Recruitment consultant

Specialun

I got acall today asking if Iwould be interested?

Anybody work in this field?

What is salary? What is it like? Ive been in sales for a few yrs...

reallyrose

I do.

The basic is fairly low but you earn commission based on how many candidates you place in jobs. This is probably going to be (in theory) uncapped.
The more people you get jobs, the more you can earn.

It's very fast paced, you need to be able to react quickly to what's going on.
If a new job comes in, you need to start calling people, sending CV's over right away - a lot of clients will start working with the first lot of candidates they see so if another agency gets there first, you lose your fee.

Sales experience would help, there's an element of that in the job, telling candidates about the job, telling hiring managers about the candidate.

To be a good recruiter, you'll need good market knowledge. You'll need to know what you're talking about or the candidates won't respect you.

It's very competitive - you'll be competing with other agencies for the best candidates, with the clients (who'd rather hire directly, which is cheaper), sometimes within your own agency, if there are other recruiters who cover similar areas. People will always be wondering how much you're billing and if you're billing more than them.

I love my job. I love being able to find the perfect person for a job - being able to get a job that a person loves. It's so satisfying to look at a job spec and think "I know that client, I know their culture, I was speaking to someone last week that would love that place", and then for them to get the job.
It's great to talk a client into interviewing someone, "I know that's not exactly what you want, but seriously, talk to them."

I basically love getting people jobs.
I had a job offer for a guy this week, he was made redundant last September in a field that dying off a bit so he's found it tough to find something else and really hard to upskill. I sent him into this one client that I know just appreciate smart people and aren't hung up on career gaps.
They emailed me about 15 minutes after his interview to offer him the job, he starts next week. Happiest guy ever.
It's so NICE to be able to do that.

On another role, I'd sent a good guy in for a job, the client liked him but said he was too senior. I spent about two days back and forth sending increasingly hilariously salesy emails about how awesome he was and totally seriously he wanted to work for their super awesome company (for realz, yo)
They gave him the job, I talked them into it. So much fun.

And, like, the commission is nice too. Especially when you place someone and there's a nice sexy % on it.

Specialun

Thanks RR

Great feedback...

Salary is low? Are we talking the good side or bad side of 30k base?

Ive always been in IT sales and id consider myself a young chatty confident geezer so i think id be a good fit..

The company is one the bigger ones..i dont know if thats good or bad

Whats the going rate of %

reallyrose

The bad side of 30k, probably. Depends what you can negotiate for yourself.
Fees can vary. Some clients I work with are on 10%. Not great. I had one placement where I negotiated the fee to 22% margin.
You'll get x% of that, X depending on where you are.

It all adds up!

Specialun

Thanks RR

I was thinking its a good sector,competitive but salary is putting me off..ive always come from multi nationals

reallyrose

You just need to make lots of placements.

If you work on permanent jobs, you could get 1500-2000 per placement. You start each month on 0 commission. You could make a few placements one month and be minted but none the next month and be not so minted.

For contract jobs, you'll get commission per day the contractor works. You can end up with any amount of contractors you can place so it can add up to quite a bit.
And each month you're guaranteed some commission, so you can plan in advance.
Takes a while for them to build up though.

Like, I did spend the first few months quite broke. My first commission was for €15 :pac: It was VERY exciting. (The contractor started RIGHT at the end of the previous month so there was only a day or three worth of him on my billings)
It's worth it now though!

allibastor

Just as long as you treat your clients and candidates with respect.

Getting the sales part for clients means you have the roles, but treating your candidates well mean you will get the best and get refferals.

I Check any agency i work with by prentending to be a candidate, if they treat very poorly i wont use them. Treat the candidates like you want to be treated

Specialun

Any suggestions on career paths this area brings or can bring

reallyrose

allibastor wrote: »

Just as long as you treat your clients and candidates with respect.

Getting the sales part for clients means you have the roles, but treating your candidates well mean you will get the best and get refferals.

I Check any agency i work with by prentending to be a candidate, if they treat very poorly i wont use them. Treat the candidates like you want to be treated

I completely agree. I think the candidates are the core of the process. If my candidates like me, it makes everything easier. I do my best to act in their interests and I try to get back to everyone.
I also offer advice to people that call in, etc.
I've collected candidates from the airport, helped them find accommodation, things like that.

What you say about checking agencies by pretending to be a candidate might explain some of the stranger calls I've taken though.

Specialun wrote: »

Any suggestions on career paths this area brings or can bring

A lot of agency recruiters move in-house with large companies - the likes of Twitter, Google, etc. That's an option.
You can progress within the company, carve out your own niche - if no one is recruiting for an area in the company, go for it. If no one is recruiting for shop assistants, or mobile developers, or food scientists, - the path is open for you to take on the sector.
There's always a promotion path open within a company, a ladder to climb.

Specialun

Have 2nd round interview with this end of week

Tbh i really like the idea of the job. Theyve been secretive on what to expect in next stage but i assume it similar to the norm just with the director..hopefully they dont mind the lack of experience in this field

Chijj

Best of luck,

Experience in the field isn't everything, try to highlight areas where the same competencies can be used and you should be fine, it should impress them that you aren't afraid to stray from your comfort zone.

reallyrose

Specialun wrote: »

Have 2nd round interview with this end of week

Tbh i really like the idea of the job. Theyve been secretive on what to expect in next stage but i assume it similar to the norm just with the director..hopefully they dont mind the lack of experience in this field

Should be fine - I had 0 experience when I started. My interviews were all quite intense with lots of "yes, but can you handle the targets and the stress?" and quite a lot of in-depth questions about my answers.

You have a sales background so targets will be no bother.

... I'm curious about which company it is now. We're hiring currently...

Stan27

Would be curious how OP got on if he/she got the job.

I have had a phone interview today for a position and seemed to get on well.

Any advice on this career path would be great.
Thanks.