Pareto Avis 

Everyone at Pareto was very friendly and supportive throughout the recruitment process. The information about the assessment day was really good, and helped me prepare well. I am really excited to start my new job and feel that I could find the perfect opportunity thanks to guidance from Pareto.

Don’t waste even a minute applying for this company, not worth it

I applied for a job with them, and about a month later I got a call about attending an assessment day, straight after which we would be told if we were successful or not...

The recruiter I spoke with was friendly enough, albeit quite irritating and fake sounding like a lot of them are, and she was very eager to get me on the assessment day. The assessment day took a few hours with various tasks, and I was successful, to my relief. I had been told that I should expect calls and emails about potential sales jobs the next day onwards - this never happened.

I didn't hear anything about the actual job I applied for, and after a few days, being the proactive person I am, I contacted Pareto asking what had happened. Surprisingly it was the usual 'they are busy', 'the hiring manager is on holiday' etc etc. Not great. I followed up again for an update to be met with the same responses *bang head on wall*

I then get a call a few weeks later about something completely unrelated that I have no interest in, and they say they will have a word with the recruiter that I dealt with before the assessment day about the job I originally applied for. Needless to say, radio silence.

So if I were you I really wouldn't bother. Like most if not all agencies, they just overpromise and underdeliver. A complete waste of time all round. No idea how they're still in business.

I do not usually give bad reviews but I felt my experience with Pareto was too significant to not give feedback on.

For the application process for the Graduate Business Development role, I put a huge amount of time and planning into the interview, making sure my pitch was clean and concise, doing my research on Pareto etc. My recruitment staff member called me every single day for a week building up to it making sure I had done my research and pitch for it - excessive but seemed at the time like they cared.

On the assessment day they brought in 33 candidates and I have never experienced an assessment day so chaotic. One by one you have to first stand up and do a small speech about your 'greatest non-academic achievement' in front of a Pareto director and the clients they brought in, before being split to do various group tasks. After that, you then have to wait to be called in one by one to do your pitch in front of some clients in a separate room.

After you have done your pitch, we were kept waiting for over an hour and a half with no updates on time or any feedback, all 33 of us just sat in a room until very late in the day. After a very long time we were called in different groups to get our result and I was one of the fortunate ones to have passed.

However...they did not tell me anything about 'what' job role I had passed for, 'what' client it was for, or even 'where' the job would be...We all go home knowing as little as what we came in knowing.

It was well over a week later until I heard from my 'recruitment staff member' - who I will not name - after chasing them on LinkedIn, email and his phone to get any sort of update/feedback/next steps following my interview, I only heard back after filling out a form on their website requesting a call from them.

Even then, I was told it was 'unclear' what the next steps were and what position it would be for, and apparently they did not know which clients the job was for because 'it wasn't his area'. If you don't know instead of just saying 'I don't know', a simple remedy/solution to the matter that they would find out for me or get someone who does know to give me a call, would have been fine.

It was nearly 3 weeks later that I was offered a job role from a different staff member that was not in an industry I was looking for.

Reading between the lines, it also feels like they have a very high turnover of staff, as on the assessment day all the staff I spoke to had only been there 'a few weeks' or 'a couple months', which also speaks volumes about the company.

Please do not use this company, they are very unprofessional and give recruitment a bad rep. They expect a lot from you to make sure you impress their clients and therefore their reputation for very little back in return, and you are more likely to land the job you want off your own back. Good luck!

Avoid This Company

I was recently a candidate for a position, and while I wasn't selected, I felt an unexpected sense of relief upon learning the outcome. Unfortunately, the assessment process was one of the most unprofessional experiences I've encountered in years.

The session included 30 participants in a single online chat, which was chaotic and overwhelming. During my pitch, the assessor appeared uninterested, dismissing my well-prepared presentation by commenting that it was "too thorough," which felt dismissive and unprofessional.

The lack of structure throughout the process was glaring. Participants frequently spoke over one another, and there was a general atmosphere of disrespect. At one point, it was even suggested that those dissatisfied with the process could simply log out and go home. To make matters worse, a manager named Andy bluntly stated that anyone considering leaving negative feedback should "shut up" rather than voice their concerns. This was not only rude but incredibly disheartening.

Terrible company, got a job with them and was meant to start an apprenticeship which I did 1-2 lectures for and ended up getting missed off having no contact for 8 months, I ended up leaving the terrible company they got me a job at and they still continue to message me online and email me saying I have put an application in when I have not and won’t stop contacting me when I ask them to stop! Completely not worth it absolutely the worst thing I’ve done. It was in 2022 when I left and they still contact me!

Just like any graduate after university, I have started my job search and decided to apply to Pareto. I was successful on the Assessment Day and have had a couple of recruiters calling me and sending through the job packages. I have had my first interview about a month ago, and still have not received any feedback. I have called and emailed my recruiter numerously, and there was only silence on the other end. Similarly, I've had an interview with another company and was ignored by my recruiter again! I've emailed them multiple times, but all of this was hopeless. In my opinion, it is very unprofessional and neglectful of your time. I do not mind if I get rejected, but I would prefer knowing that, and would prefer getting some feedback.

I would avoid working for this company. There is no work life balance, they have a mantra of poeple and relationships but this couldn't be further from the truth, they have total disregard for their staffs well being and mental health , they fail to protect their poeple from abuse from clients. You will warn 15 -20k more at another company

Poor experience really. My graduate manager set up multiple calls to help "prep" and then wouldn't actually call because he was busy.

The assessment day was great - the process is long and requires some solid prep work but it was a good way to network with people and for clients to see you as a person, get to know you and see your skills first hand, not just on paper.

Only 9 out of 30 were "successful" on the day, but it doesn't seem that they are very helpful after that day. The 'success managers' are poor at communicating. I have had chase them constantly for an update, to book interviews for me and keep on top of things. They don't answer the phones, they don't respond to emails. They are completely unorganised and don't seem to want to actually help you get a job.

Had a successful telephone call, set a date and time to go over tips for the assessment day but failed to actually call me. The whole day went by and I had to notify him that the appointment was missed. Despite asking if I can just be briefed over email, pushed for a phone call after wasting my time the first time and literally stating I was unavailable. Apologising stating that he had issues with his laptop which I didn’t mind trying to forget about.

However, when the call came made out I didn’t sound enthusiastic enough for him like I was suppose to be happy about someone who already displayed a lack of professionalism so early on and close to the assessment day when he was suppose to be providing me with the help to pass. I still replied professionally but was told I was replying with hostility because I didn’t act like the cheerleader he wanted.

Trying to point out that the assessment day may not be for me as I wasn’t enthusiastic enough on the phone to him in that moment but sounded enthusiastic enough on the telephone interview you assessed me for, that made me pass. Noticing this after, he made this mistake is not a coincidence. Which I made very clear on that call and was told I could still attend.

What’s even more of a joke is me asking for reasonable adjustments and being told that he was ‘the best of the best’ someone so unorganised and unprofessional was the best, imagine that. These recruitment agencies are a joke and they play with people’s time when they know people are actively looking for work.

Still deciding if I want to attend based on that experience and the reviews. A very unpleasant experience to say the least.

Amazing interaction and build up to job enrolling through consultant Fran Bridge. Provided excellent guidance, reassurance and advisory steps during the process of organising interviews and assessment days. Offered assistance and recommendations for preparation and was an overall delight to converse with. Fran helped make the process of finding the right company easy and flexible - would recommend Fran as a consultant for anyone interacting with/applying through Pareto.

Fantastic company who actually care about their candidates. Complete transparency and constant support throughout the entire process.

A complete waste of time from start to finish.....and I was 'successful.'

After multiple calls from the recruiter (which I won't name) and completing the assessment day which is just listening to the other 30 peoples intro's

You get called the next day to say you've been successful, but instead of moving to the final stage with the client as previously mentioned, you then enter an additional 2/3 stage interview process.

The assessment day is just a long-winded event to get on their database, where you get called by multiple 'recruiters' pitching one job and not taking the time to read, take notes, or even look at your previous experience.

Poor processes followed by even worse 'recruiters', I couldn't recommend you avoid more!

Prince was very helpful and guided me for the job role I was seeking for. thank you

Prince, from the very beginning was encouraging throughout the entire process. I was briefed and prepared well for every task. Most importantly, Prince distilled belief and reassurance that I could fulfil the tasks well. Thank you!

Was dealing with a recruitment consultant called Prince.
At first the exchange was extremely pleasant, he offered me an assessment day after identifying I had the skill set for a role we organised a call back yesterday in which I was extremely excited for. Yesterday he attempted to call and Due to the line not connecting at our allotted time I rang back another three times a matter of minutes later to zero answer however was sent an email saying due to my lack of contact they have cancel my assessment day.

I’ve never been treated like this throughout any recruitment process especially by a company throughout my years.

Not a bad word to say!
They’ve got me in a brilliant role in no time and we’re very helpful along the way.
Couldn’t recommend Pareto enough! Big shout out also to Tom Rushworth, he was brilliant! Highly Recommend to anyone.

Fantastic organisation full of fantastic people. Helpful from start to finish and made it all feel so personal even though there are thousands of applicants. It’s lead to my dream role and I will be always grateful to them, the virtual assessment day was so helpful too. Special mention to Briony and Luke, theres also one other person but I can’t quite remember her name, special thanks to them as they have followed my progress and been so so helpful. Thank you!

Had a great candidate experience with Pareto.

Lottie Fielding supported and managed my process from initial contact to feedback - post assessment day.

Each individual at Pareto was incredibly informative and regardless of the outcome, you can have confidence in knowing your candidate experience will be stellar.

I would like to thank Prince Nwaiwu for his invaluable guidance during and prior to my assessment day. The team is young and really cares for early careers, which made the day less stressful and more exciting. I wanted to also thank lots of others for their supportive yet challenging approach to the day. I highly recommend Pareto to anyone looking for a dynamic and professional work environment.