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Anyone here a recruitment consultant?

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I'm currently working in retail for EE but I saw recruitment as a way to progress and had liked the idea of helping to get people in work.
But I'm keen to move away from hard selling and the dog eat dog nature of sales. I wanted to work in a role that is about more than just selling.
It sounds like recruitment may be even worse in those respects.

At least with retail people have physically stepped into the store. Recruitment will be alot of cold calling people who don't want your service.

Reply 81

scope750

Original post by Bloodbath

To be honest its hard to answer these questions I am not working for a run of a mill recruitment firm. The company I am working for its pretty small. Basically me and the MD and one other.

Apparently most firms are pretty cut throat. You could be fired within 10 minutes. I've heard some pretty funny horror stories.

"Do you have to "spin" to get deals ie do you have to bend the truth to secure a deal? " def. If you're recruiting for a mid level role and you know that the guy you're calling wants a managerial role then your gunna have to spin it.

"What tend to be the average earnings?"- again not really sure. If its your company and your doing it yourself then profit is prob about 50% and your revenue approx £400k if you're good. So potentially you could be taking home £200k+ as a salary in a couple of years.

"Are the targets recruitment companies set realistic and obtainable? "- don't know again. I think that its definitely achievable to earn over 50k in your first year with a good firm. My hours are good as well. 9-6.

"Can I still get a job in a specialist area in recruitment without a degree? "
yes

"
Sorry for the long list of questions and finally one last question where can I meet some recruitment consultants face to face so I can have a chat?"
Prob London or Manchester. If oils your thing then head north

I'm also looking to going into recruitment, which companies would you recommend are the best to work for, going by earning potential?

Reply 82

madhatterz

Hi,
I know this question was posted over three years ago now but I am curious on how you're getting on in the Recruitment industry if you decided to take the chance and go for it.
I'm graduating this year and I am looking for graduate schemes in recruitment, I would be interested in seeing you how you've found the industry.

Thanks!

Reply 83

Samdwyer

Hi, I am a recruitment consultant. Have been for 2 years now. What would you like to ask ?

Reply 84

Stk1010

Original post by Samdwyer

Hi, I am a recruitment consultant. Have been for 2 years now. What would you like to ask ?

Putting it bluntly, how much do you earn? Do you have a basic salary, if so how much? And do you enjoy the job?

Reply 85

bezonkarter

Hi,
I am working as a recruiter for Xist4 IT Recruitment Agency in London. Being a recruiter is a challenging job, where you have targets to cover, by searching the right company for the candidate and at the same time fulfilling the criteria requirement of the company.

Reply 86

Madziaks15

Hi
I find it actually extremely challenging and I'm thinking of quitting. I have been working as a rc for over just a month but I do not feel like it's the career for me. I feel so stuck I don't know what other career options I could consider..

Reply 87

Bex_1

I'm also a recruitment consultant. I earn £20,000 base, I get uncapped commission, bonuses and benefits. i.e. trips abroad if team targets are hit. I enjoy my job, this week I got a placement, yay commission! You get to talk to a lot of people, it's a fun environment, and there's healthy competition with the people I work with. It's a sales role, only you have to have a relationship with the client and the candidate. It is intense and you have to pick up the phone a lot.

Obviously not all recruitment companies are equal, if you said you wanted to work as a chef, McDonalds and The Ivy are worlds apart and recruitment is no different.

Regarding which are the best to go for, think about it, if they're hiring 100 people that month, they're just throwing everything at the wall and seeing what sticks. The best sectors would be high paying sectors: finance, IT, digital, legal - you need a law degree for that one!, insurance, sustainability etc.. Instead of healthcare, education or construction.

I'd avoid the big ones like the plague, your Reed or Hays. Massive assessment days, high staff turn over, not enough support or training.

Reply 88

happy23

Hi as a part time RC can anyone help me with what sort of commision structure they are on, I work 3 days pw?

Reply 89

MagicNMedicine

This industry always intrigued me a bit. When I left uni, (9 years ago now!) it was the standard job most graduates fell in to. When you looked on job websites for graduate recruitment consultants there were always tons of jobs on offer, whereas everything else was tight with the credit crunch and then financial crisis.

A few people I knew from uni got jobs as RCs and they would always say how it was a "work hard play hard" industry but you could earn a lot, usually the story was something like £25k in the first year, £60k by year three and then soon up to £100k plus. But none of them that I have kept in touch with it stayed for more than about 2 years. I suspect either the job is so bad its not worth those earnings or more likely, for the majority of RCs the pay is more like the 20k odd rising to 30k odd and after a while graduates in those jobs find jobs with similar starting salaries and better prospects elsewhere.

Reply 90

Doones

Original post by MagicNMedicine

This industry always intrigued me a bit.

The best recruiters I've used have previously worked in the industry they are recruiting for. (Marketing/advertising/media.)

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Reply 91

MagicNMedicine

Original post by jneill

The best recruiters I've used have previously worked in the industry they are recruiting for. (Marketing/advertising/media.)

That makes sense. It's one thing really having a feel for the industry, understanding what a client needs, taking time and effort to find the right person and making sure the fit is right both for the recruiting firm and the client. That's good, positive recruitment.

What I think a lot of recruitment consultancies are though is basically sales teams - they hire young graduates, give them high targets to hit in terms of volume, encourage them to push aggressively and it becomes a job of can you just get person X for job Y and then complete the deal and move on, if its not exactly the right fit then it's not a big deal, move on and get another deal done.

Reply 92

Doones

Original post by MagicNMedicine

What I think a lot of recruitment consultancies are though is basically sales teams - they hire young graduates, give them high targets to hit in terms of volume, encourage them to push aggressively and it becomes a job of can you just get person X for job Y and then complete the deal and move on, if its not exactly the right fit then it's not a big deal, move on and get another deal done.