Business Idea: Do you think it works?

[Cony]

While ago, I was tired of endless resume posting and form filling in the websites and I dreamed of having a job agent, whom (s)he find me position or send resume on behalf of me. We even had a hot discussion here in forum about agent!

Now here is my idea and please give your opinion: Are you willing to pay someone who does the resume sending, form filling job for you? How much are you willing to pay that person/agent/company? Per hour? Per apply?

Imagine that there is no technical conflict; you will receive confirmation for every position that is applied on behalf of you. So these are not issue but the idea.

Thanks

[rinso]

If I as employer find out that somebody used an agent to handle the application, I would certainly not consider him/her for the job.
I assume the agent would brush up the resume to make it more fitting for the job while the candidate could be clueless.
It is already difficult to asses the qualities of a candidate but with an intermediate it becomes a matter of guess and miss.

[interleukin]

What about the cover letters? Would the agent write those for the client?

[David Junior]

If I as employer find out that somebody used an agent to handle the application, I would certainly not consider him/her for the job.
I assume the agent would brush up the resume to make it more fitting for the job while the candidate could be clueless.
It is already difficult to asses the qualities of a candidate but with an intermediate it becomes a matter of guess and miss.

Maybe you.

Intermediaries and "helpers" in the job market have been around for ages.

As a matter of fact it is a common business practice especially for senior position to have and require assistance during their career
from professionals, including anything from job-search, repositioning, career steering advice, not to mention more basic services like
resume review, writing, posting, job brokering and even training on how to deliver effective job interview.

All this is already out there in the wide for higher echelons and it could be possibly an idea to plug remaining voids in the job market,
especially for those on the entry level, students, graduates, people with special needs and the like, considering that consulting fees of
course should be proportionate and verging on the cheap.

I think there's a business point in that.

[CH]

Well... there are already lots of recruitment companies, like Barona or Eilakaisla.

For just filling in form applications or to send in my CV + cover letter... would I pay somebody else to do it? Nope, no way! For a proper application it needs to be tailored to that company specifically, and I would not want some Joe Schmoe who knows nothing about me to fill in forms/send in applications in my name and possibly ruin it totally in my field of work. It's totally different when it's a recruiter/recruitment company doing it, because then they are only holding my CV, not pretending to be me (it's still a risk they may misrepresent me, but then it would only be a lost job, not "Oh, it's that gal/guy who cannot even spell!".

[CH]

As a matter of fact it is a common business practice especially for senior position to have and require assistance during their career
from professionals, including anything from job-search, repositioning, career steering advice, not to mention more basic services like
resume review, writing, posting, job brokering and even training on how to deliver effective job interview.

Apples and oranges. It's totally different to have somebody help you in the recruitment process/career planning than have somebody doing your applications in your name because you cannot be arsed to do it yourself. It's like having somebody tutor you for a math test vs. having somebody do the math test for you. It could be seen as fraud, or at least as you not being interested enough in the job to do it yourself.

[Cony]

If I as employer find out that somebody used an agent to handle the application, I would certainly not consider him/her for the job.

What do think about the fact that one can have a clean resume written by job.websites.com? Even when one apply itself (s)he can
use a brush up service. In my opinion it is an editing service that facilitate the applications.

[Cony]

What about the cover letters? Would the agent write those for the client?

For instance that could be offered as well. Resume brush up could be a value added service. what do you think?

[Cony]

Well... there are already lots of recruitment companies, like Barona or Eilakaisla.

For just filling in form applications or to send in my CV + cover letter... .."Oh, it's that gal/guy who cannot even spell!".

Well, I understand what you mean. However, posting a resume in Barona etc... Takes time right? Now there are still plenty of positions that one should apply in the company website. Forms, details, qualifications, skills... over and over. Now, imagine there is a company that says: I can do all this for you after you approved your initial resume. It does not guarantee that you get the job, not even interview, but the paper work is done with less stress and one may feel better about him/herself.

What do you think?

[DMC]

For a proper application it needs to be tailored to that company specifically

Exactly my thoughts. Having someone else do the applications can only work if you take the shotgun approach, submitting a lot of applications in the hope than one will succeed. I don't think that approach works very often so I tailor any job application to really show how I meet the employer's needs. That takes time, even for me, and would not be possible at all for some stranger who doesn't know my experience in considerable depth.

[Cony]

It's like having somebody tutor you for a math test vs. having somebody do the math test for you. It could be seen as fraud, or at least as you not being interested enough in the job to do it yourself.

I don't think it is the same issue. As a senior manager, as David junior mentioned, you may have agency and it would negotiate on behalf of you. Yet there are less service offered to newcomers or mid-levels. In my opinion, people are getting tired after endless applying and without any respond (as it happens very often). One lose self-confidence. (s)he may develop uncertainty about her/himself as result of being drowned by head hunters.

So, if such a service can prevent further damage to the society of job seekers, why not?

[Adrian42]

Well... there are already lots of recruitment companies, like Barona or Eilakaisla.

For just filling in form applications or to send in my CV + cover letter... .."Oh, it's that gal/guy who cannot even spell!".

Well, I understand what you mean. However, posting a resume in Barona etc... Takes time right? Now there are still plenty of positions that one should apply in the company website. Forms, details, qualifications, skills... over and over. Now, imagine there is a company that says: I can do all this for you after you approved your initial resume. It does not guarantee that you get the job, not even interview, but the paper work is done with less stress and one may feel better about him/herself.

What do you think?

People who apply desperately at hundreds of places are usually unemployed.

They tend to have much time and no money.

And when they didn't find a job with their first 100 applications their next 100 applications are anyway unlikely to find them a job. What they need is proper advice, not some way to get the next 100 fruitless applications done easier.

[Adrian42]

All this is already out there in the wide for higher echelons and it could be possibly an idea to plug remaining voids in the job market,
especially for those on the entry level, students, graduates, people with special needs and the like, considering that consulting fees of
course should be proportionate and verging on the cheap.

Career advice or advice on how to apply for jobs does make sense.

Paying a spammer to send your CV to 1000 companies does not make sense.

Cony's business idea is to do the latter.

[Cony]

It's great to hear your opinions.

[Upphew]

No.
But as there won't be much of start up costs, why not try? Prove me wrong.