Employment agencies, do any of them work?

My past experiences with Employment/Job agencies or places that help you find employment has been bad. Out of all the employment agencies that I have gone to not one has been active in finding me a job. Do they work?

Perhaps it depends on the region you work and the type of work you are looking for. In all, I have not had good experiences with employment agencies but it could be because I am looking for jobs in manufacturing and many of those jobs have been lost to free trade.

I have had promises that an assignment could lead to a full time job but it never pans out somehow.

Also it has been difficult to get an assignment that matches my particular skill set. In an interview the recruiter talked about jobs doing inspection work and one morning I get a call (last minute of course) and the assignment is folding laundry. A far cry from the types of jobs that were described in the interview.

On the whole they have not been helpful to me. In fact, I find some of their practices downright dishonest.

I work at an Employment agency called Express Personnel, and we help lots of people. But we can't help everyone. We work hard to find jobs that match the skills of the candidates.

The candidates most likely to get jobs are the ones with good and detailed resumes, who accurately describe what they are looking for, and who keep in regular contact with the Staffing Consultant.

Finding employment is a full-time job - for you.

Agencies make their money through placement. That means you have to be thorough on your application so they can find a good match.

Definitely register with your state workforce agency. Also access www.usajobs.gov which is the fed job site.

Don't expect miracles. You have to work harder at finding a job, which means really putting yourself out there in the application process. Use corporate websites as a tool, but don't rely on internet job sites only.

Good luck..