Career In Recruitment – have you considered it?
The role of the recruitment consultant is fast-paced and sales driven. There is never time to get bored or feel that you are a wasted resource; there is constant change with new jobs, clients and candidates every day and new challenges to be met maintaining existing relationships and building new ones.
You need your wits about you as soon as you walk in the door until the end of the day. The phones ring constantly with people’s careers and business needs on the end of the line. What they care about is that you know who they are and how their search is progressing, that you know your job and that you give them great service throughout their search. If that sounds challenging and hectic – it can be. Having said that, the environment at Personnel-IT is supportive. We are a small and close knit team. From day one, we will give you training on a professional and personal level, developing the skills and expertise that you will need to succeed. Credit is always given to individuals for their efforts and an exciting career path exists for those who have the beliefs and abilities to succeed.
How does the recruitment industry work?
The UK recruitment industry is the largest in Europe and is currently worth about £25Billion. Recent forecasts suggest that the industry is about to go through a period of considerable growth. Successful consultants can enjoy attractive salaries and benefits that compare favorably with most other careers.
The industry consists of around 15000 agencies, from sole traders to large multi-national companies who structure themselves in a wide variety of ways. Some are generalists who recruit for all positions within an organization and some specialize in a particular field e.g. IT or Finance etc. Here at Personnel – IT we specialize in IT roles only. Specialist consultancies like ours tend to be industry specific and often work more senior roles.
In addition to this there tends to be a wide range of recruitment practices within the industry. The service could differentiate from simply sending CV’s only to the more consultative approach we employ, of meeting both the candidate and client and giving detailed feedback and advise as an expert in the industry.
What does a recruitment consultant do?
A large percentage of the day is spent on the phone initiating and developing relationships with both candidates and clients. Once a role has been secured a consultant will have to accurately match candidates to the vacancy. To do this you will need a very good understanding of the client, their values and culture and the range of experience they look for. You will also need to get out of the office to meet clients and candidates. Activity levels are key and most consultants would work to a variety of targets e.g. no of candidates contacted in a given week, no of client meetings. To achieve these activity levels the day is often broken down into blocks of time when a consultant is either on the phone making contact with clients or candidates, in face to face meetings, or searching for candidates / managing their administration which could include advertisements, completing paperwork once a placement is made, updating the recruitment database, etc.
What sort of culture is it?
It’s a hard working, commercially driven and dynamic sales environment. However the recruitment environment at Personnel - IT is close knit and team orientated. Unlike some recruitment businesses you are not micro-managed but are supported in a number of ways. This includes complete recruitment lifecycle training, on the desk mentoring and weekly catch-ups with your manager. We want to enjoy our time at work and as such encourage camaraderie - this can be from sharing a glass of wine in the evening as we wrap up for the day to the chance to catch up at our monthly drinks for staff, clients and contractors.
We also live next door to a great gym overlooking the Thames which we use when we get a spare moment during the day. We believe in the mindset of healthy body, healthy mind – no pressure but the gym would be available to you free of charge if you chose to use it.
What sort of qualities will you need?
You will need to be self motivated and committed to following things through from start to finish. You should demonstrate a level of self belief, determination and desire to succeed. The first six months are the hardest and this will be put to the test!
Normally in a recruitment environment you would be required to build your business from the beginning. At this point Personnel – IT is in the enviable position of having strong client relationships and is currently looking for individuals who can start by supporting the current business. However this is a candidate short market and you will be faced with a number of objections from prospective candidates. The test is often how persistent and skilled you are at overcoming these objections and consultants who do not succeed often give up too easily. In addition the ability to listen and understand is a pre-requisite. Time management and organizational skills are critical due to the nature of this role and being able to prioritize can be a key factor in the success of this role.
What sort of training will you get?
At Personnel – IT you will get comprehensive training. This will consist of a combination of theory mixed in with a lot of on the desk mentoring. You will be working closely with an experienced and proven consultant.
What career path could you take?
Our business is growing and this means that we can offer career opportunities for the right individual once you have established your desk.
So to wrap up!
A career in recruitment won’t suit everybody. The hours in recruitment can be long and unsociable – we have perspective on this and there is pressure, its target driven and you will need to be totally committed. However it can give you early responsibility, high earnings potential and a level of status and reward that would be difficult to match in any other industry.
Next step
Contact 020 7345 5115 or email your CV and covering letter to .
