Cut out for consultancy?

Cut out for consultancy?

It's not everyone's cup of Bovril, but recruitment consultancy as a career option has much to offer those individuals with the right skill set...including a pant-load of money for those at the more successful end of the spectrum. Just, what ever you do, don't compare consultants to estate agents. James Falconbridge gets the low-down on the merits of an option for career change for which you may already be qualified.

Considering how many people come into contact with recruitment consultants, it is surprising how often their role is misunderstood and sometimes even maligned. There are those out there who see the use of professional recruiters as a necessary evil comparable with using estate agents when buying a house. Advocates for the industry would justifiably point to the value-added services consultancies provide and the key role they play in finding the right people for the right jobs.

The trouble is, in any industry, there is a myriad of consultancies of different sizes, methodologies and ethicality, and naturally our opinions (particularly negative ones) are shaped by personal experience. But this variety is also one of the reasons that as a career option, recruitment consultancy is such a popular option. From one or two-man bands to plcs with hundreds of employees and multiple offices, the range of opportunities is very broad. What's more, it gives professionals the chance to start a potentially lucrative new career while utilising the skills and experience built up in their former roles.

But with the distance between perception of the role and the reality being quite great in many peoples' minds, a fantastic career opportunity is being missed by some while others are finding themselves out of their depth in a business that can be quite unforgiving. So is it right for you? Well, clearly that's up to you to decide, but to help light your path we talked to some career recruiters for their views and opinions on the realities of life as a consultant.

What does a recruitment consultant do?

Sell. If you are not prepared for a sales job, you might as well stop reading right here. While there are many other skills needed, aspects involved and operational variances from company to company, recruitment consultancy is sales. Just consider some of the key activities involved in consultancy:

• Pitching for new clients

• Convincing candidates on the merits of clients

• Headhunting (effectively convincing a new candidate on the merits of both your consultancy AND a client).

• Cold calling (used to a varying degree these days)

• Negotiating fees

Each one of these requires selling skills and the ability to close a deal. And while basic salaries are fine, consultants really make money from their commission, which is generated via the successful placement of candidates. It is target-driven and can be quite high-pressure work - particularly if you are falling behind your targets. If you think you might be uncomfortable with this, consultancy may not be for you.

There are two key groups of people in the life of a recruitment consultant: clients and candidates. Consultancies work on behalf of the client (companies) to find them the right candidates (you and me) to fill their vacancies - not the other way around. This can cause candidates some unease but it shouldn't; good candidates are the very lifeblood of a successful recruitment business. Just as a consultant works hard to establish a good understanding of their clients' requirements, they work equally as hard getting to know their candidates; their strengths, key competencies, ambitions, expectations as well as preparing them for interviews/assessment centres.

The day-to-day routine of a recruitment consultant, then, is roughly divided between client management and candidate management. Consultants do not, as is sometimes believed, interview all day long. Of course it is a key aspect of the job - no interviews, no candidates; no candidates, no-one to forward to clients and therefore no candidates, no clients (and in case you didn't guess; no clients, no business). Each day is essentially a juggling act during which consultants work to generate new business and at the same time ensure that existing business clients and candidates are well-briefed and happy. While the processes of individual recruitment consultancies may differ, some of the main daily tasks might include:

Client Management:

• Arrange Interviews

• Update current vacancies

• Register new roles and brief team on details

• Negotiate terms & conditions for new business

• Manage expectations

Candidate Management:

• Arrange Interviews

• Source new candidates (Head-hunting / Networking / Advertising)

• Negotiate offers of employment

• Briefing, taking feedback and managing candidates through the process.

Other:

• Managing advert response and screening potential candidates

• Industry Research

• Working towards all activity targets

What are the biggest misconceptions about being a recruitment consultant?

Interestingly enough, the answer to this question that was emphasised most repeatedly and with most passion was that many people believed that recruitment consultants didn't always have candidates/clients' best interests at heart, that they didn't care about anything but closing the deal and making the commission. This, the consultants stressed, is simply not the case and that it is impossible to remain detached when dealing with such important aspects of peoples' lives as their livelihoods. "We're not sharkey, money-grabbing estate agents" - was perhaps my favourite quote. Apologies to any estate agents out there, naturally. Other major misconceptions about recruitment consultancy as a career option included:

• It's an HR role - it's not, it's a sales role in which you work with many HR professionals in client companies.

• It's easy money - it's not, it's incredibly hard work, requiring buckets of self-motivation.

• It's a 'fluffy' soft skills role - it's not, it's a sales role in which you will have to be able to utilise your communication, interpersonal and team-working skills.

What are the best things about being a recruitment consultant?

From the people we talked to it was unanimously agreed that one of the best things about consultancy is the buzz of getting offers for candidates: that is, having a client offer a job to a candidate you have put forward. You can see why this would be so satisfying: in one stroke your client has agreed with your recommendation, thereby increasing their faith in you for the future, you get to go back and tell your candidate they got the job and of course there is your commission. Nice.

Money, it has to be said, is another big plus for a career in recruitment consultancy - but you really have to work for it. Basic salaries inevitably vary from company to company but the real fat cash comes through commissions. A fee is charged for every candidate who is placed by a recruitment consultancy - usually a percentage of the candidate's starting salary. A large proportion of this revenue goes to the consultancy and some goes back to the individual consultant. Professional recruiters who are hitting their targets and getting regular commission can earn genuinely impressive sums of money. Some people also enjoy the fact that these high levels of remuneration can be earned without having to manage large teams of people.

Recruitment consultancy also provides a unique working environment in which you can enjoy a good degree of autonomy while still being part of a close-knit team. Your activity levels, decision-making and ability will have a material impact on how much money you take home - this of course brings with it its own pressures as you face your own personal targets. But at the same time you have the support of people who are in the same boat (other consultants) and with whom you will work closely - after all, they may have candidates perfect for your client and vice versa. Paradoxically, recruitment consultancy can be very social and very lonely at the same time, but what rarely changes is the pace of work, which is fast and furious.

What are the worst things about being a recruitment consultant?

Again, there was a clear winner in this particular category and that was, unsurprisingly, losing offers; when for whatever reason, the placement falls through. Sometimes, the candidate you put forward receives a counter offer from their existing employer and pulls out; sometimes internal candidates at client companies emerge at the eleventh hour; a simple change of heart on either side of the equation and all of your hard work ends up in tatters. You don't get your commission and you have to explain to the aggrieved party that the placement has fallen through. Not much fun.

This aspect of recruitment consultancy highlights a broad source of frustration with the role for some people: your reliance on others. A commonplace and maddening scenario for consultants is the non-appearance of candidates at client-run assessment centres. This can affect the running of the day, annoys clients and makes the recruitment consultant look like they haven't been doing their job. Even if the consultant in question spoke to the candidate the night before to ensure they were prepared (and most do), the non-attendance of candidates still leaves the consultant looking bad in the client's eyes. A word to the wise, however - consultants have long memories and databases have even longer ones. If you let your consultant down like this without a water-tight reason, it may well come back and bite you later in your career.

While remuneration for consultants can be fantastic when the commissions are rolling in, you really can't guarantee that you'll get placements each month and thus your income is very variable. And each month that goes by without a placement puts a little bit more pressure on you as your targets look ever more challenging. Some people focus under this kind of pressure, others fold. If you are the latter, you might want to think again about a career in consultancy.

What makes a good consultant?

So let us cut to the proverbial chase. What are the principle ingredients for a successful recruitment consultant as far as those we asked were concerned? Here were some of the most quoted elements:

• Resilience

• Tenacity

• Determination

• Commerciality

• Ability to build relationships

• Sales skills

• Interpersonal skills

• Communication skills

The number one factor cited was resilience; the ability to ride out the storms of demanding clients, to be able to explain to ten different people in a given day why they didn't get the job, to use the pressure of a target-driven sales environment to positive ends and sometimes to admit you were wrong, even when you know you were right. It has already been said, but it is worth repeating - this is not an easy job. But for those with the right outlook, skills and work ethic, it can be a fantastic means to earn a lot of money. But you've got to want it.

[An Editorial taken from The Appointment]