There are few careers as challenging and rewarding as that of a recruitment sales consultant. During times of economic boom recruitment sales consultants enjoy their fair share of the spoils. But when a downturn comes, they suffer the most. One thing this industry isn’t, and that’s boring.
The role of a recruitment sales consultant is fast-paced, challenging, demanding and very competitive – all rolled into one. One minute you could be writing a job advertisement, and the next, you will be interviewing candidates for the role. But the main aspect of your job will be to attract new business through a mix of sales, business development and marketing techniques.
This will involve building relationships with clients by visiting them in their premises to gain a thorough understanding of the company culture or atmosphere within the workplace. Or you may simply be keeping in touch with existing clients over the phone or searching for new opportunities.
Ultimately, it is your job to attract candidates and match them to the positions being recruited for by your clients. You will provide the vital link between candidate and employer and oversee the entire recruitment process, from obtaining the job description in the first instance and placing the advert in the media to negotiating offers and finalising contracts.
Hours and environment
If you are looking for a straightforward 9 to 5 job, then this may not be the right career for you. Recruitment sales consultants are attracted to the industry by the potential to progress their careers within a relatively short period of time, not forgetting the financial rewards to be gained – and that takes hard work and a flexible approach.
Most consultants will work at branch level within a relatively small team of fellow consultants and will typically work from 8am to 6pm, with some working longer hours to ensure they reach their targets. Indeed, the recruitment business is a highly-targeted environment with consultants expected to hit both personal and team targets, which by default, creates a strong team spirit.
Skills and interests
There are a number of key skills that employers will look for in a prospective recruitment sales consultant, including:
- Strong communication skills
- Aptitude for sales
- Confidence
- Effective interpersonal skills
- Ambition and determination to succeed
- Results orientated and target driven
- Ability to work on your own initiative and as part of a team
- Problem solving and tenacity to cope well under pressure
- Ability to handle multiple priorities
- Understanding of employment legislation and factors affecting the industry
Industry
Recent years have seen the recruitment industry take the brunt of the economic downturn. Fewer hires and mass redundancies on a scale not seen for two decades have seen the sector bear the brunt of the recession with the number of people employed in the recruitment industry dropping from around 109,000 in 2008 to 96,000 in 2009. Billings have also fallen by 16.8% from £27bn to £22.5bn over the same period.
However, there have been positive signs that employers are still prepared to invest in recruitment of those individuals identified as crucial to help them ‘get through’ the downturn and emerge in good shape. Indeed, despite the slowdown in the number of permanent places offered to candidates, there has been a significant rise in the volume of temporary or ‘interim’ positions available.
With the UK gradually emerging from the grips of recession and employment opportunities starting to rise once more, the future prospects for the recruitment industry are positive.
Entry
As the recruitment industry increases in popularity, a growing number of recruitment consultancies are hiring newly qualified graduates, investing in training and increasing retention levels – particularly those who specialise in certain industry sectors such as engineering or IT.
Essentially, employers will look for people who can demonstrate a potential or proven ability to sell, and sell well. After all, this is a performance-based business where competition is fierce with as many as five or more consultancies competing with each other to fill the same vacancy.
Many consultancies will hire individuals with no direct recruitment experience, while others may prefer those with some sales, marketing or customer service experience gained within another industry. Although the industry welcomes people from a range of educational backgrounds, some employers will expect a minimum of four or five GCSEs, including English and Maths, while entrants on a dedicated career programme will invariably need a degree.
Training, other qualifications and advancement
A recruitment sales consultant will generally enter the industry as a trainee consultant working in a branch with a relatively small team. From here, you could progress to senior consultant and then to branch manager.
If you work for one of the larger consultancies that have a number of branches across the country, there may be opportunities for further progression into area, regional management and, even, director level. Also worth noting, some consultants opt to specialise in certain sectors.
One of the beauties of working in this sector is that it is a meritocracy – the better you are at doing your job, the better your career prospects are. Although opportunities for career advancement can often depend upon the size and nature of the employing organisation, perhaps the most significant influence on promotion prospects will be the ability to demonstrate a record of successful achievement of performance targets.
Indeed, those individuals who consistently over-achieve set targets are likely to get promoted quickly and start making their way up the career ladder quicker than their colleagues who struggle to hit target or are inconsistent in their performance.
Although professional qualifications are not a pre-requisite to a rewarding career in recruitment consultancy, they can enhance your personal profile among your peers and demonstrate your commitment to the industry. The REC, for instance, the professional body for the recruitment industry in the UK, runs two professional qualifications:
- The Certificate in Recruitment Practice (CertRP)
- The Diploma in Recruitment Practice (DipRP)
It is also possible to study for a BA/MA in Recruitment Practice. But if academia is not on your agenda, there are a number of accredited training courses that are organised by the professional associations listed below that cover all aspects of recruitment practice – ranging from basic introductory courses to developing management potential programmes.
Top employers
Here are some of the best companies hiring in this sector:
- Manpower
- Adecco
- Hays
- Reed
- Office Angels
- Kelly Services
- Michael Page
Search latest recruitment sales jobs
Professional organisations
There are a number of professional associations that represent the recruitment industry, and it’s up to you to determine which one best represents your interests out of the following: