Page 44 - James Caan - Get the Job you Really Want

industry covering every area. Since then it has become incred-
ibly focused and highly specialist – eighty per cent of agencies
specialize in specific sectors, and even the large, broad-based
agencies like Michael Page or Reed have a string of specialist
divisions. If you are an upfield oil and gas worker, there’s an

agency just for you. If you are an actuary, you will find a special-
ist in your discipline.
Why as an employer would I use an agency? If I run a chain

of shops and I am looking for a store manager, I am more likely
to go to a headhunting firm to find that person because I have
a very specific need: I want somebody who knows how to run a
store of a certain size, and with those criteria, an agency will be
able to target candidates equally specifically. Clearly, somebody

who is already successful in that particular function is far more
valuable than somebody without that relevant experience.
If I wanted to go and look for that store manager myself, it

could take six months of searching. As an employer I will be
weighing up six months’ investment of time and cost versus
paying an agency a fee to provide somebody who could walk
through the door today. That obviously carries a premium for
the employer. When companies are under pressure just to

survive, o≥oading to an agency all the work required to source
a good candidate, even with the fee involved, may well be much
more cost-e≠ective.

As a candidate, there is a lot you can do proactively to
make an agency’s life easier. With more and more applicants,
their problem is how to pick the right candidate from so many
options. So, make their life easier by building a relationship

32 get the job you really want