Such challenges include candidates who misrepresent themselves by lying on their CV’s, clients that don’t give feedback when they are helping them to find the right staff and people who are generally unreliable.
“Our biggest challenge is candidates who have ITC listings, especially as we are a financial recruiter and it is crucial for candidates to be clear, unless they have letters from institutions stating that the accounts are being paid off or are paid up in full,” says Smith Garb management consultant, Allan Smith.
“Recruitment agencies look for honesty, stability (in terms of work history), reliability and the presentation of the client especially plays a big role.”
Smith does, however, say that due to high levels of retrenchments or companies restructuring, along with the global economic crisis, there are unfortunately more candidates in the market than there are jobs at the moment.
Recruitment agencies propose that job seekers firstly prepare an in-depth CV and to make sure that all jobs held – present and past – are listed right back to the year after matriculation, even if they have been temping.
Smith emphasises to not leave out any jobs on the CV, as this constitutes fraud.
Job seekers must then register their CV’s on job portals.
Smith suggests that candidates regularly keep in touch with their consultants, as consultants are overwhelmed with the vast number of people in the market and it is impossible for them to phone candidates weekly to give feedback.
Clear ITC records, having written references from previous employers, and being pro-active will certainly help in securing a job.
“We do understand that, due to the high cost of fuel and toll roads, candidates want to work closer to home, but in a lot of instances, this is not always possible in the time frames that candidates are looking to secure work or move from one position into a new role.
“If someone is a bit flexible in terms of area it can increase their opportunity in finding employment,” says Smith.
