Software testing / IT - good agencies / agents to use ?

Can anyone recommend a good agency or particular agent to register with for IT jobs please?

I could take a scatter gun approach I suppose but would prefer to focus my search, thanks.

Recently, I sent an I.T job seeking friends CV to my manager who said he wouldnt interview as he currently didnt have any open positions even though it was a great CV.

A week later an agency convinced my friend he was getting an interview with my company, I rang my manager and he said he knew nothing about it.
A day later my friend got a phone call from the agency to say my company had the position on hold but wanted to ensure they were working very hard for him to try and get him placed. Agency is well known. This was in last 2 weeks.

Im sure if the position was open theyed get him an interview but its an example of tactics being used to try and get you to stay with the agency.

I job searched during the summer and found
A) several agencies advertising for same job.
B) All agencies post false jobs online to get CVs in.
C) Agencies cold call based on linkedin profiles.

Id suggest getting a list of companies and applying directly. As well as getting more interviews the agencies got me, several months after I had taken a new position I got direct calls from companies asking was I available as positions had opened so it shows that not all companies automatically bin CVs.

best of luck.

Have you tried www.jobserve.com - they regularly advertise IT jobs in Ireland and are used by most IT agencies.

eamonn123456 said:

Can anyone recommend a good agency or particular agent to register with for IT jobs please?

I could take a scatter gun approach I suppose but would prefer to focus my search, thanks.

Click to expand...

That's not really how its done in the IT industry, it's not like they are hollywood agents working to represent you. People generally just apply to job ads (real or often made up ones) on eg. irishjobs.ie or recruitireland.com. Your CV then goes into their database (even if unsuitable for job applyed for) and they spam you when they have jobs in.

While there are a few reputable recruitment agencies, recruitment is a very unscrupulous business in my experience of dealing with them as an IT contractor. They are unfortunately a necessary evil as employers perceive they get some value from them.

Just think of them as unregulated brokers.

eamonn123456 said:

Can anyone recommend a good agency or particular agent to register with for IT jobs please?

I could take a scatter gun approach I suppose but would prefer to focus my search, thanks.

Click to expand...

Going through agencies is scatter gun. End of story. Its the lazy way.

If you want to focus your search you've got to do some work. Look at the companies who do the work you want to do. Do research on the companies that are likely to be hiring, have they signed a big deal, have a new product, setup a new branch etc. Then apply to them direct, or find out how to apply to them, (it might be a specific agency). Look at the trade mags for research and look at direct ads from the companies, on their websites, or in the traditional press. Finally network with people you know, family, friends, friends of friends. Grapevine is a great way to find jobs.

Quite a few recruitment websites also allow you to filter employer and agency advertisements so this could help if you take this approach.

Try Delphi. They specialise in S/w test. They have recently been taking over by a Euro wide company and as a result, would have vacancies in Europe as well as here.

Thanks for a very useful reply D8Lady.

Any more useful suggestions for good agencies or good agents who are good at their job.

[and yes, I know its not like Hollywood, I can't imagine why it should be.

Its useful to cultivate a one-to-one relationship with good agents IMO.

And I know that agencies are not the only or even the best way of finding a new job - but they are one of the ways of doing so.]