Frustration in downturn of job market?

In one of my earlier post I was referring to Accenture’s report „When Good Management Shows“ and how to Create Value in an uncertain Economy.

Daniel Lewis a recruitment consultant, working for itcom, is commenting on that and turning the question more ore less around transfering it to the job market, by saying that it is essential to build effective relationships with recruitment consultants in good times. As the demand is higher than the job offerings and we see more competition for the good job opportunities out there, people’s frustration working with the recruitment consultants increases. David state’s that

if we see a continual downturn in the job market as we have seen in the past 6 months, then we’ll see more competition for the good job opportunities, particularly in the contract market. With this in mind and also as you’ll want to be better than your competitors, there’s real value in having a positive and effective relationship with recruitment consultants.

When I first meet with people looking for work, the most common feedback I get is that the experience working with recruitment consultants has at times been very frustrating and of little value to them. If the market trend continues and finding good job opportunities becomes more competitive then I see that people’s frustrations will generally increase.

It would be interesting to understand what can be done in good and in bad times to make the relationship more rewarding and I will take Daniels offer to elaborate further into it and to give some advice for all of us out there.