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If you haven’t used a recruitment agency before, or even if you have, we hope the following information may help clarify the process and boost your prospects of finding the right employment - temporary or permanent - for you.

Below, “The Process” outlines the registration and job-finding process while further down this page we give our ideas on how best to land that next job with in a section called “Job-finding Tips” which include our take on “CV Writing and Presentation.”

The Process

Most people's first contact with an recruitment agency/business these days is through Yellow Pages or a search of the Web, now a major platform for advertising vacancies. Personal recommendation by a friend or colleague is still however one of the best and most time-efficient ways to go.

Your first step may be a call or more likely an email, attaching your CV and spelling out briefly in a cover note the specific vacancy you are interested in and whether you are looking for temporary or permanent employment or both.

Everyone who emails or calls or writes to us, receives a reply. Most are invited to come in to our office to register.

At registration, every candidate fills in a registration form, providing contact and other essential details including referees and proof of identity and right to work. There is an optional Equal Opportunities section.

Every candidate meets a Consultant for an informal talk. The Consultant - who will will be your main contact from then on - records skills, aptitudes and requirements. Key information from the interview is transferred to the Candidate Database. You will invariably be given at least a keyboard test for speed and accuracy.

Candidates for Temporary work: (Permanent candidates see below)

Temp candidates are encouraged to check in by telephone or email two or three times a week.  Candidates are generally advised to be registered with at least three agencies they are comfortable with.

After accepting a Temporary assignment, the candidate is given a full briefing on the client and assignment, a contract, timesheet and factsheet on how to use it, Tax form as required and Banking Details form so that they can be paid via Bacs weekly in arrears. Our Administrators are on hand at any time to answer any pay or administrative queries.

The two-part timesheet is to be signed by the temp and their manager. One copy is left with the manager; the other being sent to us by the Temp. Timesheets are received by lunchtime on Mondays, with payment clearing through Bacs to Temps' bank accounts by Thursdays.

We pay Temps based upon agreed rates and signed hours. The agreed hourly pay rate does not include holiday pay, which is paid separately in line with Government requirements.

All back-office administration and payroll is conducted by our own Administrators and a trusted firm of accountants used by us since our formation.

Candidates for Permanent positions:

Permanent candidates are given a job specification, company background and pay and conditions details for a specific vacancy. If they wish to be put forward, their CV is generally reproduced and emailed to the client. 

Those selected for interview are advised and agreement is reached on timings for first and perhaps second interview by the client. 

The Permanent Consultant dealing with the client would normally also deal with each candidate throughout the process leading to formal offer and acceptance, answering queries or concerns and acting as go-between as required by both client and candidate. 

There is of course no charge to the candidate. A fee is paid to us by the client, based upon an agreed percentage of salary.

We are registered under the Data Protection Act and comply with its requirements. 

We are members of the Recruitment & Employment Confederation and comply with its standards.

Job-finding Tips....................................................

The following is a simple, point-by-point guide on how to present yourself in the best possible way to a potential future employer.

But remember: it is not all about presentation. We spend a whopping great part of our lives at work and if you want to find something you love and will give 100 per cent to, it usually means a lot of hard work and determination on your part. 

We are here to guide and advise, but meantime, here is how to best project your skills and personality from that crucial first step, the CV.

CV Writing and Presentation

1. No longer than two pages of A4 paper, simply and consistently laid out on one side of the paper.

2. No cute graphics like pebble patterns or coloured borders, which look unprofessional on paper and take ages to download on a slow PC. And except in special circumstances, no photograph; you are selling your skills and experience, not entering a beauty contest, which most of us would lose anyway.

3. Page one: Name, Date of Birth, Qualifications, Summarised Office/Computer package skills; Personal Interests to show you have a life outside work, other than Socialising; Notice Period. Do not include personal information such as marital status. Page two: Headed with your name and the page number; Career history with dates and job title followed by bullet points highlighting duties in each job; Any employment gaps explained (e.g. Date - Date: Full-time University Education).  Be sure to include in those bullet points all the experience and responsibility particularly relevant to the job you are chasing Tailor your CV to each job you go for if necessary. Key point: you are selling yourself so proof-read your CV as if you received it from a complete stranger. Be compulsive about spelling and punctuation. 

4. In general terms we would advise against including on your CV a glowing profile of yourself as a dedicated, self-starting go-getter whom everyone simply adores and who is well capable of saving the world from any catastrophe. Aren't we all? 

5. Don't use personal pronouns "I", "He" or "She" on your CV. The time to get personal is when you meet your next employer face to face.

The Interview.

1. Preparation. Try not to have any surprises when you turn up. Establish the name and title of the individual or each member of the panel who will interview you. Check if there is to be any kind of testing. If Psychometric testing or a Competency-style interview is planned (a Google search will explain), make sure you understand what will be involved. If through an agency, quiz the consultant on this and all about the company itself. But you must in any case go on the Internet yourself and do your own research. Go through the company's site in greater detail than you need and write down the few key facts you want to remember and potentially drop in to conversation during the interview.

Your interviewer will expect you to know all about them but will still be pleased when you prove it. 

If you are not sure where the company is located, go out and find it a day or two before the interview and check public transport or parking options.

2. Stating the obvious, you will of course be smartly, professionally dressed and in plenty of time for the interview. You will have a copy of your submitted CV with you and have in mind examples of the various skills and abilities you have listed under the various jobs. Remember that your interviewer only has your CV to go by, so try to see it from their point of view.

3. It is easy to say: "Be yourself." But it is an artificial situation in which not all of us are relaxed. Be interested. Answer questions concisely. Be serious at the serious bits and lighten up when appropriate. Some things you simply can not rehearse, so be prepared to adapt and go with the flow.

4. While able to give clear examples of your abilities, avoid going on at length. Don't just generalise but give an example of a practical situation in which you have demonstrated a skill or attribute and which you have probably rehearsed in advance. Don't be afraid to ask the occasional question to make sure you are giving the information your interviewer wants.

5. When it is all over. Relax and smile. Be sure to make it clear that you are very keen on the role. Ask any significant question if given the opportunity: something which is related to the company or role and absolutely not about holidays or perks. And remember: it is amazing how often someone who thinks they gave a disastrous interview ends up being offered the job, so part on a positive note regardless of how you feel it went. If appropriate, clarify what the next step is.