Choosing and Working With a Recruitment Consultant

Working with a recruiter can save you lots of time and energy when you’re looking for a new job. But who should you talk to? Where do you start?

Choose wisely

Firstly choose a recruiter that best suits the area you are looking to get a job in. A recruiter that has experience recruiting for your chosen discipline will not only be able to find you new roles but also provide you with market and salary information and CV and interview advice specific to your discipline and industry.

Secondly work with people that have been recommended and are specialists in the market. Take time to research both the company and the consultant online. At the end of the day it is your recruitment consultant that represents you to perspective employers so the better the relationship you have with them, the better the consultant will work on your behalf.

If you chose the right recruiter at the start you will probably partner them for your entire career.

Building a relationship with your consultant

Now that you’ve decided on whom you want to work with, how do you optimise your relationship with your recruitment consultant?

1. First impressions always count. Call first to make an appointment and take your CV to the interview. Dress and in general treat this as if you are going to a job interview. Turn off your phone and arrive on time. Have an enthusiastic and positive attitude as this is priceless in any partnership. Your CV does not tell a potential employer what you’re like in person so when meeting a recruiter have the anecdotes, achievements and reasons ready to accurately match your CV to a specific role. The recruiter is working on behalf of their client so by impressing them, they are more likely to put you forward for the role.
2. Be clear about the job you want. Do some research before the meeting and bring some ideas to the meeting. Recruiters need your help and input to point you in the right direction. Keep expectations realistic and share as many ideas as possible.
3. Take their advice. Take on board all advice given by your recruiter and put the time into preparing for each round of interviews. Recruiters review and assess CVs and prepare candidates for interviews every day so they know what employers are looking for.
4. Look after your online profiles. These days a CV is sometimes not enough, recruiters will be interested in looking at your online profiles such as LinkedIn, Twitter etc. to see what kind of person you are and to check if you’re a fit for their client’s culture. In particular complete your LinkedIn profile and make sure your profile is viewable to everyone, there’s no reason for secrecy. Also conduct a Google search of your name and see what the internet has to say about you. If there are any negative comments/images/posts that you can remove, do so!

Finally, people often get frustrated with recruitment agencies as they have had no contact in some time. In most cases this is because the consultant has no suitable positions at the time but also consultants speak to and meet countless candidates each week. So make yourself stand out, set out a clear communication plan and agree the best way to move forward with your recruitment consultant. This will avoid the potential feeling that your calls are not being returned or you have been forgotten.

Building a great relationship with a recruitment consultant can be highly beneficial; they can often become a partner to your career success. To this day I have many candidates still on my books that I first started to work with 8 years ago.