Recruitment is a fast-paced, competitive and extremely rewarding job that suits those who can learn about new industries quickly, build strong relationships with clients and identify skilled candidates to network with.
Recruitment is a service that most people only think about when they need it – whether they’re hiring someone or looking for a new job themselves. This means that the only thing most people know about recruitment comes from the impression gained during those very short periods.
What they don’t see is the full recruitment picture. They don’t see the complexity, the diversity, the challenges, the rewards and the competition that make up a recruiter’s day. They don’t see the different roles that recruiters play: honing their skills in sales, marketing, networking, problem-solving, interviewing, negotiating and more.
In short: there’s a lot more to recruitment than you might think – it takes discipline and resilience, but if you’re working in a company that can provide the right support and training, the potential rewards are limitless.
A 360-degree service
Amoria Bond teams operate as 360-degree recruiters – meaning that each recruitment consultant is responsible for the full process from partnering with relevant clients to attracting either permanent or contract candidates to providing after placement care.
This creates a lot of diverse responsibilities, including (but not limited to):
- Learning about a particular industry to identify areas with new opportunities
- Reaching out to clients
- Presenting to clients
- Maintaining partnerships with clients
- Advertising vacancies across a range of media eg. LinkedIn, industry websites
- Using social media, typically LinkedIn, to attract candidates and build a network of professionals
- Headhunting – identifying and approaching suitable candidates who may be open to new opportunities
- Using CV databases to identify suitable candidates who are actively seeking work
- Receiving and reviewing applications
- Conducting interviews on the phone, through video calls or in-person
- Qualifying candidate suitability through references
- Formatting CVs and candidate information to forward to clients
- Liaising between candidates and clients to arrange interviews, provide feedback etc.
- Negotiating salary rates, start dates and other contract terms
- Advising clients and candidates on suitable pay rates, training, progression opportunities and expectations
- Managing your own key performance indicators (KPIs) and working towards targets such as candidates placed or revenue generated
Building a strong client partnership
Recruitment consultants must identify businesses that are hiring and engage with them to build a relationship and agree on terms for business. They generally focus on specific sectors, such as embedded software or renewable energy, so that they can gain a deeper understanding of how the industry operates, where the biggest opportunities are for growth and what kind of roles they’re most likely to be hiring. By specialising they can become experts in that industry, offering the client a reliable, knowledgeable and authoritative resource.
There are some sales and marketing skills required at this stage since the recruitment consultant has to present themselves and Amoria Bond as a suitable solution who can deliver on their promises. Recruitment consultants have to thoroughly research and understand a client before they engage with them through phone calls, zoom calls, emails and meetings.
Working with candidates
When a consultant has partnered with a client and agreed on terms and conditions for sourcing the right people, they have to be able to deliver.
As part of their work in specialising and understanding a particular sector, recruiters have to build their own network of professionals working within this sector. In some cases these will be “active” candidates who are looking for their next job, applying to job adverts, reaching out to opportunities themselves. But the more valuable networks include “passive” candidates – professionals who may already be working in the industry, who aren’t actively searching for the next opportunity but may be open to something new if it is put in front of them. Having a strong network of passive candidates is extremely beneficial to a client since they can often be the most suited to a position (since they could already be working in a similar role) and are more difficult to find.
Recruiters build a network over time so that when a client needs a particular role filled, they can quickly source someone with the appropriate skills, experience, qualifications and personality. They will screen, interview and conduct reference checks against the candidate before bringing them to the client, and can also act as an advisor to both parties on contract terms, salary levels, training requirements and career progression. This inclusive service ensures the best consultants are viewed as trusted partners to clients and candidates alike.
Challenges
It should be clear from the responsibilities listed above that recruitment can be a challenging role. Recruiters have several KPIs that they’re expected to work towards and keep track of, such as the number of meetings attended, candidates sourced, interviews booked, clients contacted, candidates placed and revenue generated. Some recruitment companies claim that they don’t set targets and are only interested in the results, but in reality, results are ultimately still performance targets. At Amoria Bond we believe in being honest and open about what it takes to be a successful recruiter – we use KPIs to keep track of how our recruiters are doing and to ensure that the unrivalled training and development we offer is relevant to their specific needs to help them fulfil their potential and thrive. And as one of the fastest-growing companies in Europe, with more than 75 awards including “best recruitment company to work for”, you can trust that we know what we’re talking about.
Working in recruitment means there are often long hours, with top performers routinely on the phone or sending emails to clients and candidates outside office hours. Recruiters have to be driven, goal-oriented and self-motivated, with a growth mindset to keep learning and improving.
Recruiters have to be dedicated to providing the best service to their clients. They’re responsible for maintaining that relationship so it’s up to them to deliver on all promises and ensure that they support the client with anything they need.
Rewards
Despite the challenging nature of recruitment, it can be a very rewarding job when it’s done right. Financially, salaries can vary across sectors and locations but typically a recruiter will have a basic salary plus a performance-related bonus or commission – meaning that the more effective you are at hitting or exceeding your targets, the more you can expect to earn. At certain levels, there are often other benefits offered such as mobile phones, iPads and company cars.
Internal competitions are also common, with rewards being offered to top performers on a monthly or quarterly basis. And there are often other team benefits to enjoy such as social functions and team drinks. Find out more about Amoria Bond’s award-winning benefits and incentives, including our uncapped commission scheme which offers you unlimited earning potential - here.
There is also a great opportunity for career advancement within recruitment. Training is usually provided within recruitment teams and those who regularly exceed their targets can see themselves quickly progressing to senior roles and taking responsibility for their own teams. At Amoria Bond, for example, 90% of our leadership team started off as trainees within the business and got to where they are thanks to our “10 steps to the top” progression plan and award-winning training and development scheme which all recruiters are encouraged to take advantage of.
Do you have what it takes to be a recruiter?
Recruitment is a challenging career, but an extremely rewarding one. If you can build and maintain relationships with clients and candidates, are able to bounce back from setbacks and challenges, love to learn and develop new skills, enjoy being part of a high-performing team, and are self-motivated with a solid work ethic then you can succeed and progress in recruitment.
If that sounds like something you want to be part of then why not join us – the only recruitment company to have been named Recruiter Investing in Talent’s ‘Best Recruitment Company To Work For’ for five consecutive years?! Find out more about life inside Amoria Bond and apply to be part of our team.
