The explosion of IT job agencies throughout the United Kingdom over the last decade recognizes the need for IT talent throughout various industries. As well, IT agencies have grown out of a need to bring together a growing pool of graduate talent in a few places where they can learn to become strong professionals. However, graduates who utilize IT job agencies should not commit themselves wholeheartedly without setting some expectations. After all, investing time and energy into a recruiting firm can lead to disappointment when recruiters cannot find the right job for a graduate.
One of the most important expectations a graduate should have from their IT job agency is constant communication. Graduates who are waiting to hear back about a potential position that they interviewed for a week ago want to know everything that is being done to promote their candidacy. As well, potential job openings and opportunities need to be communicated to graduates as soon as possible. Telephone and e-mail communications make it simple for a recruiter to stay in touch with their recruits.
Another expectation that graduates need to have from their job agency is a certain level of services. This level depends on the career goals and aspirations of an individual graduate, but there is a certain minimal level of services necessary from an IT job agency. Job agencies need to offer CV and application reviews, along with an assessment by recruiters of how a candidate should improve themselves in order to get a job. As well, job agencies should offer coaching or professional development beyond placement to help young IT professionals.
Graduates working with IT job agencies also need to expect a certain level of prestige among IT recruiting firms and the general IT marketplace. This is a more subjective measure, though a review of a recruiter’s portfolio can speak volumes about how other companies view the job agency. A list including a variety of different clients, including major players in the UK economy, should be a sign of prestige and hard work for graduates interested in working with a job agency.
In the end, an IT professional needs to make a decision about the type of firm they want to work with. The aforementioned criteria can be important in narrowing the list of possible recruiters. The ultimate decision, however, must come from a professional’s heart. An IT professional needs to go with their gut and determine the best course for their individual needs.