Are Agencies The Problem?

Out of frustration one day, I posed a question on craigslist.  I asked, “Why are people so negative on using a Recruiter”?  Michael M sent me an email.  In it he said,

A recruiter or temp agency are people who can’t or don’t want to do the tasks but get paid for the people actually doing the work, lowering wages for the worker while sitting in their office or at home. Seems to represent this country pretty well.

And by the way, today’s wages are pretty bad wouldn’t ya say? So what’s your answer to all that without taking offense to the truth and being negative? Another sad fact ,temp agencies are the largest employer in this country.

The following is my response:

I am a carpenter by trade.  In 1989 I opened Apollo Construction Co.  and for nearly 20 years I built stuff….lots of it.  I feel that I earned the right to label myself as a Consultant, Middleman, or dot-connector.  In 1998 I opened  Construction Personnel Group Inc d.b.a. Construction Personnel Group, Inc. because I saw a void that needed filling. Companies couldn’t find the right employees, and employees either couldn’t find the right job or hated who they worked for.  And here’s the other thing: by no means does my staff simply sit in their office doing nothing.  Companies retain us to find the single best candidate to fill their job opening.  They hire us because screening ends up being a full-time job.  By the time you get a job through our Sqrft, you will likely have had at least three interviews.  We will have called your references.  And frankly will have looked at probably thirty other candidates before we decided on you.  It’s not as straightforward as throwing crap against the wall.

Over the last 15 years, we have recommended more than 5,500 people for work. Our Labor jobs start mostly at $11. Our skilled tradesmen often make between $15 and $25. And of course Managers can make anywhere from $30k to $120k. Our objective has always been to make the construction and skilled trades a better career in Buffalo.

I don’t think that we are guilty of driving wages down.  If anything, we put substantial effort into advocating for companies to pay great people what they are worth.  If you have minimal skills and a bad attitude then you have a lot of competition for low paying jobs.  On the other hand if we find that you are skilled and are the kind of person that a company wants to represent them, then we will lobby on your behalf for the highest wage possible because we recognize that you are valuable.

To the second point about temp agencies being the largest employer in the country; I too wish that Obama’s growth industry was not temporary work.  Actually, as it turns out during the first quarter of 2013 Kelly Services was the second largest employer behind Wal-Mart. However, if you are a SKILLED tradesmen, there is virtually zero unemployment and you have options. Squarefoot exists for the simple reason to provide you with better options. We actually do very little temp work. We may offer you a project from an out of town contractor–but you are not obligated to take it. What baffles me is so many resumes that I see where folks can’t seem to stay at a job for more than a year or two. My goal is to change that! I want to do my job so well that you retire from wherever I recommend to you. I really don’t want to see you again. 🙂