How to Start and Run a Successful Job Recruitment Agency

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During a visit to Johannesburg few years ago, I saw a big sign post close to the hotel I was lodging, the message on the sign post was simple “Get a Job in 30 Minutes… Apply here”. Out of curiosity, I strolled down to the Company, it was a Job Recruitment Agency and their duties was to connect job seekers to employment opportunities.

What is a Job Recruitment Agency

In my conversation with the manager of the company who had some certifications in human resource management, she told me that, she started the company to link job seeking South Africans with Job opportunities. According to her, at the initial stage, her focus was on her friends, but as the demands increases, she was able to get offers from big firms who wanted her to assist them in recruiting creative individual to grow their brand.

Her Job recruitment agency covers resume building, training for interviews, linking job seekers with brand who are looking for creatives and as the agency grew, she added training on soft skills to assist her client get ahead during interviews with the brands she is linking them to.

So basically a Job recruitment agency is the bridge between job seekers and employment opportunities; all the detail between job seekers and the job itself is covered by the agency.

How to Start a Job Recruitment agency

The rate of unemployment in Africa is on the high side, if you are worried, just as I am worried, you can decide to fill the gap by starting an agency that can address some of these challenges. You can follow the under-listed process or just draw some lessons from them to start your own agency.

Start with Resume Building

The first thing you can do if you want to start and run a successful agency is to start with resume building. One of the challenges confronting job seekers is their inability to properly arrange their resume or curriculum vitae to suit the job they are applying for.

According to the manager of the agency I interacted with: “The CV or resume you use in applying for a bank job should be different from the one you used in applying for a job say in an hospital; the role and what they are looking for might be different, so it’s always good to tailor your CV/resume based on the need of the company you intend to apply for”

Starting a resume building agency is easy; you can start and run it online; but it will require some form of content marketing strategy especially if you are not willing to spend any money in advertorials. For instance, you can start by writing a post like “How to Write a Resume that will get you a Job” and share on your social media page, then insert a telegram page link or a WhatsApp group link at the end of the post,  for follow-up questions and further assistance.

Search for Job Opportunities Online

The manager of the agency informed me that, before she was able to get jobs opportunities from big firm, she first started with scouting for job opportunities online, then after that, she will make a list of job offers with a clear clarification of what the job entails, requirement and deadline. Based on the information from her search, she will then re-write some CV/resume that has the stated requirement from those CV/resume that were submitted for resume building, then guide them to apply for the job, and prepare them for the job interview.

To succeed in this second stage you must know how to pay attention to details; your duty is to search, from newspapers, magazine, newsletters, company websites, etc., for Job offers, then come up with a concise list that will assist you to link Job seekers with those opportunities

Soft Skill training Stage is next

Before thinking of approaching companies for job opportunities, you need to identify some soft skills that are in high demands. You will be able to know these soft skills from your search on the job opportunities in stage two. After identifying this skills, you can ask Job seekers in your group to get certification on any of them or you can partner with a brand to organize a subsidize training for them.

Approach big firms/brand

It’s time to approach big brand, share your portfolio and request that they share news or information to you on job openings. The following are very important in your portfolio:

  • Your Certifications
  • Your brand name
  • The size of job seekers in your group and their different skill set
  • A company address /website (if you have one)

If they like what you do, in the long run, they can outsource recruitment into their company to you.

Set Fee for your services

Decide the structure of your brand and determine how much you will charge for job seeker registration, resume building, soft skill training, mock interview session, etc. Many agency have a one-off fee, while others operate stage by stage, you have to decide what will work for you based on those in your group.

Search for more Job

Your agency will grow as those in your group are getting employment opportunities; because apart from referring others to your brand, your brand visibility and trust will continue to grow. Always be intentional in the search for job opportunities.


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