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With so many recruitment agencies out there it can be very confusing knowing which one to register with.

If you are looking for work in a particular sector there may be specific recruitment agencies that specialise in that field so it’s worth looking around.

Also you can look for reviews online of the different agencies to check if they have a good reputation from other people who have found work through them.

If you are looking for temp work it can be a good idea to register with a number of agencies as it’s unlikely that one agency will be able to supply you with continual temp work on a regular basis.

When you go into the agency ensure that you are clear about the type of work that you are after and the wage that you are willing to work for, often recruitment agents will try to get you to negotiate the wage down as low as possible but realistically you are not going to be able to sustain working for a low wage long term.

The majority of us find attending an interview for a job a very daunting experience. You may be highly qualified for the position, have all the experience required, but still feel extremely nervous when it comes to the actual interview. To prepare for an interview you firstly need to decide what to wear. You want to wear something professional and that makes you feel confident. If you feel confident then this will come across in the interview.

Once you have your outfit sorted it is a good idea to re-read through your CV and cover letter a few times, thinking of any questions they may ask you, such as why did you have a 12 month gap in your employment history, or why did you leave this company after only 4 months? Being prepared for these types of questions will help you to remain calm.

It is a great idea to research a bit about the company that you are going to attend the interview with. Look at their website, find out who the key people and clients are and familiarise yourself with their recent news and company background.

If you are looking to become a recruitment consultant then you will need to understand what the role entails and what you will be expected to do on a day to day basis.

Recruitment consultants tend to work from a central office although some do work from home and travel to meet clients. The business is often split in to two sides, dealing with the employers and dealing with potential recruits. Recruitment agencies work in different ways, some contact employers and build relationships with them so when they have a post to advertise, it is all done via the agency, whereas others tend to find potential employees and then search existing job adverts and contact the employer to discuss a candidate that they feel may be suitable.

You need to have great communication skills for this role and must also be very organised. You may be required to complete a training course by the agency before they will let you speak with clients.

Compiling a CV can be a daunting task, especially if it is the first one you have done. There are many templates out there that you can use and people often upload their own CV for others to use as a base to start from.

If you are going to use a template, make sure you look for ones that have been created recently (within the last 12 months) as often the way CV’s are generally written can change with the times. These days, CV’s tend to be a little bit shorter and often contain bullet pointed information as opposed to lengthy paragraphs. This is because there are often so many people applying for a position that employers want to be able to scan read your CV to see if you would be suitable and haven’t got the time to be reading pages and pages. You should also try and find a CV that is relevant to your industry as some sectors require more information in a CV than others and often you can pick up some good tips from a CV that is relevant to the vacancy that you are applying for.

For many of us, a change in career is something that we may do once or twice in our lifetime. If you already have a secure job with a regular income, it can be hard giving this up to start on a new career path. Ideally you want to be able to do as much training and gain experience in the new industry before leaving a current job. If you have the opportunity, you could do a training course in your own time at home or attend college in the evenings.

People choose to take a change in their career for many reasons; sometimes it is for job satisfaction and other times due to personal circumstances changing. If you are serious about doing it, then try to plan ahead and see what types of jobs you would be able to apply for and if you can jump straight in or require extra training. If you can, try to save a little money to cover the period when you may be out of work or on a probationary job trial.

A CV (Curriculum Vitae) is basically a record of our past employment and qualifications. In a CV you can expect to find personal information such as name and address contact numbers, Schools attended, qualifications received, further education qualifications and work based studies along with previous and current employment. Within the employment section, the main job tasks and responsibilities should be discussed, with emphasis on the skills required for the job that you are applying for.

It is recommended to tweak your CV every time you send it out to a new company. Not only should you make sure that you have discussed the job experience you have had in similar roles but also to ensure that you have all information up to date such as contact details. The last thing you want is to impress someone with your CV only to find they cannot contact you as you have left an old phone number on it.

Searching for a new job can be quite a mundane task and many of us do not really know where to start. Years ago if you wanted a new job you would either look in your local paper or drop a CV off to a number of companies hoping that one of them will contact you about a position. Although people do still do this, many people are now using the internet to assist them on their quest to find that perfect job. There are a number of jobs boards out there that allow you to browse hundreds of jobs and send in your CV for consideration. Some of theses websites do not charge a fee for this and seem to have the largest number of jobs to search through in one place. If you have never used one before, read through their terms and conditions and find out how they work.

Many employers are now choosing to advertise their vacancies with recruitment agencies rather than do it themselves. Although the agency will obviously charge a fee for their services, there is many advantages to using one. Allowing an agency to source potential candidates for you will take the pressure off and free up your time to carry on with your daily job tasks.

A good recruitment agency will take a detailed description of the position that you require to be filled and then search through jobs boards and their own database of applicants to suggest some to you. If the quality of CV’s that you are receiving from them is not good enough, do not be sacred to tell them so as you are paying them for their services.  Once they have found some people that you think may be suitable, they should then carry out their own brief interview to run through their CV and explain the position on offer. After this process is complete the candidate is normally passed over to you to then carry out your own interview.

Once you have advertised a job and got some potential candidates, it’s time to start carrying out interviews to see who you want to offer the position to. Ideally interviews should be carried out quite close together to enable you to compare the applicants easily. First thing to do is create a generic set of questions and maybe a small task if needed that you will ask all of the interviewees. Next go through their CV and cover letter and highlight any areas that you want to discuss in detail with them. Make notes on the CV so you do not forget what it is you want to ask. Don’t forget to look at items like, how long have they been in previous jobs and why do they want to come and work at your company. It is very easy to get worried about carrying out interviews, but very often the applicant will be even more worried so it is imperative that you stay calm and collected and make sure that you are well prepared.