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1-15 of 18 reviews of Brook Street - Recruiment Agency sort by Usefulness | Product rating | Date

 

Pro's and Con's of Temping.

Advantages: Flexibiltiy. Better rates of pay. Less responsibility. More variety.
Disadvantages: Some resentment on placement. Non-refund of petrol/police check costs. Office Politics and dissorganisation.

...a relatively negative review of Brook Street (or simply BS as it is more commonly known) recruitment agency by Lucie_S1984. After reading about her experiences I decided I should give mine in contrast. BS are a national recruitment agency and with 55 locations across the country you can find them on most high streets. I have been working for BS Social Care on a Part-time basis while I am studying for my self-funded PhD in Newcastle Upon Tyne for ...
...for more information at: Brook Street Bureau PLC Clarence House 134 Hatfield Road St Albans Hertfordshire AL1 4JB Tel: 01727 848292 Summary. *********** I have given Brook Street Social Care four stars. They lose a star as they are often unorganised and sometimes there is a distinct lack of communication between staff members in the office. They also lose out because they don't pay petrol costs or police check costs. However on the whole, ...

nickyturnill 05.09.2005 · Read full review
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Review of Brook Street - Recruiment Agency

Bother with Brook Street - Nope!

Advantages: Easy & Quick Registration, Pleasant Staff!
Disadvantages: Delay in Payment, Jobs aren't Great!

...really appeal to me! Brook Street was the first agency I registered with, well it was the first agency I intended to register with but when I turned up there I was told I needed an appointment and to come back at a later date! Brook Street has over 140 branches in the UK and has been going for over 55 years now so it's quite a well known agency that can boast experience. It's now actually owned by Manpower Inc which is an agency that operates worldwide ...
...I found myself back at Brook Street, with my CV and two forms of identification (this is now a necessary requirement for any agency). I was greeted by a friendly guy who then took me through the registration process… ** The Process ** First things firsts, I was given a form to fill in which was 2 A4 sides and asked me basic details such as my name, DOB, address, next of kin, NI number, etc. on the first side. Moving onto the second side things ...

Lucie_S1984 20.08.2005 · Read full review
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Review of Brook Street - Recruiment Agency

How many words a minute can you do

Advantages: I find they have quite a lot of work, rates of pay are not bad and you know exactly what you are getting
Disadvantages: temping isn't for everybody

...periods in my life) and Brook Street was the first Agency that I went back to. Let me take you through the registering process. First of all you call in (most of the time you don't need an appointment). You will be seen by a friendly Recruitment Officer (always female in Coventry). You can tell them what sort of work you are after and they will take a look at your CV, so it is a good idea to take one along with you. They can offer you advice on ...
...can do, and to inform Brook Street beforehand. I think you get some sort of extra cover to work longer hours. I think this refers to the warehouse/driving side of placements more than office positions. You give them your tax and bank details (you will be paid every week, one week in arrears)so long as you return your timesheet by the following Monday morning. Their computers will match you up to any suitable jobs they have available, and if you ...

anjib 26.09.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Brook Street - Recruiment Agency

Temping - Up Your Street?

Advantages: Friendly staff, actually gave me work (unlike some temp agencies)
Disadvantages: Took some time to call me with work - not great for students wanting holiday work, they'd be back at uni! Or for anyone who needs money quickly.!

...to look for another agency. Brook Street is obviously a national chain, readers might have heard of them. I registered with the Brighton branch, there is one in Haywards Heath as well. I felt like working in Brighton, although it isn't the closest town for me to get to. It is manageable though, a whole 15 minutes by train. The consultants did seem reluctant to believe that I could mange this arduous journey. I had to convince them I was willing ...
...again, not something unique to Brook Street. I got a call a week or so later with a one day assignment, surprisingly, for a local council. This involved reception work. It turned out to be answering the phone, and being a general office dogsbody - photocopying, mailing and entering data in spreadsheets - the boring stuff no-one wants to do. It was work, I left at 5 p.m. No problem. This is another tendency of agencies. They give you a 1- or 2 - ...

Seagreen 21.08.2005 · Read full review
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Review of Brook Street - Recruiment Agency

Unprofessional and possibly dishonest

Advantages: None that I can think of
Disadvantages: I feel I was misled and that it is not a trustworthy company.

...by a member of the Brook Street Agency to see if I would be interested in a position they had come across that seemed a good match to my C.V which they had come across on a local job site. Having never had much success with agencies in the past, having always ended up finding a position myself before any agencies came through with any interviews (I am in a very specific industry), I am naturally a bit cynical of recruitment agencies. As such I told ...
...specific position they wanted to put me forward for, but I was not interested in temp work, and that I would only be interested in certain roles. They said they understood and that I had probably been bombarded with agencies, so what they would do is with my permission, forward my C.V to the company in question and get back to me. I received a call the next day telling me it was great news, the company was definitely interested in interviewing me ...

MrSanguine 03.12.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Brook Street - Recruiment Agency

Recruitment agencies

Advantages: Employers prefer them
Disadvantages: They lie

I have tried most of them in my time, having had several periods of unemployment, and I cannot say I've ever encountered one I could trust. They all come at you as the best, most caring, compassionate answer to your job-hunting prayers, and they are completely free to boot. Which ought to start alarm-bells ringing in these money-grubbing times. Of course they're free - to you, because you, the job-seeker (as we are expected to refer to ourselves ...
...and quite heavily, for your services, whereas you are paid at the minimum of - what is it now, following the latest Brownian orgasm of glad-handouts : £4.20 an hour? Agencies charge an average of £7.50 for you. Which most employers would rather pay than take you on full-time at £7 : because they can dump a temp in a moment, whereas there is all that tedious form-filling to do if they drop a full-time employee. But back to the honesty bit : our local ...

wordswort 17.03.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Brook Street - Recruiment Agency

Not only and agency

Advantages: Great welcome, always happy to help, always only a call away, always there and on the case to find you work asap.
Disadvantages: none

...out of all of them Brook Street have been the best, although I never got a placement through them the consultant I had was always trying his hardest to find me a joband whenever he arranged any interviews for me he always got me to come in so he could give me some interview advice and kind of interviewed me himself and gave me some feed back and really prepared me for my interviews. No other agency has gone this far for me. They all give you the ...
...is to leave it to the agencies. Sometimes they can get you a job with top companies which you may not even find in the papers so register with all agencies and most importantly register with Brook Street. If anyone is job hunting who reads this best of luck. ...

coolchanty 03.08.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Brook Street - Recruiment Agency

Very quick!

Advantages: Good at finding jobs
Disadvantages: Registration can take a while

Although Brook Street don;t have an online recruitment facility, their high street recruitment branches are across the country and are very good at finding jobs for you. I've registered with them for the second time, as I first used them in Southampton over 18 months ago, and recently when we moved to Leicester. As with all agencies, you have to go in and register, and depending on which sort of job your after this process can take anything up to ...
...and if you;re after permanent work will also try to find you something temporary to keep you going if you get desperate for cash. Obviosuly it depends on what job your after and what sort of salary your looking for as to how long it can take them to get you a job, but there's always someone at the end of the phone to let you know how things are going, and they're pretty quick at letting you know when jobs come in. ...

Biffa 05.09.2000 · Read full review
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Review of Brook Street - Recruiment Agency

More hassle than it is worth - Will harass your references!

Advantages: Large company
Disadvantages: Slow, Hassle, Lie, No communication, Low Pay

...work, so my friend recommended Brook Street. Personally, my experience has put my future into the red as well. --REGISTRATION-- -The usual - Typing tests (on computers that are slow and ancient) and normal shortcuts that don't work, so the outcome is questionable and not a true reflection on your ability with Microsoft Word or Excel, which is pretty basic. -Fill in forms -Cursory chat with a consultant (who is not actually listening!) and who ...
...up this so-called job at Brook for the next 2 weeks - sending my phonebill sky high! Who then fob me off, saying, "It's yours, just wait for a bit." -Waiting, waiting, waiting for 4 weeks - Nothing! -Then sign up with other agencies, and they ring about another job, so I turn down 3 jobs in the meantime! --THE JOB-- -Late one evening, I get a call about a job - I accept. -They say they need references, and Criminal checks, for bank work for the ...

Sunnymui 10.11.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Brook Street - Recruiment Agency

Street to the point

Advantages: Quick,friendly and reliable
Disadvantages: Ideally need own transport

...big name agencies,I came across Brook Street in my local high street so I thought I'd give them a try. The staff seemed friendly and very helpful during the application process.I had to complete what seemed like an easy aptitude test,and register with them.Being as I didn't have any transport or much free time I didn't think they'd find me anything. Later that same night I recieved a call asking whether I'd like a job working down the local PO ...
...for ages and even when I couldn't work for a couple of weeks,they still kept in touch to find out how I was doing.This is a totally different experience to what I had been used to in the past.Other agencies had never bothered calling me back if I missed even one work day. I was impressed and would recommend them to anyone. ...

mrbibbly 24.02.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Brook Street - Recruiment Agency

You could do alot worse!!

Advantages: Honest and thorough registration process
Disadvantages: Low salaried jobs

...in a permanent job for Brook Street they were very professional and only contact me regarding relevant positions. Temporary vacancies are also admin and sales, I was placed in 3 different temporary roles for Brook Street. I enjoyed two them, the consultant took care to make sure I would fit in to the team/ environment in the first two placements. However, the third I was talked into doing a sales role which I really did not want. I was placed straight ...
...In my experience Brook Street perm vacancies are between 12-14k which suit low level admin staff or junior sales. In the temporary market they are mainstream admin and they pay well, stay away from industrial, the jobs are few and far between. Brook Street also offer social care, I deal with them regularly for vacancies in London. My client's feedback is always positive, however, they do seem to have some payroll issues. The website is very useful; ...

bentye 01.09.2005 · Read full review
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Review of Brook Street - Recruiment Agency

Not exactly the best I have experienced.

Advantages: They have a lot of branches
Disadvantages: Slow service

Brook Street always came across as efficient, friendly and helpful in the many of their adverts I have seen throughout London. I was keen to join this agency as I was sure they would be able to help me in my search for temporary work. However I was disappointed. I began by sending my CV to their Baker Street branch and having heard nothing for over a week called them to see if they had received it, which they had. I was told someone would call be ...
...did. I had a similar situation and three other branches of theirs which I tried. Eventually someone did get back to me with a time for an interview and registration but unfortunately I had found work elsewhere by that time. Not the best service I have ever received! ...

vicsterb 31.01.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Brook Street - Recruiment Agency

Quick review of Brook Street - Recruiment Agency

Cannot say I am impressed with the professionalism of their consultancy, offering someone a forklift drivers job when he is looking for graphic design and related work and telling him thats all we have got is just not on. The person I gave my CV to I always see him outside smoking, told me he had lost my CV and worst of all told me that I didn't sound too worried about finding a job - Is there any reason for anybody to be worried about finding work, one wonders!! ...

End-user 01.12.2008
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Review of Brook Street - Recruiment Agency

Brookstreet - a disappointing experience

Advantages: Mostly good telephone manner
Disadvantages: Unprofessional, problems with payment, poor communication with line managers

I've worked with many agencies, as I've been a postgraduate student for years now and need temp work to make ends meet. I was very disappointed with my individual experience with Brookstreet. They initially found me a position with a week or so, and I was of course well pleased by this. However, the position was awful: firstly I was told it was a 5-6 week position, which worked perfectly into my study schedules. However about 4 weeks in I was told ...
...been made, and they expected me to continue on. I worked with my manager and with Brookstreet to try and arrange a suitable schedule for us all. To make a long story short, the position became unbearable stressful, I became accountable for the organisation's entire budget and underspend, despite no previous financial experience. I feel I was not fully informed about what the position entailed, was pressured into staying longer than I wanted to, my ...

robin170 26.04.2007 · Read full review
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Review of Brook Street - Recruiment Agency

Quick review of Brook Street - Recruiment Agency

Brookstreet are probably the most useless agency imaginable, problems I encountered included: having to take a ridiculous IT 'test' which didn't allow shortcuts, and therefore tested nothing. Never once being sent a payslip despite asking for one several times. They don't give payrises for temp work, even over the course of years. More irritatingly, the staff do not seem to have a clue. They have no obvious ability to help people find work, and act like they couldn't care less most of the time. They don't put people forward for jobs even though they could blatantly do them, and I swear that the adverts in the windows/online are fake because when I have asked about them they've been conveniently filled that afternoon. ...

alecwrong 22.05.2008 (21.05.2008)
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Review of Brook Street - Recruiment Agency

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