[Rant/question] Temporary recruitment is ruining my mental health

[Rant/Question] Temporary Recruitment is Taking a Toll on My Mental Health

UK, England

I’ve been working at a temporary recruitment agency for the past year and a half, and I genuinely feel like this job is wreaking havoc on my mental well-being and personal life. To give you some context: I graduated in 2023, and this is my first role in recruitment. Prior to this, I worked in various positions (hospitality, healthcare, administration), and I can confidently say none were as overwhelmingly stressful as this.

At my agency, we primarily source temporary staff for seasonal or short-term roles, mainly in warehouses. Here are some of the aspects that frustrate me:

• Expectations vs. Reality: Candidates are expected to perform as if they are permanent employees, despite the fact that many will likely never transition to that status. Meanwhile, the agency treats them inconsistently; some days they’re called in, and other days they’re left without work.

• Picky Warehouse Management: The management at these warehouses is extremely selective about the staff we provide. They often give little time for new hires to adjust and then dismiss them for perceived poor performance. Sometimes they request specific individuals and disregard those who are available.

• Discrimination: I have encountered racism and sexism in the workplace— I’ve frequently heard comments like “they need a man, not a woman.” While some roles may be physically demanding, the persistent bias is infuriating. As a woman, it angers me to witness such discrimination. Additionally, I’ve noticed that candidates of different ethnic backgrounds often face immediate dismissal after just one shift.

• Holiday Restrictions: During peak periods, including June, taking more than a single day off is nearly impossible. This means I have to cram all my vacation time into an eight-month window rather than the full year. Approval for time off is also challenging, with only one of us in the office allowed to take leave at a time.

• Overwhelming Work Hours: My typical hours are from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, with a paid hour for lunch. However, due to the workload, most colleagues often skip lunch breaks. There’s no scheduled break time; it’s up to us to manage that ourselves, even when it’s busy.

• On-Call Duties: We are required to participate in an on-call rota, meaning I must be available to respond to emergency calls day or night. Unfortunately, many warehouse managers and job seekers take advantage of this, calling me at all hours.

• Lack of Support from Management: The work culture is overwhelmingly intense, with managers brushing off anything negative that comes up. I had to fight for a new laptop that malfunctioned for six months, finally getting a replacement only after someone else left. There are times when I wish my colleagues would keep their opinions to themselves. They act as if work is the top priority in life.

This situation is becoming unbearable. I’m seriously considering whether I should seek out a different recruitment role, as my experience here has been far from ideal.

I’d love to hear from others—does your recruitment experience mirror mine, or am I just exceptionally unlucky?

Legal recruitment agencies in London – earning potential?

Legal Recruitment Agencies in London – Is the Earning Potential Realistic?

As an IT recruiter in London with nine years of experience, I’ve been pondering the earning potential within the legal recruitment sector. Recently, I came across a LinkedIn post from a recruiter-to-recruiter agency discussing a legal recruitment client in London focused on hiring “private practice” lawyers, primarily in finance and banking law. They claimed that a top biller at one of their clients had billed £10 million in a single year.

To be honest, I find that hard to believe. An NFI (net fee income) of £10 million translates to approximately £833,000 a month—far beyond what most recruiters earn in an entire year.

While I recognize that compensation packages for senior lawyers at prominent firms in London, especially American ones, can be substantial, I can’t help but wonder if there was a mistake in that claim. It’s worth noting that many privately owned recruitment firms with over 30 employees don’t even reach that level of billing in a year. What do you think?

How IT Recruitment so wrong!?!

Why is IT Recruitment going awry?

I’m noticing a concerning trend where recruiters increasingly rely on AI to pre-screen candidates. It’s astonishing to think that relying solely on experience will help you identify the best talent for the job.

When searching for a good developer, what truly matters is their ability to write tests, understand syntax, maintain clean code, and have a strong desire to learn. Am I the only one who feels that recruitment practices have become quite perplexing lately?

Experience for freelance recruiters

Insights for Freelance Recruiters

Are you a freelance recruiter looking for tips? What strategies do you use to connect with potential jobs and candidates? Feel free to share your advice!

Best Recruiting Platform

Top Recruiting Platform

Which recruiting platform do you typically rely on? What do you consider to be the best option available?

Best recruitment software for small sales ops agency?

Looking for the Best Recruitment Software for Our Small Sales Ops Agency

Hello everyone!

We’re a small, women-owned sales operations agency (www.grooveconsulting.io), and on average, we hire 2 to 5 sales representatives each month for our clients. We’re in search of an affordable recruitment system that offers the following features:

1. Indeed Integration – We’re struggling with the current process of pulling candidates from Indeed.

2. LinkedIn Integration – We don’t have a LinkedIn Recruiter account, just a sponsored job plan, so integration would be beneficial.

3. Cost-Effective – As a small agency, we don’t need all the extra features that come with high-priced software.

4. Candidate Filtering – We receive hundreds of applications per job posting. It would be helpful to ask questions, like “Do you have supply chain experience?” to filter out non-qualified candidates.

5. Client-Specific Views – Ideally, we’d like to provide our clients with a tailored view without disclosing every detail; just an overview of candidates in different stages along with their resumes.

6. Resume Review – We currently use Airtable, but it’s a bit tedious to navigate.

7. Communication Templates – It would be great to have templates for rejections, follow-ups, etc., and to organize these by client name.

8. Interview Scorecards – This feature is optional but could be useful.

9. SMS Interview Outreach – Another optional feature we’d like is the ability to reach out to candidates for interviews via SMS.

If you have any recommendations, especially regarding costs, we would greatly appreciate your insights! Thank you!

Is it okay to contact Company’s HR or recruiters about the vacancies they have to get more information?

Is it appropriate to reach out to a company’s HR department or recruiters regarding open positions to gather more information?

I’ve been thinking about contacting companies about their posted vacancies to learn more—such as whether the positions are still available, the qualifications they are looking for, details about the roles, and any additional information that might be useful. Is this a common practice? Would they typically respond to such inquiries?

Advice Needed – Recruitment Agency / 10DLC phone SMS

Request for Assistance – 10DLC SMS Setup for Recruitment Agency

Hello everyone! I recently started my own firm and I’m having some difficulties setting up my phone system. I’m currently using Zoom Phone as my carrier, but I’ve encountered some restrictions related to 10DLC SMS campaigns through TRC.

It seems that recruiting and staffing agencies face limitations in this area. However, I recall my previous company successfully running an SMS campaign as a recruitment agency. If anyone has tips on how to navigate these restrictions or recommendations for effective campaign tools, I would greatly appreciate your insights! Thank you!

Doing BD before your first day

Preparing for Business Development Before My First Day

Hi everyone! I’m excited to share that I’ll be starting my new role as a 360 consultant on January 6th, and I’ll have some free time over the next three weeks.

I’m seeking advice on how to handle business development leads, especially since they can be quite time-sensitive due to competition from other agencies.

I haven’t updated my LinkedIn profile yet, and I currently don’t have access to my new firm’s case studies or success stories—only my own.

I initially planned to reach out after the New Year, but I’m concerned that potential candidates may be scooped up by competitor agencies or secure other offers.

Additionally, how should I approach discussions with prospective candidates when I’m not yet officially in transition? I’ve been straightforward about my upcoming role, but I’d love to hear your thoughts and strategies. Thanks!

How can I get more candidates/leads?

Seeking Strategies for Attracting More Candidates/Leads

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for advice on how to effectively attract new candidates. Over the past year, I’ve been freelancing as a recruiter for a specific company, and so far, I’ve primarily relied on free social media posts to generate leads. While this has brought in some candidates and allowed me to earn a bit, it hasn’t been enough for me to leave my other job.

My focus is on EU citizens who are bilingual in English and either a Nordic language, Italian, or Spanish for customer service (or similar) positions in Greece. Although we have job opportunities in Spain, my priority is to find candidates for roles in Greece.

I’m now ready to invest some money into this process but want to ensure I spend it wisely to achieve the best results.

What methods would you recommend for attracting candidates that meet the criteria I’ve outlined? I’m open to all suggestions, whether they involve significant effort, a financial investment, or both.

I’d greatly appreciate any guidance you can offer. Thank you in advance!