Using a Recruitment Consultant

Although recruitment agencies are part of a multi-billion pound industry covering a multitude of skills and experience across all sectors of the market, they are perhaps one of the most under-utilised services in the industry. However, for the job-seeker, a recruitment agency is an invaluable tool, which should not be dismissed.

In fact, many of the positions filled by recruitment consultancies are not advertised anywhere else and they will have vital contacts across a range of industries, with some specialising in a certain field, such as IT.

The right recruiter can save you time and effort, and more importantly, help find the job that is right for you without charging you for the service.

The Three Main Types of Recruitment Agencies:

High Street Recruitment

These are the agencies you can find down your local town and often have a shop front appearance. Their vacancies tend to cover a range of jobs and are usually more driven by salary bracket (junior to 30k) than by individual specialisations.

High street recruitment agencies can be local or national. Local agencies tend to have solid relationships with other local businesses within their radius, whereas the national agencies can often have access to jobs within other national companies within the area as well as further afield, so it is worthwhile for the job-seeker to register with both in order to reach a greater number of vacancies.

Specialist Search Recruitment

Specialist agencies tend to work within specific sectors of the industry such as, Marketing, Sales or IT, for example. Their locations tend to be within office type blocks away from the high street, so you may need to search the internet or phone directory if you are looking to contact specialist agencies.

Executive Search Recruitment

Also known as headhunters, these recruiters are paid by clients who hire them specifically to fill a position. The clients are usually large organsiations that may find it impractical to advertise a vacancy openly in the media or the internet and often rely on executive search firms to delve into the market discreetly to identify suitable candidates.

As a jobseeker, using such a recruitment agency may be time consuming, after all the executive search companies are working primarily on behalf of their clients and ensuring their best interests are served; as they are paying for the service. So rather then hunt out the perfect job for you, they are more likely to hunt out the perfect candidate for their most current positions available. For this reason, it is a good idea to register with a number of different search firms at one time.

The Dos and Don'ts of Dealing with Recruitment Agencies

Dos:

• Do work out what you want from a recruitment agency and make this clear from your first meeting with them.
• Do focus on building a good relationship with your consultant.
• Do register with more than one agency to heighten your chances of finding the role that's right for you.
• Do be honest with your consultant, even if you are registered with other agencies or have interviews arranged.
• Do consider the advice given by your consultant. After all, it is their job to provide you with a realistic outlook on salary, positions available and an overview of the current market.
• Do stay in touch on a regular basis with your consultant. One call per week is sufficient, so don't be tempted to pester as this may have an adverse effect.
• Do ask for advice on your CV. Your consultant will know popular formats and what their clients are looking for, so their advice could really pay off.
• Do use your consultant to gain prior advice/coaching on interviews in order to gain a more polished performance.
• Do insist on being notified before your CV is distributed to clients. This will ensure you are up to date with situations and avoid any conflicts of interest.
• Do attend an interview with a consultant as you would for a 'real' interview, as recruiters will probably make their decisions about the roles that would best suit you by how presentable you appear.

Don'ts:

• Don't attempt to try and contact the agency's client directly - this would be seen as extremely bad form by both the agency and the client.
• Don't attempt to bully or harass your consultant to put you forward for a position they feel is unsuitable for you.
• Don't allow yourself to be pushed into an interview or take on a position which you don't feel is right for you.
• Don't attempt to play one agency off against another, the recruitment industry is pretty close-knit and it's likely you will negatively affect your chances of them finding you the right job in the future.