FollowI’d say so, if you look at the numbers. Most people will tell you that 80% of jobs are not advertised. That’s the hidden job market. I’ve never found the source of this research, although talking with clients, friends and colleagues, most will say that they heard about their job some other way, even if it was advertised. So the number rings true.
However, I came across this statistic the other day, which floored me. ABS research says that in November 2008, 5% of employed people found a role through a recruitment agency/ labor hire firm. Check it for yourself here.
That’s just 5%! And that 5% includes labour hire, which are the agencies that send people out to industrial type jobs for a day, week or month etc. The proportion of other professionals finding roles through recruitment agencies is actually lower, at 4%.
So why is it so low?
Here are a few reasons that spring immediately to mind, although I am sure there are more:
– Technology has enabled many large employers to use their own online screening tools and to employ a recruitment agency as a back up, or for more specialist positions
– Even with preferred supplier type agreements, it is expensive for an employer to use an agency. Agency placement fees can range from 10% to 25% plus of the candidate’s salary
– For many reasons, and this is a whole other blog post, the recruitment process an employer follows using a recruitment agency, is quite prescriptive. If an employer tells a recruiter they want someone with 3.5 years experience speaking Mandarin, who is a marine biologist and who has climbed Mount Everest, then that’s what a recruitment consultant will advertise. It may not necessarily be the person their employer client needs.
– It’s often difficult to get to see a consultant, even if you have the perfect experience. See this earlier post on the silent treatment
– Sadly, and again for many reasons, the recruitment industry has a poor reputation. Some employers are reluctant to use agencies
What does this mean for you?
Don’t take your failure to find a job through a recruitment consultant personally. The numbers alone are against you. There are exceptions to this rule but what this statistic really says to me, is that if I was looking for a job, I’d be devoting about 5% of my time to looking for a job through an agency.
Karalyn is the Founder of InterviewIQ and chief champion for all her clients. Get personal coaching to make 2023 your most successful year yet. Check out our job search booster services here>>Give me smarter ways to find a job .
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Hello Karalyn
Great post. Love your site. I agree Technology- websites such as job boards and a like are influencing the market but my guess would be twenty years ago it was the same, the hidden market still would have existed via the “word of mouth”.
Cheers
Steven
Hi Steven,
Many thanks for the comment. I hopped over to your site and like what you are doing with it!
Yes I don’t think those proportions would have changed. I think that now social media is an amazing tool though for encouraging that word of mouth and I would strongly encourage anyone looking for a role to think about how they can use this.
Karalyn
Hi Karalyn
Yes this is very true as a candidate I have had great experiences and placements with clients then not secured permanent work due to the fees, I have been treated unethically by one recruitment agency and then not had calls returned by another that successfully placed me in this role, I have decided to utilise other methods and also decided to be very selective with which recruitment agencies I register with and recommend, it works both ways and recruitment consultants need to understand that without good candidates on their books they don’t have a business or clients !
Thanks
Hi Melissa, Sorry to hear that this has been the case for you. On the blog this week there is a post Should we all really hate recruiters? There are some game changes at play, including the part of social media. If you come across some good agencies, it’d be great to hear from you.