If film stars have agents why can't you?

When people use the word agent, that famous ‘show me the money’ scene from ‘80s classic Jerry Maguire springs to mind. But, it’s not just sportsmen and women, who deserve an agent, you do too.

Footballers, cricketers, TV celebrities, movie stars and celebs all use agents because agents have the skills, experience and network to get them into the right places. They know the process and with their knowledge, they can be sure to land their clients the best deal. It’s the same with recruitment. Our agents are specialists in their niche, many of them having worked within the industry themselves. They’ve spent years building up networks of relationships with companies which means that good recruitment agents are often the first call a manager makes when they receive that resignation letter or get the nod for additional headcount.

However, there are many more reasons why you deserve an agent.  

BECAUSE HOW MUCH SPARE TIME DO YOU REALLY HAVE EACH WEEK? NOW ADD A JOB HUNT INTO THE MIX.

No-one has time to plough through tens of email bulletins each week, each containing up to ten jobs that may, or may not, be a match for your skills and interests. With AI opening up new ways of accessing candidates, it’s likely that this relentless bombardment of ‘not quite right’ roles is only set to increase.

Working with a recruitment agent who gets to know you and what you are looking for, who understands what motivates you and why you can’t move to the Outer Hebrides (or Swindon), and who only sends you roles that are right for you, can take a lot of the time pressure out of a job hunt. It can literally save you hours of sifting through daily job bulletins and hundreds of jobs that aren’t right for you, and from writing a covering letter and tailoring your CV for each one too.   

BECAUSE IF YOU’RE SERIOUS ABOUT JOB HUNTING, YOU NEED TO BE REALISTIC.

Working with an agent will help to ensure your expectations are realistic. With job hunting, the old adage of ‘you don’t know what you don’t know until you know it’ is very true, and an agent can help keep your job search on track. Whether it’s managing your expectations around salary or package, or ensuring your search is based around realistic matches for your interests, skill level and ability, a recruitment agent can help keep your job hunt on track.

Without someone who has knowledge of the market helping to ensure your expectations are realistic, you could find yourself unnecessarily wasting time, energy, and petrol. The worst thing is, without someone to advise you, you could be doing this for several years, pinning your rejection letters to your wall ‘Stephen King style’.

BECAUSE YOU NEED SOMEONE TO NEGOTIATE FOR YOU ON YOUR BEHALF.

When you work with an agent, they understand the client and the job role, as well as your own expectations. That means that a package isn’t stacking up, instead of stalemate spiraling into rejection, an agent can help you to land that perfect role by finding other ways a potential employer could meet the package you’re looking for. For example, by securing some extra days of holiday, a company car, or even a bonus they could still make the move worth your while.

BECAUSE YOU NEED SOMEONE TO POINT OUT WHY YOU ARE THE PERFECT CANDIDATE.

No disrespect to anyone, but it’s a rare thing when a recruiter picks up a CV, springs from the seat and exclaims excitedly “Eureka, I’ve got him/her!”. Often, there’s more than one person involved in the decision to interview, and many more applications than positions available. When relying on a faceless job board, you have your CV and your covering letter to make yourself stand out from the crowd, but what if you, the perfect candidate, managed to turn the recruiter off in the first paragraph of your covering letter, which meant the rest of the letter remained unread?

We only submit CVs for individuals we believe to be real contenders for the job. Our relationship depends on us putting forward candidates with real potential and not acting on a wing and a prayer. So, when our recruitment agents call the recruiter to find out who they would like to interview, we have an open and honest conversation with them around what they liked and what they didn’t like, and what we thought they might like, and “by the way had they noticed…?”

So, aside from freeing up time, you are giving yourself the best chance of success at making your career a reality and on the best terms possible.

If you would like to discuss this further please contact me on chris.moffatt@ic-resources.com