Employment agencies are used by lots of people to help them find work but not everyone thinks of using them. However, using an employment agency can be a big benefit to you and is worth considering whether you need work immediately or are just wanting to see what's out there.

Search for an agency local to you by doing a geographical web search such as employment agencies Yeovil', jobs Yeovil' or recruitment agency Yeovil'. A local agency will be good because you can actually go to their offices and meet them but if you need a more specialist agency you may have to try further afield.

Using an employment agency can broaden your job search. There's only so much ground you can cover yourself and an agency has access to lots of relevant jobs and contacts.

Recruiters have access to jobs that you just wouldn't be able to find yourself because some jobs are not always advertised. This is true for high-flying jobs as well as casual work. Also, some industries typically use agencies to fill their positions so you may do better to go through an agency for that reason. In these times of economic downturn, more employers are turning to recruiters anyway as they have less time and money to spend on searching for applicant themselves. To cover all bases it's better to sign up to a recruitment company.

Agencies have good contacts in their industries and can find out about jobs as soon as they become available, helping you to get in early with an application. An agency can also point you in directions you had not thought about before, opening up new job opportunities at companies not previously known to you.

Staff at the agency can help you with your CV and help market you more effectively than you could on your own.

Staff spend their time looking for employment opportunities. The time they spend on you is actually saving you time. Use your saved time to pursue employment leads.

Overseas jobs are probably best found through a suitable employment agency because they will have done it all before and they will be aware of any potential problems that you may encounter. Some companies actually look favourably on applicants represented by an employment agency.

If you do use a company to help you look for a job, make sure that it is free for you to use. The company should make their money with payment from employers. For this reason it is important to tell an agency if you also register with a rival company because if they both put you forward for the same job there will be issues about payment.

At the very least, it won't hurt to have an agency helping you find work. Using the combined efforts of yourself and the agency can lead to a greater chance of landing a new job.