“They will also save you time because they can do all the leg work for you – sending your CV out and arranging interviews.
“We have hundreds of vacancies on our database and can match the right person to the right job,” he added.
“It would take a long time for a candidate to find that many vacancies and decide whether or not they were suited to them.”
Agencies will also give candidates valuable guidance in the recruitment process. “Often people are unhappy in their jobs but don’t know what they want to do instead or where to start looking. We can help them whittle down the type of company they should be targeting,” said Chisholme
Julia Feuell, managing director of recruitment firm New Frontiers, agrees agencies have an important role to play in helping candidates understand their strengths and weaknesses.
“They can help you find out what you are good at,” said Feuell, whose own agency recently introduced psychometric testing to give consultants a better idea of candidates’ skills and personalities.
She points out that people often don’t realise why they have been rejected for a job and can jump to the wrong conclusions.
“They may think it’s because of their age or their accent or any factor, when in fact it could simply be because their CV is poorly presented,” said Feuell. “We can improve candidates’ chances by presenting them in the best way and helping them learn from their mistakes.”
For some people the best way to clinch a new job is probably the oldest – through a contact. In fact the Travel Weekly survey found that word of mouth is the third most popular means of securing the next position.
“Travel is a friendly, sociable industry and is therefore ideal for finding jobs through contacts and recommendations,” said Chisholme.
Ana Albiol, reservations consultant for an upmarket tour operator, admits that she found her first two jobs through contacts. “I have been very lucky and have never had to use an agency.
Albiol said: “I got my first job through a friend at college, and my second because I knew the company well and met the personnel manager at an awards ceremony. I told her I was interested in working for her company and after a while I was offered a job there.”
One relatively recent development in the travel sector has been recruitment fairs and open days.
As competition for good candidates intensifies, more employers are using these events as a means to meet a lot of candidates face-to-face.
By the same token job seekers have a chance to make a much greater impression and really sell themselves, than they would if their CV was simply one of hundreds in a pile on the recruiter’s desk.
However, the medium that is likely to have the greatest impact on recruitment in future is the Web.
While the Travel Weekly survey shows that only a small percentage of people in the jobs market use the Web at the moment, that is likely to change as more companies post vacancies on their home pages or job sites.
By the end of October people on the lookout for vacancies will be able to view positions advertised in Travel Weekly’s job pages on the Internet at www.totaljobs.com – the site set up by Travel Weekly’s parent company, Reed Business Information (see page 80).
C&M launched its Web site – at www.candm.co.uk – this month. Once registered, candidates can search the database by job type or by region.
“We are convinced that the Internet is the way forward. In two years time around 80% of businesses will be doing transactions over the Web,” predicted Chisholme.
“It will make information much more readily available. It will also be a great time saver. Eventually we will have the facility to do live interviews across the Internet.”
He added: “But the real advantage is the sheer scale of the Web. As an individual you can only give your CV to one company at a time, but on the Web hundreds of companies could see your CV in a day.”
THE prediction that the Internet would put an end to job advertising in newspapers and magazines has not come to fruition.
While the Internet is starting to be used as a recruitment tool by companies and job seekers alike, most people still prefer the more traditional methods when it comes to finding that dream job.
In a recent Travel Weekly survey of 1,200 people in the travel industry, 86% said they would look for a new position in trade papers or specialist journals. By comparison only 13% would use the Internet.
After the trade press, recruitment agencies are the most popular source of work, with 57% saying they would use an agency in their job search.
These agencies offer job seekers several benefits, the greatest of which is that your CV is likely to reach a far bigger range of companies than it would if you were doing all the work yourself.
Angus Chisholme, director of recruitment firm C&M, said:”With a recruitment agency you have all the resources of a professional team behind you.
“They will also save you time because they can do all the leg work for you – sending your CV out and arranging interviews.
“We have hundreds of vacancies on our database and can match the right person to the right job,” he added.
“It would take a long time for a candidate to find that many vacancies and decide whether or not they were suited to them.”
Agencies will also give candidates valuable guidance in the recruitment process. “Often people are unhappy in their jobs but don’t know what they want to do instead or where to start looking. We can help them whittle down the type of company they should be targeting,” said Chisholme
Julia Feuell, managing director of recruitment firm New Frontiers, agrees agencies have an important role to play in helping candidates understand their strengths and weaknesses.
“They can help you find out what you are good at,” said Feuell, whose own agency recently introduced psychometric testing to give consultants a better idea of candidates’ skills and personalities.
She points out that people often don’t realise why they have been rejected for a job and can jump to the wrong conclusions.
“They may think it’s because of their age or their accent or any factor, when in fact it could simply be because their CV is poorly presented,” said Feuell. “We can improve candidates’ chances by presenting them in the best way and helping them learn from their mistakes.”
For some people the best way to clinch a new job is probably the oldest – through a contact. In fact the Travel Weekly survey found that word of mouth is the third most popular means of securing the next position.
“Travel is a friendly, sociable industry and is therefore ideal for finding jobs through contacts and recommendations,” said Chisholme.
Ana Albiol, reservations consultant for an upmarket tour operator, admits that she found her first two jobs through contacts. “I have been very lucky and have never had to use an agency.
Albiol said: “I got my first job through a friend at college, and my second because I knew the company well and met the personnel manager at an awards ceremony. I told her I was interested in working for her company and after a while I was offered a job there.”
One relatively recent development in the travel sector has been recruitment fairs and open days.
As competition for good candidates intensifies, more employers are using these events as a means to meet a lot of candidates face-to-face.
By the same token job seekers have a chance to make a much greater impression and really sell themselves, than they would if their CV was simply one of hundreds in a pile on the recruiter’s desk.
However, the medium that is likely to have the greatest impact on recruitment in future is the Web.
While the Travel Weekly survey shows that only a small percentage of people in the jobs market use the Web at the moment, that is likely to change as more companies post vacancies on their home pages or job sites.
By the end of October people on the lookout for vacancies will be able to view positions advertised in Travel Weekly’s job pages on the Internet at www.totaljobs.com – the site set up by Travel Weekly’s parent company, Reed Business Information (see page 80).
C&M launched its Web site – at www.candm.co.uk – this month. Once registered, candidates can search the database by job type or by region.
“We are convinced that the Internet is the way forward. In two years time around 80% of businesses will be doing transactions over the Web,” predicted Chisholme.
“It will make information much more readily available. It will also be a great time saver. Eventually we will have the facility to do live interviews across the Internet.”
He added: “But the real advantage is the sheer scale of the Web. As an individual you can only give your CV to one company at a time, but on the Web hundreds of companies could see your CV in a day.”
For jobs in the travel industry see our travel jobs section or visit our partner, totaljobs.com for travel and tourism industry vacancies with some of the UK’s largest companies