Wondering how to find a successful staffing agency and give yourself the best chance of finding work, either temporary or permanent? It’s not as easy as simply picking up the phone and making appointments with staffing firms. First, you have to do your due diligence to make sure they’ll work for you in the long run. Here are seven tips for doing just that.

1. Ask About Job Types

Most people assume staffing agencies only fill temporary positions, such as when a company has a holiday rush, or a spate of illnesses. However, while most do serve this need, many also help job candidates find permanent jobs. In fact, many companies come straight to staffing agencies to find new candidates and never put the roles online. That means if you just rely on companies that are posting jobs, you may well miss out on great long-term employment as well as high-paying temporary gigs.

2. Understand How They Gather Candidates

If the staffing agency simply keeps a huge raft of resumes on file and plucks one out for each job, you’re not likely to have much of a chance. You want to work with a staffing company that hand-selects candidates and matches them to jobs exactly. That way, when you’re a good fit, you won’t be competing with a bunch of other job seekers who aren’t.

3. Make Sure They Deal with Candidates at Your Level

It’s critical the recruitment agency deals at your level of experience. If you need entry-level work, chances are an executive recruitment staffing agency will gently point you elsewhere. A greater danger is that an executive candidate will be hoodwinked into working with a firm that doesn’t have the experience to place them well. Don’t let that happen; always check what types of candidates the recruiter typically works with.

4. Get Help Preparing

Good staffing agencies want to help you find the right job, and want to present the best impression to clients. They should help you modify your resume and cover letter, if needed, and coach you through the interview and hiring process. If they don’t, they’re not for you.

5. Check on Customer Service

Customer service is one of the most important aspects of any business relationship. Will the staffing agency pick up your call, even if they don’t have an active “need” for you at the moment? Will they keep you in the loop during the interview process? If there’s no role available for you at the moment, will they stay in touch? Ask how they handle candidates during the entire process, not just when their client has a pressing need. You deserve good treatment, so make sure you’ll get it.

6. Be Open to Being Approached

If you are approached by a staffing business, this is an extremely good sign. It means they do more than simply put resumes on file when people apply; they actually go out of their way to find the best possible candidates for a job. If you are being headhunted, chances are you have a specialized skill set that is perfect for one of their clients. The upshot? You’ll be well-suited to that job, and therefore are more likely to love it.

7. Make Sure the Staffing Agency is Successful

It’s your right to ask about the success rate of the staffing agencies you’re looking into. If they can’t give you metrics, they’re either too new or too unreliable to risk working with, and you should pass.Working with a staffing agency to find a career you’ll love is a great idea, but only if you can find the right one. If our thousands of happy clients and candidates are to be believed, Premier Talent Partners is just such an agency. We do things a little different around here, working to ensure our candidates see more than a few months’ salary: They see actual change in their lives. Call or email today to find out more.

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