Recruitment industry’s reputation suffering more in Scotland than England

The opinion polls may have the outcome of today’s Scottish independence referendum finely balanced, but one recent survey into attitudes towards the recruitment industry on both sides of the border has produced a more clear cut result.
Thu, 18 Sep 2014 The opinion polls may have the outcome of today’s Scottish independence referendum finely balanced, but one recent survey into attitudes towards the recruitment industry on both sides of the border has produced a more clear cut result.

The survey, conducted on behalf of Excipion, part of the STR Group, asked 500 people five questions each to determine the public’s perception about the industry and to see what lessons could be learned.

The overall results showed that while people in Scotland had a better experience the last time they used a recruitment agency than those in England, they tend to have a more negative view of the industry.

This is especially true in the 25-34 age group; 26% of Scottish people aged between 25 and 34 plan to use a recruitment agency to find their next job compared to 54% of English people in the same age group.

When asked words to describe their overall impression of recruitment agents, respondents in England offered a more balanced selection including “good”, “a necessary evil”, “honest” and “helpful”. On the other hand Scotland responses were weighted more towards the negative with “liar”, “waste of time”, “waste of space” and “dishonest” figuring prominently.

Just under half (48.9%) of England respondents said they would use a recruitment agency top find their next job while less than a third (32.7%) of those polled north of the border said they would be walking through the door of an agency.

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