Job searches and employment agencies in Israel

So, you got terminated from your last job recently or you decided to find a job or did you just want to work from home. What do you do first ?

Well, you should always keep your CV updated, for starters.

Secondly, you can scan the want ads in the papers, but there is a better way. With today’s technology you can scan job search sites for potential positions, there are many characteristics to choose from when doing a search, such as: Full-time/part time, student jobs, location, sector, profession and more.

Some sites are better than others, some are paid sites only: they’ll let you sign up for free, but you can’t do anything with the results of your search (no employer info and can’t send your CV)

The best sites I have used are:

www.jobnet.co.il (totally free, nice outlay and you can send your CV directly via the site)

www.alljobs.co.il (set up an account is free, a paid membership of 44 shekels per month will allow you to access ads that are exclusive to the site. you upload your cv and what you are looking for. This is by far the most comprhensive site. It includes all ads that appear in all papers (I actually checked it out) Worth the investment in my opinion.

www.jobmaster.co.il (the site is free for employees only. employers need to pay. This theory actually makes more sense. nice site. The downside is it’s mostly employment agency ads.

All three allow you to get email notifications on new positions based on the criteria you setup in your profile. This is a big plus as you will avoid having to buy a paper which may or may not have relevant ads for you.

The minus of most of these sites is that employment agencies hound them with tens if not hundreds of ads, that may be just luring CV’s into their system without offering any real jobs to the applicant. I speak from vast experience in this and not from hearsay or assumptions.

Do not misunderstand me, occasionally you can find a job via an employment agency, especially if it’s a fill-in, temporary position for someone on maternity leave. Placement agencies are a bit better, usually have actual jobs to offer too. The problem is many agencies do both placement and as an employer for employers who do not want the hassle of dealing with benefits and costs, need to fill a temp position or a public sector employer who needs immediate help, thus evading the mandatory auction law for all public sector positions, at least for awhile. The employment agency is bound by law and cannot hire you for a period of more than 9 months.

There are two scenarios that play out when you send your CV to an employment agency. Usually, depending of course on the company, you will get zero response. This although you may see the ad again and again, week after week, and you meet all the professional criteria posted in the ad. So why don’t they call me, you ask. Excellent question ! The real reason is that the position is a farse. The company doesn’t have anything to offer in your field and they post ads at a frenzy just to collect CV’s. Do not be amazed, this is fact for at least a half a dozen employment agencies.  Some will call you within a short time of receiving your CV. Do not get your hopes up too high, because this is very preliminary. You haven’t reached the employer yet. To do this you will need to come in for an interview at the employment agency. This will usually be done by a 20-something year old, fresh out of the army girl who has no knowledge whatsoever about your mprofessiona nd cannot answer any questions you have about the position (except what she was told by the employer – if there is one). It is usually a waste of time. You will never hear from them again. Even if you apply for another position at a later date, they will want to interview you again in person. These I would stay clear of.

So, what’s the bottom line ? Do you send your CV out to employment agencies or not ?  Yes, but keep a list of the position you applied for, the agency’s name and the date you sent the CV. And most importantly keep your expectations low, so as not to be disappointed.

The other common thing that happens with those agencies that do call you, is they ask you first question what your salary expectations are. This is totally stupid as you can only truly answer this if you know what the poistion’s responsibilities are, what programs you will be working with, whether you will be in a managerial position or not and what benfits they offer. For example, if you were offerred a company car you might be willing to accept less pay. But be forewarned ! Do not go there – Do not play this riddiculous game ! If you are serious about the “position” tell them you are open to all offers and you cannot answer the question without more information which you can only receive froim the actual employer. See, if you were to name a price – if it’s higher than what the employer set as his budget, you are automatically disqualified, even though you may be the most qualified. If you go too low, you’re selling yourself cheap and losing out. Employers need to make an offer to you and not the other way around. After you get an offer you can try to negotiate a bit. I have had employment agencies accept this and not press it. Sometimes they will go on and tell me what the employer is offering, which if it is not extremely less than what you want, agree and when you get to an interview with the employer you can try to get more when they bring up the subject of pay.

Several years ago I was offered a position by a placement agency and they told me a flatout rate that the employer was offering and asked if it was acceptable to me (it wasn’t) and they mentioned that this was the final offer and there will be no negotiations with the employer on this subject. Well, guess what ? I not only impressed in the interview, but I was signed to a contract for more than double the amount I was told by the agency.

a friend of mine who was looking for work, expected American standards from potential employers, including employment agencies. He refuses to this day to go into employment agencies for interviews or do psycological testing at places like Pilat or Adam-milo. He says “don’t torture me or harrass me. you have a position to offer, here’s my CV. I will provide you with references. Make me an offer.” He has a point.

Moshe Egel-Tal, CSPP

Founder and CEO, Israpay   “making payroll simple”

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