Recruitment agencies

A lot of UK jobseekers and graduates use recruitment agencies to find work. These agencies are useful because they match people to jobs, and so they can often provide a shortcut to employment, saving you from scouring every newspaper and website for a vacancy to suit you.

How does it work?
Companies seeking employees contact the recruitment agencies with details of the jobs they are hoping to fill, and people seeking work contact the agencies with details of jobs they are looking for. The recruitment agency then acts as a middleman, and matches the jobseeker to the job.

Is this service free?
You won't usually have to pay to join a recruitment agency, but for their service, they usually take a small percentage of your wage. Don't be embarrassed to ask about this when you are signing up. Often, if you get a job through an agency you will not be eligible for the same holiday allowance as other employees working for the company you've been located to - so ask about this too.

Recruitment agencies can save you a lot of time and effort. Have a browse around and see which agency you feel comfortable with.

Resources

Agency Central
Reed
Manpower
Planet Recruit