Aquent

Unlike Michelle, I never had any luck with Aquent and it must be because I didn’t befriend a recruiter. I had trouble just getting anyone on the phone to begin with, and as for actually returning my calls or even looking at my resume, forget it.
Staffing companies are only as good as their staff people, and maybe I just got the lemon here. But, I did get the impression that unless you were interested in a big job with Capital One, Richmond’s top employer, that you weren’t going to be at the top of anyone’s priority list.

For all you «soon-to-be-transplanted-to-Richmond“ers, you may be wondering how in the world to find a job in Richmond, where everyone seems to know everyone, and people get jobs that have never been posted!
The trick is to make friends with a recruiter. And oddly enough, the best recruiter in town for marketing and design works for a national company– Aquent.
Dana Ailsworth is their account rep for several big clients, and she is awesome. She knows her folks by name, and is always on site checking in and meeting with people. She’s been in Richmond for a good long while, and she knows everyone… if anyone has the contacts to get a fresh face established in Richmond, it’s Dana.
And she works for a good company. Aquent takes their talent very seriously. They work with their folks to get them trained, get resumes updated, and to get them placed in a position that matches their skills and interests. Plus, they offer one of the best benefits packages I have ever seen, and certainly the best in Richmond for contracting– they have 401K matching, full medical and dental, plus time off.
I know that they have contracts with lots of the big companies in town to provide contract workers, but they also do contract-​to-​hire positions from time to time.
So that is my tip for the day. If you haven’t checked out Aquent, it’s worth meeting with them. Dana is da bomb, and in Richmond it’s all about who you know… so make friends!