Job hunting can be daunting, especially if you have just found yourself out of work suddenly and are at a bit of a loss about where to turn. If you are a manufacturing professional, one of the routes you could take is to find your next role with the help of a manufacturing recruitment agency.
Whilst there are many manufacturing recruitment specialists out there to choose from, finding the right one may not be as easy as you think. Remember, whoever you decide to work with is going to be representing you professionally to companies and they themselves will have a reputation in your area.
There are a number of things you should take into account when selecting your recruiter, and our main piece of advice is to only choose one, as having your CV sent to an employer by many different agencies has the potential to reflect negatively.
Here are our top 6 factors to consider when choosing a manufacturing recruitment agency to represent you in your job search:
1. Right Industry
It goes without saying that choosing a recruitment agency that works specifically in your sector of manufacturing is going to help you get that perfect role in the most effective way. Manufacturing is a broad industry and many specialist recruitment agencies cater to niche aspects of it, examples would be marine manufacturing, precision engineering or machining. You should do your research and decide which recruitment agency is best suited to understand your skillset and find the right companies to reflect this.
2. Time-served
In what is a very competitive space, manufacturing recruitment agencies are being set up and folding all the time so it is hard to know which are the longest standing and well respected. We would always recommend working with an agency that has been serving companies in your area over a number of years. The best way to find this information out is to look on their websites, or LinkedIn profiles. It only takes a few minutes and will allow you to further drill down your decision about who you want representing you in your job search.
3. Testimonials and Reviews
One of the best ways to get a picture of how manufacturing recruitment agencies stack up against each other is by looking at how both their candidates and clients are talking about them. Don’t make decisions based solely on your own research, have a look at what others say about the agencies you are considering . You might find some concerning information or a sea of praise that convinces you about who should represent you in your employment search. Some useful sites to find this information are Google Reviews or Facebook Reviews.
4. Social Media
You can get a very good impression about a manufacturing recruitment agency by looking to see if they have a social media presence and if they do, what sort of image they are projecting about the company and the services they offer. From this, you can get an idea about the sort of roles they frequently work on, the types of client and resources to help with your hiring journey; you may even get to see the recruiter you’ll be working with.
5. The Recruiters
Often the experience you will have when job-hunting through a recruiter will be entirely over the phone. Although you can get a lot about that person from conversing with them, it is always a good idea to do your research about the consultants that will actually be representing you in your job search. You can utilise the agency’s website which will usually have a meet the team page (similar to ours) or look them up on LinkedIn where you can find out what sort of experience they have recruiting in your industry.
You can also see if the agency has recruiters who have worked in the sector you are looking to work in and have a track record of success. Speaking to someone that has previous experience in your sector will give you the confidence that they know exactly what you are looking for.
6. Speak To Them
Finally, we want to come to what we think is arguably the most important step you should take. Just have a chat with the recruiters, you will have several agencies to choose from so give them each a call. Explain your skill set, what you’re looking for and get a feel for what it is like to interact with them. You may find that you have a much more positive experience with one over the others and this may help you make your final decision on which manufacturing recruitment agency to go with.
If you would like to discuss being represented by us in your manufacturing job search or to talk to us about our staffing service, please don’t hesitate to call us on 01202 237383 or email us at info@holtengineering.co.uk.
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