Are you looking for private domestic work? Are you registered with a domestic staffing agency? Are you considering registering with an agency?

Registering with a recruitment agency can sound and feel like a chore. There are so many to choose from, and candidates can start to feel like they are just cannon fodder in the recruitment machine. To a degree, there is probably some truth to this. There are many agencies that will employ unscrupulous recruitment techniques or will simply waste a candidate’s time unnecessarily. Unfortunately this can be the nature of recruitment but there are ways in which you can mitigate this.

Marshall Harber will always be as up front as possible with regards to registration. Saying that, just because an agency doesn’t have the right job for you at that time, it doesn’t mean that you should avoid registration entirely. The fact is that the agency can’t actually allow you to go forward and meet their clients until they have completed their due diligence. So by completing your registration, it means that you save time later on. Worst case scenario is that your CV needs a minor update, but all the ‘right to work’ checks and the registration interview are out of the way so you can be put straight forward for a job as soon as it becomes available or appears on the Jobs Board.

When an agency takes on a new instruction from a client, they immediately search their own databases and advertise the position. If you are not yet registered, you are already on the back foot because you are competing with candidates that have and can be sent forward immediately. Clients are very often looking for ASAP starts, so being registered already gives you a clear advantage over any candidates that aren’t.
In order to meet the Conduct Regulations which govern the business of employment agencies, we are required to carry out certain legal checks, such as a ‘right to work’ check. Part of the registration process will be checking your ID and visa status to make sure you are able to work in the UK. This may not be relevant for candidates applying to roles outside of the UK but we treat each application on a case by case basis.

Now, admittedly the process of registration can appear drawn out, especially as you potentially have to repeat this process with more than one agency. Our advice therefore is to do your research. Find out which household staff agencies have the best reputation. Find out how long they have been operating for. Private domestic staff recruitment is not an easy industry, so if the agency has been around for a while, this is generally a good sign. Then it becomes about prioritising. Select the agencies you would like to engage with (we definitely recommend more than one) and then invest a bit of time getting your registrations complete. Once you’re done, you should hopefully never have to endure more than basic file and CV updates in the future and the agency will be able to send your CV forward immediately to any jobs you want to apply for. You will also show up when our consultants search for new CVs in the database further improving your chances of finding that perfect job.

Marshall Harber has gone to great lengths to evolve this process making it more efficient for our household staff candidates. We have removed the need to attend our offices (although you still may attend our and we welcome face to face interactions with our candidates by appointment) and we have the added option of conducting the registration interviews using various video-meeting platforms. As the internet gets faster and more stable and as modern lives become increasingly higher paced, we need to leverage technology to our advantage.

If you would like any more information about our registration procedure or requirements please see our Candidate page and for a list of the current vacancies we have available please visit the Jobs page.

We do hope that you choose Marshall Harber for your recruitment needs and we look forward to welcoming you in the future!