This little anecdote sums up why I wish, very much, that all companies would hire their staff directly instead of through an agency.

I saw a job advertised through an agency, and applied for it by email. The next day, I got a rejection email saying I did not have the skills and qualifications specified by the client.

I then saw the *exact same* job advertised through a different agency. I sent the exact same resume and cover letter by email to this agency, and had an email back within an hour asking whether I could go in for an interview the next day because I was the only person they'd heard from who had the skills and qualifications specified by the client.

One agency interview and test later, the consultant phoned back to say that they'd sent my test results and resume to the client, along with their strong recommendation that I was the best of the three candidates, but the client felt I was OVERQUALIFIED and "wouldn't get along" in their office. They wouldn't even consent to meet me to find out if this was, in fact, the case.

Am I right in thinking the sole purpose of agencies is to get in the way of your own ability to convince an employer to hire you? These two agencies took the same resume and submitted it so differently that the first time I came across as an unskilled moron, and the second time I came across as *too* skilled. (Quite apart from the side issue of why being overqualified was a problem, since this was a fixed-term, fixed-salary temporary job and I had already indicated both were acceptable to me.)

I would much rather deal direct with an employer. At least then I'd know that if I didn't get the job, I did my best to get it. I hate feeling as if my fate is in somebody else's hands, being decided by a phone call between two people who don't even know me and are probably just making up stuff anyway.

Has anybody *ever* found a job more quickly and easily through a consultant than they would have if they'd been allowed to talk to the employer directly?

Brunnen-"overqualified"G