Employment agency's a rip off?

In the last few years I have gone to a lot of these things here in San Francisco. But I all ways get the felling that after they tell you that"We don't have anything right now for you". I wonder how many of those files that they start on people end up toss away as soon as you leave the office. Has anyone ever worked at one of there places?

The wonderful world of employment agencies (recruiters.) It's not a rip off unles they are asking you for money and that would be illegal. Here is how it works. You send your resume and then they ask to meet with you in person although they probably have nothing just so they can tell the client they have met you personally blah blah blah. The resumes are not tossed away, but if they do not have anything for you the resume is basically put in a file that I like to call "the rejects file." Meaning they can probably find yu a job but not for the amount of money as other candidates that will pay there hefty commission which is anywhere between 18% to 30% . What you need to do and many do not realize is all agencies have a specialized field. This could be they cater specifically to administrative jobs (secretary, receptionist, etc...), IT (information technology), or executive staffing. Before you go to any agency ask them what is there specialty. If they say they cater to all fields this is not an agency you want to deal with.

I referred people to them but from your writing skills ,
I would guess that SF is a bit over the top for you .

Apply in Oakland or San Jose , and don't forget the state employment office ( no fees there !)

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They're a business to make money. They don't care if you're working or not. I've worked for tons of temp agencys in the same area,and I have'nt been happy with any of them. Certain races of people get more work than others. Being born here does'nt help.

Yes. I also worked in San Francisco and most of the time they told me that too. San Francisco is a tough place to find work especially with the economy so high. So, I suggest to network. Talk to people you know that might be hiring. I used to work for a number of them and I given up on employment agencies. They 'claim" they can help, but in reality they just want to add people to their database. Good luck.

The main thing you need to do when working with an employment agency is stay in their face. Call them at least weekly to see if they have any work for you, otherwise they'll forget all about you. They're going to spend more effort on people who show they really want to find a job than those who just register then drop out of site.