What is a Recruitment Consultant?

September 5, 2006 · Filed Under How to Get Into Recruitment · 5 Comments 

Breaking into the field of recruitment can be so difficult, so with this blog it was my intention to help with some pointers on how to become a Recruitment Consultant. Although this update in the series (How to get into Recruitment) is a little late I hope to catch up in the coming weeks.

Recruitment is a fantastic industry, tough but rewarding but to be honest most people want to become a recruiter for the wrong reasons and for those it generally ends in failure. So I wanted to make one point clear, and that is a Recruitment Consultant is a SALES EXECUTIVE, so if you do not like sales I suggest you try another role.

In addition recruitment is VERY COMPETITIVE so in essence you will need to have an abundance of drive and passion, with some sales experience. Saying this I do not want to put you off, because what makes this is a great industry is that compared to general sales, this product will thank you!!

Based on this and other factors, I have put together a list of the key skills or attributes that make up a successful Consultant and if you have most of them you are most of the way there.

• Communication skills (Clear diction, articulate)
• Hard working (overtime, make calls from home if necessary)
• Sales ability (able to promote the service of your company and get commitment)
• Time Management (You will be pulled in all directions)
• Competent writer (Adverts, resumes, reports etc, although I have got away with it for many years!)
• Smart Appearance
• Able to deal with rejection
• When it is tough have the strength to keep focused
• Good Rapport skills
• A personality (helps build a rapport)
• Able to think outside the box, there is always more than one way to skin a cat!

This should help you understand what the agency is looking for, which will help you succeed or I have put you off altogether.

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Get that interview!

May 2, 2006 · Filed Under How to Get Into Recruitment · Comment 
When you send your cv off there is of course no Guarantee that you will even get an interview, particularly if you do not have that much experience as previously outlined.

Hopefully though you have been getting some work experience while you are looking for your ideal job, because I can guarantee it is always easier to get a job if you are in one. A little food for thought and I have often mentioned this to people wanting to get into sales, try a commission only sales job, they will take anyone on or a telesales job, they are ten a penny at the moment. It may seem hash and generally at this point the graduate runs away, but you just have to trust me on this, the most successful people have done some thing like this to get their career going, because if you can do commission only you can do anything. In addition the training and experience you will gain will be put to good use later on. In regards to these role just think of it as free sales training! Hopefully by now you have some experience on your cv and enough to get that interview, but if not then the next option can sometimes work. Follow up the cv with a call to the manager and then sell yourself to him and don’t get of the phone until you have an interview. It is incredible how few people actually do this these days. I can guarantee they will try to put you of but do not take no for an answer i.e. “you do not have enough experience” is typical but over come it “I understand this but what I do have is a desire to work within your industry because….” etc

In the end you may get to the point were they will see you just to get you of the phone. The great thing about this industry is that there are so many specialist fields from the legal profession to welders to the construction industry so based on that I am sure you will have some specific knowledge that would work well in the recruitment industry, because if you use this it will give you an edge.

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What Recruitment Consultancy to Join?

May 1, 2006 · Filed Under How to Get Into Recruitment · Comment 

You have written your cv and it is ready to go but wait, first make sure someone apart from you has read the cv to ensure it makes sense. Amazingly the standards of cvs I read are poor; there is no excuse with spell checker and grammar checker. Watch out here though as word will often not include heading or words written in capitals. I have had many a laugh at the spelling of curriculum vitae. It is often at the top big and bold but spelt incorrectly because it hasn’t been checked. Ask your self what does it say about you?

  

The next step is where to send your cv well this will really depend on what market sector you have chosen or where your skills best fit. I think these days there is a recruitment consultancy for nearly every single market. So the most logical direction would be a market that relates to your experience or degree, that way it will give you an edge.

  

Apart from industries there are the different fields of recruitment to consider

  

1)      Permanent

2)      Temporary/Contract

3)      Head Hunting

4)      In House

5)      Or a Combination of above

  

The styles of the person vary greatly here The Temporary or Contract consultant can be very much a service type role where the role is very much about ensuring the candidates get to their job on time and the completion of time sheets.

  

The Permanent role is more sales orientated and is generally more new business driven, so here you need to have more of that sales drive.

  

Finally there is the headhunter, which although most people perceive that head hunting is generally recruitment; a true headhunter will command salaries in excess of £100,000. The role is much more involved in that you tend to work on assignments and on larger fees i.e. 30% of directors salaries, which can range between £50k to £100k.

  

To help you focus, if you are starting out then you will need to consider permanent or temporary and head hunting is for more senior and experienced individuals.

  

Next you need to consider the size of company to work for, whether to join a start up or a company like Manpower or a small agency. All have their advantages but starting you career with one of the big companies is the best way to go, as these companies will give you the training, which will set you up for life.

  

I would try to avoid the start-ups as this can be very stressful, but generally you will have the advantage of working with someone who is very experienced and has broken away from an established consultancy.

  

If you cannot get into the likes of manpower then the smaller companies will often give you the break and a couple of years hear will give you the experience to join the larger organisations.

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What is a Recruitment Consultant?

April 28, 2006 · Filed Under How to Get Into Recruitment · Comment 
To become a Recruitment Consultant for some seems easy and others near impossible, so with this blog I hope to help you uncover some of the secrets in becoming a new recruitment consultants, plus a few tips to help you excel and make more money and get promoted.
Over recent years becoming a recruitment consultant has become more difficult in someway’s, although the opportunities out there are more prolific, there seems to be more hoops to get through but at the end of the day the essence is still the same.

I have probably interviewed hundreds candidates looking to get into recruitment, but in most cases it is for the wrong reasons. The reason is that you probably do not realise that to be a Recruitment Consultant you actually need to be a Sales Executive and not that likable person on the other side of the desk who spends their day interviewing candidates.

And at this point I have probably put a few of you off from joining the recruitment profession, please don’t panic as some of these large recruitment consultancies have many a varied role which may suit your personality more than others. If you want to be a recruitment consultant though you really do need to have a sales mentality, a passion and a desire to succeed because at the end of the day this is a VERY COMPETITIVE MARKET.

The key to getting you first opportunity is to have an understanding of what a Recruitment Consultancy is looking for, so here is a list of some of their ideal attributes:

• Good communication skills (Clear diction)
• Hard working (Keen to put in overtime make calls from home if necessary)
• Sales ability (Should be able to close the sale i.e. ask for the job)
• Time Management (You will be pulled in all directions)
• Good written Skills (Writing adds, resumes etc, although I have got away with it for many years!)
• Smart Appearance
• Able to deal with rejection
• When it is tough have the strength to keep focused
• Good Rapport skills
• A personality
• Be able to think outside the box, there is always more than one way to skin a cat!

Generally if you have just come out of University or a non sales role you will not have had much experience which is what most consultancies look for so with my next instalment I will try help you get past this hurdle. In fact most of what I will be telling you will help you get any job that you apply for.

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First Interview Preperation

April 23, 2006 · Filed Under How to Get Into Recruitment · Comment 

Assuming that you now have an interview with your ideal recruitment consultancy, you will need to prepare no matter how informal they tell you the interview is. It is always better to be over prepared than under because it will give you confidence and focus.

Based on this I suggest that you prepare a presentation as there is something psychological in the process, which will ensure the interview goes well, not only that it will give you an edge.

Preparing for an interview these days is so simple because virtually all companies now have a web presence, so there are no excuses for not knowing about the company you have the interview with.

It still surprises me that people still do not check out the company website before they arrive. In fact companies will mark this against you so No Excuses!

When you prepare for the interview I believe it is worth putting together a small presentation folder specific for the role and the company, it always looks better than just turning up. Generally I buy a A folder with clear plastics sheets inside, where I can drop the cv in etc.

Below I have outlined the things that I would generally put in the folder:

  • A Front page (Name, Location, Time of interview and Name of interviewer)
  • The CV (only 3 pages here please!)
  • Show proof of success such as pay slips, awards, letters of commendation etc (Proves your ability)
  • Information on the company you have the interview with (Print out from web etc) NB this shows you have done your research. Also it is often worth printing out details of the company you worked for, I am sure you have heard “a picture paints a thousand words.”
  • List of 5 questions for the company (Saves that embarrassment when they ask have you any questions)
  • List of 5 reasons why you can do a job for them (This they do not need to see but will help you sell yourself)
  • Print 3 copies so that when you can leave you can leave them one, which will go down well.

Spend some time on getting this and right and ensure you have some one read over it and dont forget to check the Grammer and Spelling is up to sratch.

Although this may seem a lot of work putting a presentation together for the company, even-though it may not be necessary, it is worth the effort. There are many reasons for this, one because once done it will only take short time to prepare for another if you are unsuccessful with the first. Secondly I can promise you will have an edge over the competition not just because you have one but because the process of writing one focus you on getting the job rather than just turning up.

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