Lisa
I too am in the same position, while there seem to be a lot of
HR jobs in the market place getting past the recruitment agency apears to be the problem. In most cases recruitment agencies have the motto " last week I sold clothes now I am a
HR Consultant" So remember in a lot of cases these "consultants do not have any background or knowledge of the jobs they are trying to fill and have very limited knowledge of the client or what the client needs and therefore go off a "cheat sheet", unless you state in your CV the worlds on the sheet you do not get a go. Not all agencies are the same and we should not forget that some are professionals, however they are in the minority. you need to source these agencies.
Recently I applied for a job through an agency because the employer asked me too, the employer wanted to know if they were getting a good service or would they do better recruiting themself. My resume never reached the client.
You would be better applying direct to the employer.