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Question
My question is about staffing agencies. One of my friends (who is in the beginning of his career like me) got many interviews by working with a few staffing agencies and got to select the best job among many brought to him.

Since my geography and field differs from his, I cannot use the agencies that worked for him.

Can you tell me your idea about the effectiveness of staffing agencies and maybe suggest a few good ones that recruits for the marketing field in Los Angeles area?

Answer
First, in the interest of full disclosure, I will point out that I work for a staffing firm that specializes in marketing and that one of our largest offices is in Los Angeles.

That being said, whether you work with us or another staffing agency, I believe that they can be effective. However, their effectiveness depends on the strength of the relationships they have with the companies where you would like to work.

Companies who are hiring get bombarded by resumes and it is very difficult to stand out from the crowd. With the best staffing agencies, your chances of getting noticed are increased by the fact that you are being referred to the hiring manager by someone they trust.

Of course, this means that you need to consider the reputation of the firm you choose to represent you. I would say the following three elements should help you distinguish the reputable from the disreputable:

1. Are their services recommended by marketing professionals that they have placed? I would canvass marketing professionals you know to find out how they landed the jobs they did. A recommendation from someone in your network whom you respect, is invaluable.
2. Are their services recommended by client companies? Many times recruiting firms are not able to disclose, for various reasons, the names of the client companies they work with. If a firm can name their clients openly, such as on their website, this will often mean that they have their client’s permission to do so and this would be one indicator of their reputation. Alternately, you could contact companies where you would like to work and see if they are willing to recommend the recruiting firms they typically engage.
3. Does the firm have a relationship with respected professional associations? Recruiting firms will often sponsor events and promotional efforts of professional associations in the fields in which they are active. As you can assume, these firms generally pay for these associations, so the association itself cannot be seen as an unqualified endorsement of a particular firm. However, since the relationships established by professional associations will not generally run counter to the views of their membership, you can assume that a relation represents, if not a partnership, at least a state of mutual respect between the association and the firm.

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