Not able to arrange interview

[Manu_here]

Hi ,

I am 7 years of exp in data networking domain(wiith some relevant certifications) and here in London for last 5 weeks .

For all these 5 weeks i am just able to attend 1 interview and that too when i went to attend interview there was mismatch in my profile and job description.

I am seeing some relevant job openings but somehow not able to arrange interviews.I am getting calls from consultants and most of the times never comes back ,sometime they are asking for Security Clearance, UK exp and sometime get mail from consultant that unfortunately i am not successful to proceed further due to high volume of applicants.Ultimately not able to arrange interview itself leave further step.

Initially i thought to here for 3 months but the way it is going i think i have to return back in 2 months as i am not getting interview calls also.

Any suggestion is welcome thanks very very much in advance.

Thanks,
Manu

[mulderpf]

When you get the calls from the consultants, do you take down their name and numbers and follow up with them or do you just expect them to get back to you?

From experience, you have to hound them constantly. Until the point that they have sent you for an interview, you are just another number and another CV - nothing with stand out, unless you make yourself stand out.

[boardUser]

Hi Manu

It doesn't seem like a perfect situation to me especially when I am going to leave my job here and moving to the UK next month to hunt for a job.

I guess what mulderpf is right coz the only way to get a job is to follow these consultants like any thing ...

I acknowledge the fact that market in UK is not a good as it used to be but still this makes me wonder that in countries like UK why do we have to resort to such things ... coz for a professional it dosnt look good

[republique]

When you get the calls from the consultants, do you take down their name and numbers and follow up with them or do you just expect them to get back to you?

From experience, you have to hound them constantly. Until the point that they have sent you for an interview, you are just another number and another CV - nothing with stand out, unless you make yourself stand out.

Not really, you think if the consultant found you a job he would sit on his hands, no way, he wants his commission. I suggest you try outside of london with less competition. thats the market if you want to find work, you have to think outside the box

[mulderpf]

When you get the calls from the consultants, do you take down their name and numbers and follow up with them or do you just expect them to get back to you?

From experience, you have to hound them constantly. Until the point that they have sent you for an interview, you are just another number and another CV - nothing with stand out, unless you make yourself stand out.

Not really, you think if the consultant found you a job he would sit on his hands, no way, he wants his commission. I suggest you try outside of london with less competition. thats the market if you want to find work, you have to think outside the box

Do you seriously think that (even outside London), there is only one or two applications for each job that comes up? Think again. These guys have to wade through hundreds of CV's and companies have to do the same. Usually agents submit the CV and forget about it until the company get back to them, they have other, more important things to get on with (such as talking to people who actually got interviews).

Don't fool yourself into thinking that you are the only applicant the agent is dealing with and that the company they submitted your CV to is only dealing with that agent. Until you actually go for the interview, your CV will (especially in IT industry), simply be one amongst many. If people aren't getting back to you, its possible because of this - by following up, you are forcing the agent/employer to look at your CV...

[Manu_here]

Thanks all for replying .

But i mostly follow them with mail /phone .
Even sometime when i apply for job i give them call and they usually get feedback from client and accordingly give me call.These are jobs which are exactly matching my profile as in they are looking with same certifications as i have done.

Resume might be reason for the same but i i have reviewed from some guys who have according got job and told me it seems fine.
One more thing when i came here for first 2 weeks i was getting lot of calls and mails but for last 3 weeks it has drastically reduced .Not very sure about reason for the same.

Thanks,
Manu

[mulderpf]

Keep changing and updating your CV DAILY on all the sites where it's saved. This will also put you nearer to the top of various sites as your profile was edited recently. You don't have to make actual changes, just keep updating your profile on a daily basis. (I know this works on Monster and that's how I kept interest in my CV up).

[Manu_here]

Hi mulderpf,

Thanks very much suggestions.
One point i wanted to know is there summer vacation going on as i am seeing lot of out of office replies nowadays from consultants and even when i talk to them they are telling they themselves are going on holidays or client manager has gone for leave.
I suspect this might be one of reason.

Thanks,
Manu

[mulderpf]

Yes indeed, it is summer holidays and many people are on leave. But don't let that discourage you, there are constantly holidays, so just keep trying (possibly the only time that's really quiet is towards the end of December), other than that, just keep on trying.

[nshar1]

Precisely the reason that I started a new thread on direct recruitment sites of companies.

Why do you want to depend on recruiters knowing fully well that no-one can depend on recruiters !!

I changed my approach and applied to companies directly. The success rate from my CV submission directly to companies is very high.

I would recommend that anybody who is struggling with recruiters should apply directly to companies.

[mulderpf]

Again, I would like to reiterate that it is a really good approach to go to companies direct and this should definitely be one of the ways to find a job, but you shouldn't limit yourself to this, because ultimately you are limiting yourself to a few companies then. In general, companies prefer to deal with agencies as they don't have to deal with the flood of CV's after each job is advertised and by cutting out agencies, you are also cutting out many employers (but not all...).

Btw, the original thread is here.

[nshar1]

Mulderpf - All I am saying is "if somebody is getting frustrated with recruiters-he has to do more than just sit back and wait for recruiters to do something"

Direct recruitment is something which people do not try.
It is a very effective mean of getting interviews.

Another effective mean of getting interviews is thru referrals. I have had interviews and offers with so many companies where my friends have been working.

Use the above two besides taking the services of recruiters.

[republique]

Mulderpf - All I am saying is "if somebody is getting frustrated with recruiters-he has to do more than just sit back and wait for recruiters to do something"

Direct recruitment is something which people do not try.
It is a very effective mean of getting interviews.

Another effective mean of getting interviews is thru referrals. I have had interviews and offers with so many companies where my friends have been working.

Use the above two besides taking the services of recruiters.

you cant disagree mulder, he takes it personally

[Manu_here]

Hi nshar1,

Thread started by you is very nice .
I have tried with 4-5 companies but problem here is they actually wait for
around a month for application submission from the day they open any position .
This is my personal experience with some high profile companies .
Let me know if you differ and also if have any other approach.

Best way anyways i feel is through referral but that will work only if you have friends in same domain/technology.

Thanks,
Manu

[kenfrapin]

Direct recruitment is something which people do not try.
It is a very effective mean of getting interviews.

Another effective mean of getting interviews is thru referrals. I have had interviews and offers with so many companies where my friends have been working.

This is why I sometimes lose patience with comments on here.

Nshar1 - just because you were successful using these avenues, it doesnt make it a generic rule of thumb right?
If you say its a good option to consider, then fine, but you have been banging on about how great it is because you did well through this route.

What if I were to come on board and totally negate you by saying the worst ways of hunting is by applying directly and going through referrals? It really doesnt help the OP nor gives a clear picture - all options are good but a big majority of the roles in the markets are through agencies and that's the truth.
So the probability of success based on a higher hit rate is going through agencies than referrals/direct careers sites

[varghesejim]

Precisely the reason that I started a new thread on direct recruitment sites of companies.

Why do you want to depend on recruiters knowing fully well that no-one can depend on recruiters !!

I changed my approach and applied to companies directly. The success rate from my CV submission directly to companies is very high.

I would recommend that anybody who is struggling with recruiters should apply directly to companies.

Myself tried many avenues for my job search including direct approach and recruiters. I got an interview through direct application(which I failed to pass) , but that is because they were my previous employer. In the end I got the job through a recruiter.

I think it is a wrong idea to focus on any particular approach. You never know how is it going to work for you. Your post with the direct companies link is useful, but it might work for somebody-thats it.

[varghesejim]

Hi nshar1,

Thread started by you is very nice .
I have tried with 4-5 companies but problem here is they actually wait for
around a month for application submission from the day they open any position .
This is my personal experience with some high profile companies .
Let me know if you differ and also if have any other approach.

Best way anyways i feel is through referral but that will work only if you have friends in same domain/technology.

Thanks,
Manu

Manu,

one idea-go to cwjobs and they will list many ads from direct companies. Apply through them and apply through the direct comapanies website too.

Have a cracking linkedin profile with some recommendations and provide the link in your CV. Some recruiters value the linkedin profile.

[nshar1]

This is why I sometimes lose patience with comments on here.

Whats your problem if I am opening more avenues for people.

People always have resistance for new ideas. All I am trying to do is show people that there is more than one way of doing job search.

I would suggest that you do your research before advising people. Recruiters account for less than 40% of all recruitment in UK. Do you want people to loose out on the remaining 60%

Lets concentrate on the discussion at hand and not get into personal comments.

[nshar1]

all options are good but a big majority of the roles in the markets are through agencies and that's the truth.
So the probability of success based on a higher hit rate is going through agencies than referrals/direct careers sites

You have no clue buddy. Please get your research right. If nothing else talk to an industry insider (HR person). Come to my place and I will show you some market research reports from research agencies.
Please do not mislead people.

If anybody is happy going only with recruiters then do so. For others there are more ways.
For Manu recruiters are not working and I suggested other approaches.

[nshar1]

Hi nshar1,

Thread started by you is very nice .
I have tried with 4-5 companies but problem here is they actually wait for
around a month for application submission from the day they open any position .
This is my personal experience with some high profile companies .
Let me know if you differ and also if have any other approach.

Best way anyways i feel is through referral but that will work only if you have friends in same domain/technology.

Thanks,
Manu

Manu..I have seen companies coming back within a day or two also.

[mulderpf]

I would suggest that you do your research before advising people. Recruiters account for less than 40% of all recruitment in UK. Do you want people to loose out on the remaining 60%

Where do you get these figures from and which industries do they apply to, because that seems like a gross generalisation to me. Also, does the "remaining" 60% include internal hires and referrals or actual hires from outside?

I saw some statistics the other day regarding the number of IT positions filled by recruitment agents vs direct hires and whilst I cannot remember the exact figures, your statement does not support this whatsoever. The article explained that if you basically remove internal hires and referrals from the equation, you are left with pure "recruitment vs direct hire" figures and this was closer to a 90 / 10 split in favour of recruitment. Often "new position" figures include internal hires which skew the figures as it is not clear then that this position would have never even hit the public domain.

[kenfrapin]

I dont think there is any point clarifying things with Nshar1 as he seems to be take things personally and shows a lot of immaturity on how to progress a logical discussion


KP

[nshar1]

Anybody looking for roles in java please let me know and I can guide you for which companies are recruiting directly.

[nshar1]

I dont think there is any point clarifying things with Nshar1 as he seems to be take things personally and shows a lot of immaturity on how to progress a logical discussion


KP

You are the immature one buddy. You do not get a single thing into your head. Lets stop the mud-slinging.

[nshar1]

I would suggest that you do your research before advising people. Recruiters account for less than 40% of all recruitment in UK. Do you want people to loose out on the remaining 60%

Where do you get these figures from and which industries do they apply to, because that seems like a gross generalisation to me. Also, does the "remaining" 60% include internal hires and referrals or actual hires from outside?

I saw some statistics the other day regarding the number of IT positions filled by recruitment agents vs direct hires and whilst I cannot remember the exact figures, your statement does not support this whatsoever. The article explained that if you basically remove internal hires and referrals from the equation, you are left with pure "recruitment vs direct hire" figures and this was closer to a 90 / 10 split in favour of recruitment. Often "new position" figures include internal hires which skew the figures as it is not clear then that this position would have never even hit the public domain.

I got my figures from a MBA university database. Although I can't forward these research reports to anybody(for obvious reasons-copyright constraints), I am happy to share them with anybody who wants to meet me and look at them.