Whenever I've been to a recruitment agency, the people inside are generally pretty helpful. After…read moreall, they make money from finding you a job. I recently popped into Acorn because I was on my way back from a job interview in a place I didn't really want to work (I hate call centres) and figured as I was already suited, booted and looking generally employable, I would have a go. I was told there was nothing I could do in the branch and I have to search for vacancis myself online. That's not a problem obviously but in my previous dealings with agencies, the point of it was always that they did the searching for me, and then they pocketed an hourly rate from my employment. So went to a different agency where they actually did earn their money and do the searching on my behalf.

This employment agency is part of a big national chain. They have a good reputation in Cardiff and…read morehave secured several major temporary staff supply contracts. For example, the Welsh Assembly Government has an exclusive contract with Acorn and uses them for any temporary staff they need. In addition many of the local councils in South Wales use this branch of Acorn because they know that vetting procedures are strictly adhered to. The big attraction to a job seeker of registering with this agency is that it can provides access to some of the best employers in the area. Many workers, after working as a temp., find that they are considered favourably when a permanent vacancy with their host organisation occurs.

Great business, very professional and excellent customer service. They have a huge network of…read morecandidates.

I've been to a fair few job agencies in Cardiff. This is one of the better ones. I appreciate they…read moreare quite busy with so many people out of work but I still felt welcomed in and they genuinely seemed like they wanted to help me. They actually did phone me back with a couple of potentials. Unfortunately nothing materialised and when I stopped chased them they stopped ringing me.

Hays is arguably one of the better employment agencies in town. I can only comment on the…read moresecretarial branch, which ended up passing me on to the Bristol office, as that's where the Marketing recruitment services are located. After a brief phone conversation, one of the agents called me in for an interview at the Cardiff office to establish my job requirements. The whole process took about an hour and left me with an overriding impression of efficiency and thoroughness. The staff at the Bristol Marketing office managed to find me a variety of suitable roles, a few of which ended with a job interview. Like all recruitment agents, they need a bit of chasing, which I found tiresome but worthwhile in the end, as I secured a full-time temporary Communications position at a nearby government office. I know recruiting experiences vary wildly, but I've heard good things about Hays from quite a few people, so I'd say they're worth a visit if you're in the market for a new job. Please note the Hays office has now moved from Windsor Place to Callaghan Square.

I have recently had dealings with Adecco as my previous job became boring so I took the plunge and…read morequit. My inability to budget with monthly pay was apparent so I thought I'd sign up for temporary employment and go for a weekly paycheck to make budgeting easier. I signed up and within 24 hours they found me a job in the sector I was looking for. There were loads of forms to fill out as expected but all were relatively painless. I spoke to a representative over the phone who was very helpful but did not work in this office. The dealing I had here were less than helpful. The people here didn't know whether I had to wear a suit or not or even what time I had to start at my new job. All in all the company as a whole found me a job really quickly but the people in this office weren't so helpful.

Signing in with the job centre can be a huge phath I can assure you, but sometimes it is well worth…read moreit. They can be very picky though, with the type of people they want to accept to give money too and they expect you to do certain things. Like attend a meeting or two or to sign in every two weeks and if you do not then you could lose out the money that you have applied to get; also being late to those sessions is another that they do not like either. I have been or I have forgotten one appointment and they sent me a letter of complaint, I suppose that is only natural for them to do so. You're National Insurance Number card is important to use during your time here. You can you use their computers that are specified just to search for jobs that have been mainly advertised through their job centre company, to search for jobs locally or further afield. All you really do with them though; is they fill in all your details in a computer, that is related to your job and perhaps the information for what other jobs or courses you have done and they need a copy of your CV and keep it on file and you have to suggest three jobs that you are searching for. It is best if one job idea of special interest, one in retail or like something in Administration or a receptionist type of job, if you can. I recommend to all out of work, there are a few companies in Cardiff, but the one I have been with is CaraDog House that is on St Andrews Place in the city centre.

A company that truly gives 5 star service. They are a small team who make a lot of effort to get…read morethings right. The recruitment agency specialise in permanent recruitment in anything from Management and Engineering to Human Resources. They really seem to care about the people that they are working with and seem to realise that without good candidates they would not have anything to sell to companies. Another good thing is that if you are no good for a job that you have applied for, they will tell you this and let you know exactly why rather than trying to fob you off like most agencies. Very honest people. The contact information above for this company is not correct but I couldn't figure out how to change it. It is: Petrie Recruitment, Oddfellows House, 19 Newport Road, Cardiff, CF24 0AA. 02920 440 990.

Pertemps is another big, national employment agency for both temporary and permanent office based…read morework. The office is open for anyone to go in but I really felt as though they couldn't be bothered to deal with me. Took a while for anyone to even notice me standing there and then after than it was a short conversation hand over the CV and leave to never to get that promised call back.

After experiences with bland "careers advisers" at school, I've always been really impressed with…read morethe university's careers service as it provides such a wide range of help for all of its students, both undergraduate and postgraduate. Not only do they dish out valuable career advice and guidance, but they also have a vast information resource that students can browse independently - although the internet access is worth using to make sure you're getting the most recent information (with brochures and publications quickly getting out of date). The service also highlights course and job vacancies, runs workshops and group sessions to arm students with workplace skills, and can help prepare students for interviews and aptitude tests. There are also too many other services and schemes to mention, such as the 'Graduating to Enterprise' initiative that aims to help entrepreneurial students gain the necessary skills to bring business ideas to fruition. It's well worth making an appointment just to see what they have available to help you. The building also houses interview rooms used by employers who want to target Cardiff University graduates for their recruitment, and if you're getting close to graduation it's worth attending the Career Fairs which are held throughout the year for different industries. There's an Industrial Placement Fair, a Cardiff Law Fair, a Welsh Media Careers Information Fair, plus lots of others. Companies from the relevant sector book stands at these fairs and students can browse around to get a good idea of the types of opportunities each organisation offers, and meet potential employers.

Me and my housemate went here after realising that we had very little knowledge about how to embark…read moreon the careers we wanted. In desperation we tumbled in the office, making far too much noise for a library and not caring one jot because we were so panicked. The librarians guided us swiftly to a table and were very friendly, not at all severe. We spent a loooong time working, gathering together information (quite a lot of which was unfortunatrely out-of-date (which is why this place loses a star)) but we were very comfortable. If you are particularly worried and don't even know where to start, the librarians are good at helping, and they can also book you in for consultations.