Is It Worth Applying Through a Recruitment Agency?

If you’ve come across a job posting through a recruiter and found yourself wondering, “Is it worth applying through a recruitment agency?“, you’re not alone. In fact, this is one of the most common questions we hear from candidates, both in the games industry and beyond.

So let’s break it down honestly.

First: Trust The Process. It’s There For A Reason.

When a recruitment agency is representing a company in a hiring process, it’s rarely just about sourcing extra candidates. It’s a signal that the game studio (or company in any industry) has chosen to outsource trust. They’ve decided to let experts handle what’s often a time-consuming, high-stakes process.

At 8Bit, as a recruitment agency dedicated exclusively to the game development industry, we’re usually brought in for one of the following reasons:

• The internal team lacks the bandwidth to manage outreach and screening,
• The role is particularly tough to fill and requires specialist knowledge,
• Or the studio wants a high-quality hiring experience for candidates, handled with care and insight.

This means that applying directly to the studio, when the role is officially assigned to an external recruitment partner, won’t necessarily give you a competitive edge. In fact, it might complicate things. Studios often route direct applications back through their recruitment partner, which delays the process and removes your chance to benefit from the recruiter’s insight.

Think of it like this: imagine you want to rent your flat. You don’t live there anymore and you don’t have the time or know-how to handle the viewings, paperwork, and negotiation yourself. So, you decide to work with a trusted real estate agent. But then, people start calling you directly after seeing the listing, insisting that you meet them, show them the flat, and skip the middleman. Will you consider them dream tenants just because they were “proactive”? Or will you politely ask them to speak to the person you’ve already trusted with your property?

It’s the same with recruitment. That recruiter isn’t a roadblock, they’re the point of contact for a reason.

What a Good Recruitment Agency Can Offer You

When you’re represented by a recruiter who knows their client well, you don’t just get forwarded to HR, you get context.

A solid recruiter will:

• Give you a heads-up if your CV or portfolio needs a revamp before we show it to the client. We’re here to cut through the noise and understand your actual industry experience, not your InDesign or Canva skills, but we’ll make sure your resume gives a proper first impression for the hiring manager.
• Brief you on the company’s culture, structure, and process. Plus, it’s often easier to share concerns with a recruiter. Heard rumors about crunch at a certain studio? We can help validate or debunk that, giving you clarity before you commit.
• Prepare you for interviews with insights on the team or interview style and flag any parts of the process that seem off-market. For example, if a take-home task seems overly long or misaligned with the role, we’ll raise that with the client to ensure expectations are fair.
• Advocate for you when it comes to salary expectations or relocation needs. Because recruiters collaborate with multiple companies in the same industry, we have a solid grasp on salary benchmarks. We guide both you and the hiring studio to ensure compensation is aligned with current market standards,
• And offer a human sounding board when you’re weighing decisions.

This layer of support can make a real difference, especially if you’re not someone who applies to jobs weekly or negotiates offers often.

Is It Ever Not Worth It?

If you’re unsure about the recruiter’s credibility, for example if they rush you into applying without knowing your goals or clearly don’t understand the role – that’s a red flag. Not all recruiters operate with the same care.

But when the recruiter is part of a reputable agency with visible ties to the industry (like our track record at 8Bit – we’ve been a part of the games industry for over a decade now), it’s almost always in your best interest to go through the agency rather than trying to go around it.

What If I Already Know The Studio?

Sometimes, it may happen that you already know the studio or even the specific role the recruiter wants to discuss with you. In most cases, the recruitment agency and the hiring company already have a defined process in place for such situations. So, if you haven’t applied yet, it’s a smart move to proceed with the recruiter who was proactive enough to reach out to you first. This way, you benefit from all the advantages outlined earlier – context, prep, feedback, advocacy – and you respect the structure already trusted by the studio. Just be sure to inform the recruiter if you’ve already been in touch with the studio in the past or were involved in a previous recruitment process. Sometimes, that prior engagement means we can’t represent you further because you’re no longer considered a new candidate by the client – but that’s a case-by-case thing.

So, is it worth applying through a recruitment agency?

Yes. Especially when the agency is officially managing the process.

It means the studio has already put their trust in a partner. And if you choose the right recruiter, you’re not giving up control – you’re gaining a teammate.