How do you know whether you’re working with a recruitment agency that has your or their best interests at heart?

Here are 9 questions every vet med professional should ask a recruitment agency before they start working wit them.

Not all recruitment agencies created equal

Not all recruitment agencies are created equal.   Some recruitment agencies use the “spray and pray” method.   They’ll get a job-seeker’s CV, then spray it all over town (to their database) and leave it to the employer – the vet clinic – to do contact the CV owner, set up the interview, interview, and negotiate direct.

NZ Privacy Act needs to be respected and adhered to

Recruitment agencies that use the Spray and Pray method of mass emailing their database with your CV could be breaching the NZ Privacy Act, which states that a recruitment agency needs to seek permission to share info from the job seeker before releasing it.

I’m not sure a “global disclaimer” is quite what the Privacy Commissioner has in mind with “get permission to share info”.

Mass CV emails not a good strategy for job hunting

Sending your CV all over town is nothing you can’t do yourself.   But if you want more support, coaching, negotiating input and then onboarding support at your new job, you need to find a recruitment agency that does this as standard.

VetStaff is a full-service recruitment agency – it means we do all of this and more.

Here are 9 questions job seekers should ask a recruitment agency before working with them:

Is the agency a specialist or generalist?

When you check out their website, can you find jobs for butchers, bakers and candlestick makers? If so, they’re a generalist and aren’t going to be much help to you as a vet med professional – which is a specialised and niche area of recruitment.

Interview process by them

What does their interview process consist of – the interview you have with the agency before you interview at the clinic?

What is their process for applying for jobs on your behalf? – NZ Privacy Act

Is the agency (and the clinic by default) in breach of the NZ Privacy Act if it sends your CV all over town without consulting you every single time regarding every single individual job?

Do they provide Interview Coaching?

Will you receive any kind of coaching – pre / post interview?

What about after the interview?

Who’s going to provide this – the agency or the clinic?

Will they give you Interview Feedback?

What about after you’ve attended the interview – who’s going to give you feedback (if any) then?

This is important because you want to know how you come across. Do you have any subconscious annoying habits of which you’re unaware?

How do they approach your referees – what permission do they seek?

Again – you need to make sure there’s no breach of the NZ Privacy Act.

If all an agency does is pass your CV onto multiple clinics and then leave it to the clinic to contact your referees, it means your referees are going to be contacted multiple times. Is this what you want for them?

Will they negotiate your contract for you?

If the agency leaves it to you to deal direct with the agency it means you’re going to be on your own to do your own contract negotiations as well.

If you don’t know the clinic very well (what their boundaries might be) you could be leaving money on the table.

What steps do they take to help with onboarding at your new job?

What kind of support do you receive from the clinic once you’ve started your new job? How much contact will the agency give you after you’ve found your new job?

How high and dry will you be?

Do they provide professional coaching after you start at your new job as a way of supporting you and your career?

This is a new initiative of VetStaff’s as a way of further supporting vets and veterinary professionals in their new roles.

For the first three months you’re in your new position, you’ll receive coaching from a qualified vet and coach to help you transition into your new role.

When you work with VetStaff exclusively to find your next job, after you start, you’ll receive three months of coaching.   You’ll look at things like self-belief, value, purpose, career development and special interests, work/life balance and resilience, how to cope when things go wrong, when perfectionism doesn’t work for you, perspective, performance, role transitioning and acceptance.

There’ll be an element of mentoring in the conversation but it’s mainly about coaching you to be the most fantabulous version of you you can be.   This means you’ll be supported in finding answers as opposed to the answers being given to you.

Get in touch with VetStaff

Here are 12 reasons to use a recruitment agency to find your next job – check out VetStaff’s page here

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