Q : What will it cost me to use a recruitment agency to find me a job?

A : It will cost you travel expenses to attend an agency interview, but otherwise it won’t cost you anything. The pharmaceutical recruitment agency will make their fee from the client company if they place you. If they don’t, they make nothing!

Q : Should I try to find vacancies and apply directly rather than use an agency?

A : You could do. But I would suggest in the case of most bigger companies they will use agencies and aren’t likely to bypass their process to save a few pounds. A good agency will help you through the process and may also have ‘clout’ with the clients to gain you interviews

Q : My recruitment agency has done so much for me and I haven‘t had to pay a penny, why?

A : If they don’t place you, they don’t get paid, if they do they get paid…a lot, maybe 20% of your starting salary, so it’s not surprising that they will seemingly go to any lengths to help you get a job. But rest assured, agencies never charge a candidates anything, their fee will always come from their client.

Q : Should I only give my CV to a few sales recruitment agencies?

A : Possibly, but not for the reason most people think this. A consultant will tell you that you should in order to prevent your CV being sent everywhere without you be able to track it. But after the first question above you now know this can’t happen. However, if you do send it everywhere, what will happen is your consultant will have less motivation to help, as they know that the more people who have your CV, the less chance they have of making a fee! So if you do this, don’t tell them!!

Q : What if the agency sends my CV to my present employer?

A: Oh boy are they in trouble. Data protection laws dictate that sales recruitment agencies shouldn’t do anything with personal details without the specific permission of the individuals concerned, if they do, they are breaking the law. If they break the law and ruin your career, I would imagine a court would take a very dim view. However, as insurance I would recommend a specific written request to an agency not to send your CV out anywhere without written permission from yourself. This will ensure against the odd fast talking consultant who gets you to say yes to sending your CV out quickly if he sees a ‘really good’ that he doesn’t want you to miss!

Q: Why do companies use sales recruitment agencies?

A: Several reasons for this. Adverts for sales jobs can produce a surprisingly large response. Dealing with this response is no small task and would take companies time a resources they just don‘t have. Sales recruitment agencies can fill this gap by filtering this initial response to a manageable level. Secondly, recruitment agencies build up vast databases of specialist people, in this case sales people, meaning that they have an large pool from which to search for the best fit candidate for a given role. This will usually present a better quality shortlist than a companies own adverts. Finally, sales recruitment agencies should be experts in recognising good sales people, where recruiting companies may not be. In this respect the recruitment agency is better placed to select the best people.