Recruitment Consultants - We are not all that bad

[jacquibm]

I read an article saying how bad recruitment consultants are, I have been in recruitment for 15 years and yes there are some bad agencies and bad consultants. However, I have had the pleaseure of working with some of the most hard working and genuine people in the business and I wanted to share this on their and my behalf.

 

 

WHEN I GROW UP, I WANT TO BE....

..a recruitment consultant. Said nobody. Ever. That's the reality of it. If you took a straw poll, you'd get the usual answers - train driver, fire brigade, pop star, astronaut, nurse, and the most popular and depressing answer currently - famous. (Interesting how the answers vary between the thoroughly speculative and public sector jobs). Popular opinion is that recruitment consultants are a 'necessary evil', a painful process that has to be gone through in order to achieve an end. Hovering somewhere around the likes of estate agents, marginally above the tax man, the recruitment consultant is something of a unfortunate individual, unworthy of our respect, but keep grinning politely whilst we go through with it. Correct?

But...well...is that really fair?

 

Guess what, no. No it isn't. Of course, just like in any profession you'll get your good and you'll get your...well...not so good. However recruitment isn't, and shouldn't be, when done well a 'necessary evil', but a complimentary and potentially vitally important cog in the wheel in moving from one place to (and here's the key part) the RIGHT next place for you.

 

The key thing is to sniff out those that are good and those that are just there 'for the buck'. Nobody grew up wanting to be a rec-con, but once in there it can become a very rewarding, interesting and encompassing career. Let's take construction consultancy (my old field) as an example. Could I have told the difference between a QS and a PQS when I first joined? Nope. Could I have told you about the various plusses and minuses of CM and PM approaches? You would have got a blank face. But then everyone has to start somewhere, and by the end of it I'd have placed a reasonable bet that I could explain the intricacies almost as well as those in the job. What a GOOD recruitment professional does well and should have the moment they walk into the job, is an innate ability to build relationships. To bridge gaps. The second quality is a level of intellect and interest in what they do in order to learn. A good recruitment consultant is like a sponge floating in the bath at the start of their career (bear with me on this). Sponge = recruitment consultant, Water = industry knowledge. As time goes by, the sponge soaks up more and more of the water, and as it does so it begins to sink into the water, until such point as it's completely encompassed by that. THEN you have an excellent recruitment consultant, who understands and is interested in their field, plus has spent time building, nurturing and (guess what) enjoying a number of critically important relationships.

So, what's the message to jobhunters? Don't treat recruiters as a necessary evil. Treat them as an ally, because ultimately that's what they are. Spend time talking to those that your gut tells you are good. Find those that know their way around and stick with them - even after you've got your role. A good recruiter will hold on to those relationships, and so should a good jobhunter. You may well be recruiting yourself in the future. Reciprocate. Go back to the person that did such a good job for you in finding the role and get them on board with your recruitment process.

Be good to your recruiter.

[Lazy Cow]

I enjoyed reading your post, jaquibm.

 

I think it's too easy to focus on those recruitment consultants that have not been able to help - maybe because there are simply fewer jobs out there or because they cannot give you what you want - and forget about those that have been proactive and productive.

 

My OH has benefited more than once from his relationship with recruiters.

 

I think people have to be realistic in their expectations and part of that is remembering that recruiters are primarily in the job to earn money for themselves. They compete to place suitable people so they can be paid. Simple. Be aware of the relationship between you, the recruiter and the company they hope to be paid by.

 

I doubt there are many professions totally without any bad apples or poor practices.

 

LC

[Toni]

Thanks for your post. I used to do temp/contract work a few years ago now and have very fond memories of it. I worked with a couple of recruitment agencies and the consultants I worked with were very pro-active in getting me work. They encouraged me to call in and they knew I needed to be employed but more than that, once I had done a bit of work with them then they knew I was good at my job and were very pro-active in finding me work and putting my name forward. I like contract work you get variety and if you don't like a place (or their politics) you know you don't have to be there very long. I applied to a few recruitment agencies but in the end there were only 2 that I found completely reliable and helpful.

[jim and adel]

Hovering somewhere around the likes of estate agents, marginally above the tax man ...

 

You wish!

[Guest Chelseadownunder]

Its good to hear Recruitment Consultants are not all bad and you work hard to place people. My experience was that we arrived Nov 2008 and registered with 6 agencys. I had no calls back for four months. I ended up knocking on the door of AMP and I got a job myself. Then 7 months later I had one phone call from one of the agencys asking me if I was still looking for a job.....

[Toni]

Its good to hear Recruitment Consultants are not all bad and you work hard to place people. My experience was that we arrived Nov 2008 and registered with 6 agencys. I had no calls back for four months.

 

When I did temp work I always called them. If not daily then every 2nd day when I was in between jobs. I heard that story from other temp people that this was the best way for them to keep you on the top of their list.

[Jessica Berry]

When I did temp work I always called them. If not daily then every 2nd day when I was in between jobs. I heard that story from other temp people that this was the best way for them to keep you on the top of their list.

 

While I would agree that you need to show the recruitment consultants you are keen and obviously if you have an agreement/arrangement about how much contact you will have with them that is fine. However, I personally would not advise ringing up every day or every second day. I know if I did that with my recruitment consultant (I work through a recruitment agency) she would probably take out a restraining order against me ha ha.

 

My recruitment consultant recently advertised a temp admin position. She had over 500 applications for the job. The reality is the agencies are receiving crazy amounts of applications for positions and if every person started ringing them up daily it would be totally unmanageable. Granted there will probably be a high percentage of those resumes that are unsuitable but someone still has to administer the process. The key is to make sure your resume stands out from the 499 other applications in the first place.

[Toni]

While I would agree that you need to show the recruitment consultants you are keen and obviously if you have an agreement/arrangement about how much contact you will have with them that is fine. However, I personally would not advise ringing up every day or every second day. I know if I did that with my recruitment consultant (I work through a recruitment agency) she would probably take out a restraining order against me ha ha.

 

My recruitment consultant recently advertised a temp admin position. She had over 500 applications for the job. The reality is the agencies are receiving crazy amounts of applications for positions and if every person started ringing them up daily it would be totally unmanageable. Granted there will probably be a high percentage of those resumes that are unsuitable but someone still has to administer the process. The key is to make sure your resume stands out from the 499 other applications in the first place.

 

It's all about the "delivery" Jessica . It worked for me and kept me employed, obviously I had developed a rapport with them. I was making money for them and had the skills they needed and was getting the job so everyone was happy.