What Candidates REALLY Think of Recruiters

The UK’s recruitment industry suffers from an undeserved reputation of placements first, people second. The latest research from ratings and reviews company Feefo, explored the attitudes of more than 1,000 employees who had either used or would be willing to use recruiters, in an attempt to get to the bottom of what job-hunters really feel about recruitment agencies.

Here’s what they found out!

92% of people trust recruitment agencies

There is a misconception amongst the general public that recruitment agencies are somehow in it for themselves, and not to be trusted. As it turns out, more than 9 in 10 jobseekers with experience of recruiters trust agencies to find them suitable job roles.

The problem appears to come not so much in a recruiter’s ability to find someone employment, but in the overall candidate experience during the recruitment journey. More than a quarter of respondents felt agencies were only interested in picking up a fee; whilst only 16% of jobseekers received a ‘very satisfying’ customer experience.

79% of people use Google to find a recruitment agency

With this in mind, finding ways to help you appear more prominently in common jobseeker online searches is a great way to improve credibility in your agency and drive quality, engaged candidates to your website. A united PPC and SEO strategy is your best bet for dominating Google’s search results pages and getting your agency maximum visibility.

But despite Google’s apparent dominance, don’t discount word-of-mouth to get candidates through the door. 69% of people still rely heavily on personal recommendations to find a recruitment agency, so making a good impression is everything. Providing a recruitment experience that puts candidate care above all else makes it more likely that your applicants will leave the process with a positive opinion on your agency, regardless of whether they were placed in their dream job or not.

64% of people said reading ‘credible’ online reviews would help them choose an agency

Despite the importance of ratings and reviews, few recruiters collect client and candidate feedback. Less than a fifth of respondents said they’d been asked by a recruitment agency to give feedback on their service. Many of the recruitment agencies that do ask for feedback are doing it themselves rather than through an independent source, and the reviews aren’t always made public for fear of receiving negative feedback.

By giving your clients and candidates an independent platform to voice their opinion you’ll start collecting real insights you can use to help improve your candidate experience, build brand credibility and make better business decisions.

To discover more about how jobseekers today look for new jobs, what they want in a recruitment agency and how they feel about new technology affecting the industry, download the full Feefo Recruitment Report here.