Your first job in recruitment consulting: typical tasks graduates can expect

What to expect in your first recruitment consulting job

First month: like any good employer, recruitment consultancies supply full training to get the best out of new employees, especially graduates. The first week will include induction and training on all aspects of the job: the recruitment process, sales, market sector and technical skills. You will then start resourcing for the senior consultant in your team. This involves finding suitable candidates, calling them, ‘selling’ opportunities, and preparing CVs for submission to clients.

First quarter: during months two and three you will be eased from a training situation into a fully functional production situation. Some companies keep new graduates in a resourcing role for the first quarter; others have ‘junior’ recruitment consultants, responsible for one or two developed accounts and for increasing new business. Financial targets are kept low for the first few months.

First year: you’re off! You will be talking to new clients, making placements, and finding out more about your market. With more market knowledge you will get more respect from both candidates and clients. Don’t worry if clients tell you to go away in the beginning: they will be begging for your services once word gets round how good you are! You should be getting regular reviews, more training and mentoring from senior consultants. Challenging targets will be set, with financial rewards, so your earnings will start to increase at around six months.

A day in the life of a recruitment consultant

8.30 am Start work. Coffee! Read e-mails.

9.00 am Assess CVs that have come in overnight. Make urgent calls.

9.30 am Research potential clients.

10.00 am Call potential clients to introduce the consultancy and its services. Contact existing clients to ensure they are satisfied with our services and to encourage repeat custom. Make clients aware of graduates who meet their current requirements, and market outstanding new CVs.

12.00 pm Review day so far. Read e-mails. Send CVs to clients.

1.00 pm Lunch.

2.00 pm Interview a candidate face-to-face.

3.00 pm Prioritise vacancies and work on those likely to result in placements soon.

3.10 pm Find suitable candidates for live vacancies. Schedule evening calls to ‘uncontactable’ candidates.

4.45 pm Make urgent client calls.

5.00 pm Review day. Read e-mails.

5.30 pm Meetings.

6.00 pm Contact ‘uncontactable’ candidates at home.

7.00 pm Leave office – and head to the pub!

With thanks to Paul Witts, general manager at Graduates 4 Recruitment, a division of Graduate Recruitment Bureau Ltd, for his help with this article.