Barrier or Bridge?

Anonymous

April 26,2023 at 6:16PM UTC

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Barrier or Bridge?

Has anyone else been encountering job postings from staffing firms on LinkedIn that seem like they're just "fishing" for potential candidates? This week, I came across outdated staffing firm listings and duplicate postings for roles that companies already had on their own websites, and it's made me wonder whether some staffing firms act more as a barrier than a bridge in getting into a desired industry, company, or role.

While it's often better to find someone who works at a company or who knows someone there for a better perspective on the culture, sometimes staffing firms can help you get a foot in the door. As candidates, we're often advised to apply to roles even if we don't meet all the requirements, and this advice is especially important for women who may feel hesitant to apply if they don't meet every single criterion. However, staffing firms seem to only prefer candidates who check every box, as they are contracted by the companies and their commissions depend on successful placements. Additionally, some staffing firms may post roles just to fill their candidate databases, rather than to genuinely fill a position at a company.

Any insight or strategies?

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Regina BrownApril 26,2023 at 6:34PM UTC
YES!!!!! Staffing companies may be competing for that "job recruitment" money. When in doubt, go to the company website to see if that position is actually available and apply through the company website.
AnonymousApril 26,2023 at 10:35PM UTC
I agree with this, except that the staffing companies don’t want you to know the name of the employers because they don’t want you applying on your own, since they wouldn’t get commissions that way. I find staffing companies to be a huge waste of time and energy.
AnonymousApril 27,2023 at 1:37AM UTC
That's my exact problem: the listing looks incredibly attractive, and I would at least be able to join the company's candidate database if only I knew the company's name. I found slight success several years ago when I worked with staffing firms during a lean period where I was changing industries, but I also encountered the very scenarios mentioned in this thread. Thank you all for your perspectives that, unfortunately, confirm what I have always suspected about these firms.
AnonymousApril 26,2023 at 6:56PM UTC
They have quotas to fill just like salespeople. I avoid them. 20 years ago it was the standard to go to a placement agency, give them your resume, and sit back while they did the work for you. Now they gather candidates and just hoard them to look busy. I guess their industry's priorities are screwed up just like everyone else's.
AnonymousApril 26,2023 at 9:05PM UTC
This Q came up a couple of weeks ago. I posted this article to help inform people of what's actually going on.
https://on.wsj.com/3LxRdU0
It was a big conversation on LI when it came out, and still is.
There was a survey done recently of 21,000 companies. They admitted that more than 46% of the jobs they'd posted were fake or what's described in the above article. Good Luck to you.
AnonymousApril 27,2023 at 2:08AM UTC
Thank you for sharing the WSJ article. This is incredibly deceptive and disheartening, to say the least. One of the co-founders quoted in the article mentioned that "it was better to hedge by leaving some of those job postings up." That practice reinforces the motivation for many employees to continue their job searches long after they have started a new role.
AnonymousApril 27,2023 at 4:58PM UTC
And as seen on LI, that's exactly what's happening! It needs to stop.
AnonymousApril 26,2023 at 10:39PM UTC
I have found staffing companies to be a huge waste of time and energy. Nothing good ever came out of any of my contact with them. They frequently make you take lengthy skills assessment tests, and will want you to interview for jobs that pay way less than your required salary and often don’t even match your skills. They have quotas to fill and are desperate to fill them.
AnonymousApril 27,2023 at 12:26PM UTC
First understand that type of business. I get emails ALL THE TIME from staffing agencies sharing they have a great candidate for one of our openings. They an scrape job openings on their own and post. Job sites do that overall. The agency is trying to get a contract with that company when doing that. If a company is having a hard time filling a position sometimes that helps get that agency's foot in the door. And yes, agencies have to prove their value in providing a person who checks off ALL boxes. They get paid well, sometimes very well and that expectation is high. If they don't present viable temps to contract hire that company will not see the ROI on using that agency.
AnonymousApril 27,2023 at 3:23PM UTC
I noticed that your response restates many of the above points, which are: (1) staffing firms post listings from the companies' websites; (2) staffing firms make their commissions by placing candidates who check all of the boxes; (3) staffing firms work for the companies.
All of these points prove that staffing firms are a waste of time for candidates who might be looking to move into a new industry or who have YEARS of experience that aligns with the job descriptions though their job titles might not reflect the same.
AnonymousApril 29,2023 at 5:12PM UTC
To be clear staffing firms especially contingency ones use you as bait for roles they see and want to fill at companies. They get paid by the employer, they DO NOT work for you. Yes, they do especially in lean times reach out to build their database and yes often if they present you it can be a limiter for direct application to a company because if they present you then they are owed a fee. If the company does not want to pay a fee and you have been presented by them then you are blocked for 6 to 12 months from being considered unless they pay. That is how they make a living. Knowing how each agency works before you engage or have them "represent" you is a very important part of the process. If you don't know it will harm your chances because of the things mentioned above. Do your research and homework before you engage or you are stuck with the outcome. Here is a fairly simple explanatory guide to how agencies/staffing firms work. it's not all inclusive but it should help for those who may need some education here. https://medium.com/aviahire/the-top-7-types-of-recruiters-in-the-industry-e81e99fdd20
AnonymousApril 29,2023 at 6:11PM UTC
Thank you for sharing this. I am indeed well aware of how they work. However, my original post was really in reference to their fishing on LinkedIn and cloning the job postings that companies have on their own sites.
Given that these firms present themselves as "bridges" into a company, I probably should have ended my post by expressly asking: "As a prospective candidate, how do you bypass the agency (go around the bridge) and decipher who the hiring company is so that you can go directly to them?" What I am gathering from all the responses here is that there likely isn't a way to do that.
One approach that I've taken is to list industries of interest, companies within those industries, and roles within the companies, and then search the career section of their websites, in addition to their LinkedIn pages. This approach, though invaluable, is time-consuming during this season of mass layoffs, which is the only reason that I even considered using a staffing agency again.
QMay 1,2023 at 1:28PM UTC
I landed an amazing job a number of years ago as a result of a similar scenario, so it can go both ways. The recruiting firm wanted to develop a relationship with the company that had the opening. They had been looking for that opportunity and the recruiter saw the opening - and that I was a match. It ended up working out for them and for me, because it opened an incredible door (for me) and they got what they were after in terms of possible recruiting channels for that business.
At that time in my career, even with many years of experience, I was not as assertive and confident as I should have been about my abilities and qualifications. As a woman, I had often been sidelined. I'm in technology. This really did work out well as the recruiter was fantastic at their job, and they facilitated an open door I would not have had the confidence to walk to on my own, despite being more than qualified.
AnonymousMay 2,2023 at 2:56AM UTC
Sounds like to me it is an example of "Ghost Jobs". Here is the article about them:
https://mashable.com/article/ghost-jobs-survey
Another fact that was told by my friends. Many "recruiters" are what I consider "resellers". These are unqualified recruiters who just read the jobs on job sites and and hire candidates to submit to companies in the hopes of getting recognition or commissions. They have absolutely no idea of the positions or have no way of contacting hiring managers to obtain answers.
AnonymousMay 2,2023 at 2:56PM UTC
Wow, I should not be, I suppose, but am shocked by the dishonesty in posting "ghost jobs" whatever the motivation may be. I'm wondering if the slowing job market is contributing to this as well as aggressive tactics of some recruiters with this fishing approach. I wish these people would stop to think about the harm they are causing.
AnonymousMay 4,2023 at 12:59PM UTC
Some of these recruiters are just opportunistic looking to grab any commissions they can on jobs for which they don’t have a relationship with the employer at all. So often I have recruiters contact me about roles I’ve already applied for directly. They try to imply they have a relationship with the company but don’t.