Getting started in Recruitment

So you want to start a career in Recruitment? Think you can cut it with some of the most professional consultancies out there? This is the first part of a two-part guide aimed at those who want to get into Recruitment but need to know more.

The Recruitment Industry generates over £24 billion and 6% of UK GDP. There are over 20,000 companies operating in absolutely every area of business, commerce & the public sector. There are national and regional high street agencies, placing everyone from secretaries to managers, and there are numerous specialist firms, focusing on either IT, Finance, Healthcare, Construction, etc in fact, every niche from tree surgeons to plastic surgeons!

Trainee Recruitment Consultant - What the job involves

Cold Calling (business development) - phoning client companies to ascertain if they have any vacancies. In a specialist agency you’ll try to contact the relevant Line or Department Managers, in a generalist agency, you may speak to Human Resources. Either way, it’s not that easy to actually get through to the right people. They get these calls all the time; they may have a preferred supplier list and not deal with anyone else; they may not be available; they may not have any vacancies at all; you may not even know the actual name of the contact. Of course there are techniques & tactics to help, but initially persistence and a very thick skin are the best assets.

In a sector with fewer vacancies than applicants (client driven), you may spend half your time looking for new business. This may also involve visiting & presenting to clients as well as other marketing initiatives. Until you are experienced, expect a great deal of rejection.

Negotiating - agreeing fees & rates. As part of business development you’ll probably have to negotiate fees & terms. This can be one of the more confrontational areas to deal with. With some of the large high-street agencies you may be restricted or not allowed to negotiate terms. If you operate in Temp/Contract markets you may also negotiate pay rates.

Candidate Interviewing & Resourcing - contacting candidates for your vacancies. In a high-street agency, you’ll probably interview 4-5 people a day. In a specialist agency, many interviews are conducted over the phone. You’ll contact candidates from a number of sources: internal databases and the web are the most common. You’ll be using your judgment to determine the candidates’ abilities & experience.

Matching & Marketing - matching the vacancy to the candidate and vice-versa. In a client-driven market, you’ll have plenty of potential applicants, so you’ll need to be very precise. In a candidate ‘short’ sector, the opposite applies and, with persuasion, you can make a ‘square peg fit a round hole’.

The next steps will involve arranging client/candidate interviews, dealing with offers & candidate rejections and arranging start dates. Depending on the sector you can also expect a degree of administration.

As should be obvious, the majority of your time will be spent on ‘Sales’ activities. Recruitment is about assimilating information and using it to your advantage. The rewards can be exceptional and it can be a career for life. But Recruitment definitely does not suit everyone; in fact 70% of Trainees fail within their first six months.

Still interested? Apply now or read part two - coming soon!