Recruitment Agencies – Why Use Them?

September 19, 2025

It’s highly likely that during your professional life you’ve come across a recruitment agency. Perhaps you’ve been directed to apply for a role through an agency, or maybe an agency has reached out to you about a potential role. 

Most people are familiar with the structure and role of recruitment agencies, but very few know the full extent of how much they can help to fuel your career growth. Working with the right recruitment agency could fuel incredible growth in your career, allowing you to chart a new path and set a higher trajectory than you ever thought imaginable.

Here at CMD Recruitment, we’re looking at what an agency can do for you, why you should use a recruitment agency to find your next job and why an excellent recruiter relationship can be invaluable in your search for that dream job. We’ll also take a look at the benefits for employers and how recruitment agencies can give them access to the best talent.

Why use a recruitment agency to find a job?

Recruitment agencies act as the go-between for employers and jobseekers. They work on behalf of great candidates to find suitable roles and on behalf of excellent employers to find suitable candidates. 

This gives a recruitment agency an excellent network of qualified candidates for employers – a perfect talent pool for your vacancies. Likewise, a recruitment consultant knows the employers recruiting in your area, opening doors for candidates to vacancies that aren’t perhaps plastered across the job boards.

By aligning yourself with a recruitment agency, you can often be the first in the door for new opportunities, often before they have even been announced. This can give you the inside track without having to keep an eye on job advertisements.

This is perfect for those with clear career goals and aspirations, as it means they will always have someone in their corner looking for new challenges and opportunities. 

The ambitious workers out there want to be able to focus on their current role, but they also want to be open to new opportunities. You can essentially automate your job search by simply letting a recruitment agency know that you are open to opportunities – and let them know they need to be discreet about it.

This can help to open new doors in your career that you didn’t even know you wanted to open.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using a recruitment agency?

There are many benefits of using a recruitment agency.

• We can save you time, money and stress – on average it takes 4 months to secure a new job, but working with a recruiter can reduce the time it takes to secure a role and streamline the process on your behalf.
• Our services are completely free to the candidate – there are not many things in life that are free, however, working with a recruitment agency is. We will never take payment from a candidate when supporting them in their search for work. The fee is paid by the employer, and it is typically a percentage of your signing salary, so it’s in our best interests to maximise the offer.
• You can automate your job search. Maybe you’re 80% happy in your current role, but if something better came along you’d also be happy to move on. Without the help of a recruitment agency, you would have to keep going with your job search, which can take up a lot of time and mental resources. With the help of a recruitment agency, this search can be going on in the background, and you’ll only have to pitch in when they find a suitable opportunity. 
• No one needs to know you are looking. When you manage the job hunt yourself, there’s a bigger risk you’ll be spotted browsing the job boards at work, or that word will get around that you’re looking for a role. Not everyone wants their current employer to know they are looking for a new role as it could impact opportunities that are available to them. By working with a recruitment agency, your search will only be known when you want it to be.
• Access opportunities before they are made public. Some employers don’t want to advertise their roles, so they work with a recruitment agency and ask to meet with candidates that are already on the books. Without this connection, you could miss out on these opportunities. 

When job hunters have issues with their recruitment agency, it’s often down to the following factors:

• Picking the right agency. You’ll see different agencies and/or consultants specialise in certain sectors. Make sure you are speaking with a consultant who understands your industry. They are more likely to have relationships with the right candidates and clients best suited to your needs.
• Being upfront about your expectations. If you can’t define what you are looking for, it can be difficult for a recruitment consultant to place you. Having a clear vision of the direction you’d like to head in, and the types of roles you would find interesting and channelling can make a huge difference to your job search.
• Lack of direct interaction. Some people don’t like that recruitment agencies can come between them and the employer during the early negotiations. It can feel like the candidate is being shut out of the negotiations, which feels unnatural to some. By working with a recruitment agency, you have to let go of some level of control.
• Direct competition. A recruitment agency could be representing multiple candidates for the same role, and you might not like the sense that you’re not their only priority. It’s important to remember that they will always seek to place the best possible person in the role, and that might not be you. If you’re not right for one opportunity, trust that there are more on the horizon.

What’s the role of recruitment agencies?

A recruitment agency works on behalf of employers to advertise, source and place candidates into permanent, temporary, or contract vacancies for the employer (or client) they are working for.

We have industry insight and work closely with employers to ensure we match the right person to the right role. As a result, we are more likely to be able to give you the insider information on who the line manager is, what the interview process will be like and the company culture. Most of this knowledge isn’t readily available on individual job adverts or even on company websites so it can be invaluable at the interview stage.

We provide tools to make you a cut above the rest, from CV writing to interview coaching, recruitment agencies can support you throughout the hiring process, providing hints and tips that could secure you your next step.

If you find yourself coming up against the same roadblocks time and time again, working with a recruitment consultant can help you to unpick your interview technique and determine what isn’t working for you.

Understandably not all candidate/recruiter relationships are plain sailing, and some candidates may think there are disadvantages to using an employment service however with the right recruitment agency by your side, many more doors can open for you.

How to make the most of this relationship

If you’re ready to start working with a recruitment agency to find your next role, consider the following steps to help kick start your search.

1. Update your CV. Get your CV up to date with your latest positions and an overview of your key responsibilities. Be ready to talk through your experience with the recruitment consultant so they can get a thorough understanding of your past experience.
2. Get clear on what you are looking for. Do you want to progress upwards into a management role, or are you looking for a horizontal move into a different department to help broaden your experience? Dream job titles, working arrangements and a salary range will help your recruitment consultant to identify potential roles.
3. Keep them updated. If you’re currently in work and putting the job hunt on the back burner, make sure you keep your recruitment consultant updated with updates to your CV. You might take on new responsibilities at work that make you eligible for exciting new opportunities.
4. Ask for support when you need it. Nervous about your interview? Ask for some interview preparation. Worried that your CV isn’t selling you effectively? Ask for a CV review to make sure nothing is holding you back. The support is there, but you need to be willing to ask for it, otherwise we’ll typically assume that you’re feeling confident.
5. Be open to advice and feedback. Asking for feedback is only helpful if you’re actually able to take it on board. There’s little sense in asking for advice if you struggle to take feedback.

Final thoughts on recruitment agencies and why you should use them 

Whether you are a candidate looking for your next role, or an employer looking for your next hire, we can help. Please do not hesitate to contact CMD Recruitment on 01225 805080.