While many placement agencies work on an independent basis, some of them also work as an in-house team of employer’s firm on a contract or full-time basis. Placement agencies play a vital role in finding the right candidate that ticks all the boxes for an employer and vice-versa.

How does a placement agency work?

Placement agencies are usually contacted by employers and job seekers alike. Employers provide an in-depth job description to the recruiters. Recruiters then try and match the job description with the bank of CVs of job seekers. Once they find a suitable candidate that matches the job description down to the bone, they contact the respective candidate and employer to set up an interview. Both employer and the candidate are charged a pre-decided amount of fee for the entire process. While some agencies charge only if the candidate successfully joins the company, others charge solely for the matchmaking process on a commission basis. Different agencies work on different set of functionalities.

What is the benefit of going through a placement agency?

Job seeking is an arduous process. Placement agencies have multiple years of experience in placing candidates in a company. They have a better understanding of the inner workings of different companies, mindset of employers and the need of job seekers. Placement agencies can also guide you on how to crack an interview. Some recruiters also provide additional inputs on improving your CV in order to get noticed, what field to apply in and how to get ahead in the corporate rat race to maximize your potential. Placement agencies have a higher success rate of placements than a regular employer-candidate match because they have a bird’s eye view of the scenario and this enables them to cut straight to the chase and check the boxes that match. Job seekers can also benefit by receiving some important inside information from the recruiter like work culture and company history of the organization they are applying in. This gives them an upper hand and improves their chances of being picked. One of the most important benefit of going through a placement agency is feedback. Many times, a candidate fails to land a job but he cannot know why because employers do not give feedback on what was lacking in their candidature. Recruiters, on the other hand, can retrieve such information from the employer and relay it to the candidate so he can work on his flaws and prepare himself better for the next interview.