After submitting my application, I wait several weeks and never receive any status. Calling the agency back, the same person refuses to take my call or return my messages. I managed to get one interview with a recruiter through knowing someone at the agency. After a half-hour meeting, he was still unsure as to what sort of position would suit my skills. I had to call the agency back later that day after seeing them advertise a position that was an exact match for my background.
All agencies advise unsuccessful applicants that they keep their resumes on file.
It seems to me that the recruitment agencies are only serving themselves, since they fail to provide a quality service to applicants or employers. Applicants are treated like second-class citizens and employers are presented with a short list of candidates that aren't a true reflection of the quality and quantity of real job seekers. It is easy to agree that queuing in the bookroom to buy texts and course readers during first week is rarely a pleasant experience. We do our utmost to deal with the customer tsunami which breaks over us and whose size is over 17,000 customers for that week alone and 43,000 for the month. As the article correctly points out, the space available to do this is clearly inadequate for the purposes and was designed for a total student population of 16,000 compared to the current 35,000 crammed into the traditional campus.