Being an IT recruitment consultant

Hen_Dawg

Hen_Dawg

Hen_Dawg

Soldato
Joined
3 Dec 2006
Posts
2,919
Location
Brisbane, Australia
Hi,
My recruitment agency has just got me an interview tomorrow for a specialist IT recruitment agency. Starting off as a resourcer but would move into being a consultant.

I'm sure there are some folk around here who have some experience with such companies. Please could they give a brief insight into how they work? I'm being vague I suppose but just wondering how they'd differ from a general recruitment agency, i.e. nature of the industry (fast changing, very specific jobs?) and potential pay, (percentage of first year's salary?)

Just after a bit of info I can take to the interview, nothing in-depth needed, thanks
 
Nasty environment. Not met anyone who works for a recruitment agency who hasn't been a complete *******. Expect to work alongside people called Nathan and Emma.

*n
 
This is the same sort of consultant as the 'sales consultant' in Phones4u. It's a posh title for salesman. In this case, you 'sell' clients to employers.
 
Complete **** the lot of them, with one exception in the 50+ i've dealt with.

Think used car salesmen, crossed with traffic wardens.

I've talked to over a dozen of them in the last 2 weeks as i'm looking for my first contract.
 
No doubt you will be cold calling the likes of me asking about recruitment while i am busy. You'll basically be trying to get companies to use your recruitment agency i rekon. I might be wrong like.
 
My friend who used to work in currys now works as an IT recruitment consultant, and earns a good wage. But it comes with a heavy work load, and a ton of stress. You'll be placing people into IT jobs so expect to have to learn quickly all the many roles and qualifications that come with the industry. You will spend pretty much all of your time on the phone, sometimes trying to get companies to use your services to fill their vacancies, for a fee no less.
 
...and constantly finding new ways to hunt people down. Which seems to be Linked-in at the moment.

Seriously though, if you are good I hear you can make a lot of money, if you haven't got the gift of the gab don't bother.
 
My recruitment "consultant" is on facebook and is hot :O

I will admin mine has been very helpful often leaving me voice mails and updating me o the status of the interview I had rcently, the damn employer is big though so they are taking their time getting everything sorted out!
 
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msm722 said:
My friend who used to work in currys now works as an IT recruitment consultant, and earns a good wage. But it comes with a heavy work load, and a ton of stress. You'll be placing people into IT jobs so expect to have to learn quickly all the many roles and qualifications that come with the industry. You will spend pretty much all of your time on the phone, sometimes trying to get companies to use your services to fill their vacancies, for a fee no less.
Click to expand...


And you'll be spending the rest of the time not returning calls, giving out the wrong email address, loosing CV's, not knowing what you are talking about, not having a clue where British towns and cities are in relation to each other and generally acting the wide boy while being viewed as a marginally necessary evil by all concerned.
 
Wow. Plenty of hostility towards them!
I expected a bit but this...

The place did well in a national competition voted for by thousands of candidates
“Best Small Recruitment Agency”
“Best Improved Recruitment Agency”
“Best Candidate Communication”
Click to expand...

Anybody except mrk got anything nice to add?
Is it that type of job that nobody will ever like? e.g used car salesmen, crossed with traffic wardens

penski said:
Expect to work alongside people called Nathan and Emma.
Click to expand...
What's wrong with the name Emma?
 
It's very much the middleman job, I'm afraid.

I'm sure back in the day companies would do their own recruiting or field incoming CVs themselves, or let their HR department sort most of it.

One or two recruiters have been real gems for me, but it does seem to be the minority.
 
Not sure about Emma but I am thinking that all recruitment agents seems to have stupid names like Quintin, Theodore, Roger & Tampon.

Anyway nasty business to get into it, when starting out expect rubbish money for 12 hours days.
 
penski said:
Nasty environment. Not met anyone who works for a recruitment agency who hasn't been a complete *******. Expect to work alongside people called Nathan and Emma.
Click to expand...

I'm afraid this is how it is... Only once have I spoken to an honest IT recruiter, sadly when I rang him a few years later to change jobs again, he had become 'one of them'. I think I was one of his first candidates, so obviously he wasn't 'trying to play the game' like most of them are.

I had one last month called 'Oliver'...

I'm still hoping I can find a decent, reliable and useful agency for moving jobs in London.
 
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My friend became one 4 years ago, started off as a trainee, basic was 14k+ commission. Since then he has become branch manager, is 26 this year. Earns around 60-70k. Long hours, a lot of stress.

Turned it to a bit of a tit/show off. Lives in a penthouse apartment, drives a Z4.

edit,

And he had no qualifications, i wrote his CV.
 
recruitment consultants are nearly always helmets.

your best friend in the world when they think you might get them some comission - disappear off the face of the map if a company decides not to proceed you.
 
Hen_Dawg said:
People seem to have a general dislike towards them so what would make them better at their job?
Click to expand...

Put it this way: the people who don't quit after a couple of months (or get fired) are the kind of people that most people hate; loud-mouthed showy braggarts and wannabe wideboys.

It's basically a hard/cold-calling sales job.

*n
 
I love the fact they waive the "consultant" bit around... I mean, are you REALLY a consultant?
 
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