Is recruitment for you?

We hope to provide you with a valuable insight into the role of a recruitment consultant and what would be expected of a successful recruiter. Recruitment can be both professionally and financially rewarding and can very often lead to a satisfying and lucrative career. The information provided will help you to make the decision as to whether you believe this would be the correct career path for you to follow.

What is a Recruitment Consultant?

Recruitment consultants act as intermediaries between employers and job seekers, they earn fees from employers by placing candidates within permanent, temporary or interim positions. There are several types of recruitment agencies, both generalist and specialist.

Generalist - deal mainly with office personnel i.e. receptionist, secretaries & administrators. There are global consultancies and the smaller independents.

Examples of specialist agencies:

Financial Recruitment - supplying financial staff to both private and public sector i.e. from Financial Director to Ledger Clerks within Commerce & Industry and Public Practice

Legal Recruitment - Placing newly qualified to fully qualified legal specialists in to the commercial market, i.e. litigation, property, insurance negligence and personal injury

Search and Selection - also known as 'head hunters' are responsible for sourcing candidates into senior and specialist roles

Medical and Nursing - supplying nursing and various staff to the National Health Service and Private Sector

Education Recruitment - providing supply teachers to schools and can also include providing special needs and nursery staff.

Construction Recruitment - supplying either blue or white-collar workers to construction firms, sites and local councils, from qualified architects and surveyors through to skilled and unskilled trades people

Hospitality and Catering - providing all levels of hospitality staff from Hotel Managers through to Silver Service staff

Engineering Recruitment - providing blue and white collar engineers from CAD and CAM operators through to Directors of Engineering for major companies

Industrial Recruitment - supplying unskilled and semi-skilled temporary workers to factories, warehouses, etc this may also be coupled with the driving sector - supplying qualified goods drivers.

IT Recruitment - supplying qualified IT professionals on a contract or permanent basis.

"The first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want." Ben Stein

The role of a recruitment consultant is fundamentally a sales role, where a basic salary is usually paid to the individual, supplemented by a performance related commission structure. This is very often where an individual has the opportunity to work to targets and achieve a significantly increased salary. There may also be team related incentives, prizes and promotions awarded for personal achievements.

Being a recruitment consultant is a proactive role that very often includes cold calling, as well as rapport building, providing a high quality of service and a professional and honest approach to both candidates and clients alike. Recruitment is a very sociable role and therefore strong interpersonal and communication skills are of paramount importance. A good sense of humour is definitely useful! You'll need it!! People can be unpredictable, you will need patience, understanding and empathy.

"Recognise your true potential. If you think you can't, you won't. If you think you can you will."

Sometimes recruitment will feel like a roller coaster ride, challenging and exciting, which is why the question, ‘have you got the stomach for it?’ will often be asked. You certainly won’t be bored as everyday is a new experience and you can often arrive at work in the morning and not know what you may face in the day ahead.

Recruitment is a unique sales experience, remember your product is a human being and has a mind of its own! Ideally, to be suited to the role of a recruitment consultant, you should be tenacious, have self-motivation and self-belief, take pride in your work and be a career focused individual. Most consultancies would find it desirable that you are a team player; however it is of paramount importance that you have a competitive edge. The most successful recruitment consultant will never settle to be second best! A prime example of a top team player is David Beckham or Wayne Rooney; their individual achievements shine.

Great tip to remember! Treat people as you would like to be treated; with respect and honesty, keeping clients and candidates informed at all stages of the recruitment process.

If you think that recruitment is the right career for you please contact Marianne on 0161 773 4111 or e-mail marianne@sharna-associates.co.uk to request our booklet 'Is Recruitment For You?’