Personal Advancement

Staffing services: Your job-search ally

When looking for work, there are five consistently effective ways to uncover opportunities in today's marketplace.

STEVE JONES
[ 2002-05-15 ]

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In what work environment would you thrive? To find out, take this test by eCareerFit, the career assessment experts.

These are direct referrals, Internet job boards, corporate web sites, newspaper advertisements and employment agencies, also known as staffing services.

More than a quarter of a million Canadians found work through staffing services last year. There are more than 1,500 employment agencies in Ontario and 4,000 across Canada, and yet they remain widely misunderstood and are not used as often as they could be by job seekers.

Getting informed about how the industry works and how staffing services can help you will assist you in getting the most out of your job hunt.

Find the right fit. Selecting the right staffing company can generate more options and choices. Research will help you determine if the opportunities available through a staffing service best fit with what you have to offer.


Some employment agencies specialize in light industrial temporary help while others are targeted in executive search. Some focus on specific industries, such as pharmaceutical or retail, while others are experts at job disciplines such as accounting, programming or sales.

Target more than one. There are no rules about the number of staffing services with which you can register. Go with two or three that tend to service slightly different target markets of interest to you.

Obviously the issues of specialization and the relationship you develop with an agency will help you narrow the field, but one staffing company is not enough.

Think long-term. Find a personnel consultant that sincerely cares about you and develop a lasting relationship. The bonds of trust and confidence that are developed will produce the most gratifying rewards throughout your career.

Be top of mind. Don't settle for, "We'll call you." Follow-up regularly and be persistent. You want to keep yourself in the mind of personnel consultants without becoming a pest.

Be helpful. Even with commonly used automated application and skill-tracking and retrieval systems, familiarity with your latest accomplishments will put you at the top of the list in the recalling of your application and job skill match to prospective employers.

Try before you buy. About 40% of all temporary workers find permanent employment directly as a result of contract assignments.

Since every work environment is different, temporary contracts give both employers and employees the opportunity to assess their fit and future together before making the relationship permanent.

Identify yourself online. Rename your resume file to your_name.com when applying for positions on Internet job boards or corporate Web sites. Even go one step further by putting your name in the subject field of your e-mail, especially if your e-mail address is with a free, common service provider.

Don't pay fees to staffing service agencies. If you believe in the old saying, "It's not what you know, but who you know," then get to know an experienced staffing professional.

Visit www.acsess.org to get a list of staffing companies, and note that the members of the Association of Canadian Search, Employment and Staffing Services do not charge fees to job seekers.

Staffing Service Definitions


In general, the staffing industry has four segments, often referred to as search, placement, temp and contract. When you are in the market for a new job, it's helpful to know who to approach or who will approach you, and the subtle differences between each segment. To help you navigate between these services, here is the rundown on each type:

  • Search firms help client corporations discover qualified, willing and scarce talent and are often business consultants, as much as headhunters. Although these consultants help clients design compensation packages, write job profiles and perform organizational evaluations, they earn their living by finding the best person for a job.
  • Placement companies or agencies maintain large databases of resumes and applicant profiles but rely primarily on recruitment advertising, Internet advertising, promotions and personal referrals to build a pool of job-seeking applicants. These companies are more likely to invest time selling an applicant to many potential employers, compared to search firms that delve through many prospective candidates for one specific employer.
  • Temp services prefer to be called "staffing organizations" because they fill many full-time as well as temporary positions. About 40% of the people who work on temporary assignments eventually find full-time work through their temp experience. Unlike search and placement firms, temp firms are the employer of record and they are most prevalent in administrative, call-centre, customer service, accounting and industrial environments.
  • Contract firms are typically hybrid temporary help companies that specialize in areas such as information technology, engineering or drafting. They are the intermediaries of longer-term projects, often match independent contractors or even other companies with their clients and may not be the employer of record.

    • (Steve Jones, CPC, is national president of the Association of Canadian Search, Employment & Staffing Services (ACSESS) and president of The People Bank, and can be reached at info@acsess.org.)



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