Hays, Randstad, and the truth about agency recruiters

I’m sure this has happened to you too. You’re hesitant about doing something, give it a go anyway, and suddenly, you’re hooked.

That was me last week. I was invited to be part of a panel at the University of Technology Sydney to talk about career strategy, personal branding, and grad programs. And guess what? Absolutely loved it.

I had so much fun being on that panel that now I want to do more and more of these! If you're looking for someone to share those boring career-related topics in a fun, engaging, and relatable way, give me a shout.

If you’re actively looking for jobs, sooner or later you’ll come across job ads from companies like Hays, Hudson, Randstad, Michael Page, Chandler Macleod, etc.

Or maybe a recruiter from one of these agencies sends you a message. You chat, you apply for the job, and then… nothing.

So the thing is that agency recruiters don’t work for candidates, they work for the companies that pay them. Their job is to find the right person to fill a role their client needs.

That’s exactly how they make money (often a percentage of your first-year salary) when a placement is made. So while they may offer interview tips or share some feedback on your resume, they don’t have to help you. They are there to help their clients hire.

That’s why they might seem super keen one day, and not respond for weeks after that. Chances are:

• The role was filled.

• The client changed the brief.

• Or they found someone who checked more boxes than you.

Ideally you do expect them to respond and update you in that case as well, but that doesn’t always happen. In fact many times it won’t happen because that’s not a KPI for them. So, once again:

A recruiter isn’t your “agent”: While many recruiters genuinely care about helping candidates, and may even advocate for them behind closed doors, they don’t have to do that. Understand that they work for the client (because that’s who pays them).

Not hearing back doesn’t mean “ghosting.”
Ghosting is when a recruiter engages with you, maybe even sends you for an interview and then drops off the face of the Earth. But if it was just an application and no contact after, it's often because someone else moved forward faster. It’s annoying but don’t take it personally.

Want to get on a recruiter’s radar?
Send a short, sharp message on LinkedIn with your background and the kind of roles you’re after. Keep it professional. If there's a match, they’ll reach out. If not, again it’s nothing personal. Be polite and be persistent.

Let’s talk about something fun now, shall we?

I love Canada! Since the time my brother moved to Vancouver in 2021, I’ve visited that country 4 times. But that’s about to come to an end because of Canada’s food racism.

So there’s this café in Toronto that’s been told to remove Vegemite from its shelves. Yes! you read that right.

Apparently, it was too healthy because of the added vitamins, which goes against Canadian food regulations. The specific vitamin in question was vitamin B.

In a country where pancakes and bacon are considered a balanced breakfast, Vegemite is the villain. Make it make sense.

But in all honesty, I absolutely loved the fact the Australian Prime Minister got involved in this. As someone who has spent the first 20 years of his life in India, I’m not used to seeing diplomatic intervention over “spreadable” matters. Did you see what I did there?