The employment exchange wears a near-deserted look. Picture by Biju Boro

June 30: The rapid rise in the number of placement agencies and professional institutes in the city over the past few years has witnessed an alarming increase in job-seekers being taken for a ride.

Gopal Baishya of Grahak Suraksh Santha said candidates should be very careful while applying for jobs through these agencies. “Police and the district administration should also keep a close watch on agencies with doubtful antecedents,” Baishya said.

Alpana Borgohain, a resident of Gandhi Basti, had registered into a well-known agency for the job of an insurance adviser the latter had advertised.

“When I approached them, they said they would conduct an interview in a couple of days. They have not informed me till date. The agencies issue fake advertisements and prepare fake salary packages to get more candidates to register,” said Alpana, who is working in a New Delhi-based firm.

Amengla Aier, a graduate of Handique Girls College, has a similar story to narrate. She had registered with the same agency in 2000, but was not called for a single interview.

“They conduct fake interviews and after fleecing the candidate they inform them that they were not selected,” Aier added.

The officer-in-charge of the agency, however, denied the charges. “We have placed several candidates over the past three years, who are satisfied with us,” he added. When asked about the numbers of placements, he said there was no ready record as “most applicants do not get back to us after accepting or rejecting an offer”.

Chaitali D. Chetri, who had deposited Rs 350 to register with another agency in 2003, faced a similar problem. “For a year, I did not receive a single call for an interview. Then I found out the consultancy firm had closed shop.”

Proprietor of Disha Jobs and Careers Arundhati Roy said her agency guarantees placement within six months of the date of registration and it had provided “good placements” to several candidates. “There are very few cases where we have failed to provide jobs to the candidates,” she said.

K. Baruah, principal design-engineer at an electronic accredited computer courses centre, which also provides placements at call centres and customer care units, said there were several cases of applicants being duped by some placement agencies.

“In many cases, they advertise jobs in reputed companies but the successful candidates later find that they have been placed in affiliated firms,” Baruah added.

In the absence of an effective government monitoring mechanism and with a small job market, placement agencies are doing brisk business. “Some of them have mastered the art of conning gullible and desperate job-seekers,” a candidate said.

The placement agencies provide marketing, sales, call centre and IT jobs for the students of the city. Some agencies also provide jobs outside the state. Some of the leading companies from the metropolitan cities have tied up with placement agencies here for campus recruitment.