Whither the personal touch?

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EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES

Now would be a good time to raise levels of professionalism

Letter from Gilbert Goh

I HAVE sought out the services of employment agencies before, but have been disappointed, to say the least. I have since given up relying on employment agencies for a job. Many ask you to lower your salary range to ridiculous levels or ask whether you are willing to do something totally different from your area of expertise. Most offer part-time clerical work at around $5 an hour.

I have found, in general, their service to be terrible. Many simply do not respond to you at all after asking you to send a resume. Even if you attend their interviews, many do not get back to you thereafter.

To me, employment agencies here lack professionalism and the personal touch. They are merely interested in clinching sales, oblivious to the feelings of the jobseeker.

Due to the agencies’ focus on meeting sales targets, many of their staff move on when they are unable to meet sales targets so there is no continuity of service. A client could well be served by a few different consultants over a short period, say three to four months.

The consultants here are mostly in their 20s and can hardly be expected to be able to empathise with a middle-aged jobless person. They do not understand the struggles a middle-aged worker has and can be insensitive when trying to coerce someone to enter a totally new field of work.

Maybe there are too many jobseekers then and too few jobs available for matching; still, it would be nice to be treated as a person, not a statistic or sales target.

Now would be a good time for employment agencies raise their level of professionalism. For starters, a templated response should be provided to every email and enquiry over any job opening. This is simple professional courtesy.

There was one positive experience I had with a woman from a small recruitment company. Not only did she exhibit understanding and provide encouragement, she also took time to go through my resume and suggested some changes so it would appear more professional. Though she did not manage to get me a job, I still remember her many years on as one of the rare few to stand out.

I am not here to run down all employment agencies. I am sure some are well run, professional outfits. Nonetheless, I urge all jobseekers to try all avenues and spread your resources around, so that you can benefit from several job search vehicles.

From TODAY, Voices – Friday, 12-Jun-2009

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