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HRchive Features June 2004: Working as an MR Recruitment Consultant Do Your Research – Choose a Career in Recruitment If you research the career advancement opportunities, the earnings potential, the personal skill development and the chance to work in the international arena, a career as a Recruitment Consultant is the obvious choice for a bright, articulate, people-oriented graduate. But what does the work involve? On the face of it, recruitment sounds straightforward: people want jobs, employers want people, match them up - what could be simpler? The reality is very different, which is where the challenge and enjoyment lie. The best recruiters have the knack of getting 'behind' the CV or the job specification and ascertaining what both parties are REALLY looking for. They are able to propose not only the recruitment solutions that look good on paper, but the sort of ideas for career direction or recruitment strategy that can take a career or business in completely new and successful directions. Many graduates are put off the idea of a career in recruitment by the thought that it involves sales. The truth is that we only sell our services to potential clients in the same way as any other service industry. Pushy sales approaches are inappropriate when handling people's careers. What really counts is the ability to communicate your ideas and suggestions convincingly and persuasively. So where do you find a company that will help you develop those so portable recruitment skills? Although recruitment consultancies have developed over the past 10 years into a recognised and valued business service, there are still some who adopt the “sink or swim” approach to graduates. And without the industry or sector experience to back you up, you may feel vulnerable amongst a bunch of highly-motivated recruitment experts. Look for a company with a structured, professionally run Graduate Training Scheme which encompasses every element of the recruitment process and which builds confidence over time. If a Scheme wants you to be producing fees in a matter of weeks, leave it alone. You also want a Scheme that pays you a basic salary while you learn and which offers real career prospects at the end. Finally, if you want to keep your career options open, choose a recruitment consultancy that operates in several sectors – that way, if market research palls for you, you can always switch into another recruitment Division. So if you back your own powers of judgement, have strong inter-personal skills, and want to develop a skill that will open many doors for you in future, then go on and do your research – you may well end up as a Market Research Recruitment Consultant. Steven Marshall Steven Marshall is a Director of the leading UK market research recruitment consultancy, Personnel Resources, which pioneered graduate training schemes for MR recruiters in the 1990s. For more details of careers with the company, telephone 020 7242 6321 or visit www.personnelresources.co.uk | |||||||||||||||||
