What does a Recruitment Consultant do?

What does a recruitment consultant do?  That was a question given to me by a senior colleague when I first started my recruitment career in 2000.

I said:  We help people find jobs?  He said:  No, we change people’s life!  We don’t help people find jobs.  We help companies to find talents.  We manage people’s careers.  We get to know the candidate well and at different stages of the candidate’s life we, he/she can take on a different career challenge.  That’s why it is important for us to meet the candidate face to face and take the time get to know him/her better.

For example:  It would be reckless to ask a 36 years old candidate with a new born baby and with his wife is a “stay at home” mother role to take a job at a new startup, because it would be too risky for him to take on this new challenge.

Rather I would try fill the role with a candidate of a similar caliber and experience who might be single or his/her other half is also a professional so he/she can take the role of the main source of income for the family, managing downside risk.  Alternatively, I could also try to find someone to take the challenge that is more established with his/her career and the family finance situation not as a major concern as all their children are already finishing university or settled in their careers.

My advice to my candidates is as follows:  Don’t work with someone that tries to sell you a job!  Work with someone that really spends time with you and tries to get to know you well.  This person will be better positioned to help you find the right fit, the right challenge, the right culture and the right chemistry for your next role.  Following this advice will help you avoid any mismatch in job scope and your expectation.  You don’t want to have a jumpy CV due to someone taking advantage of you.  An experience and trustworthy recruitment consultant manage your career.

My advice to my clients is as follows:  Always make the recruitment consultant meet you and explain to him/ her your leadership style, your strategic plan and your business philosophy.  The recruitment consultants are representing you and your company, so it’s their primary task to get to know the background, the family profile and the personality of each candidate well before putting them forward.  In the long‑run it doesn’t reflect well on anyone as a hiring manager, when the talent hired quits after 3 to 6 months.

Fast hiring without quality only leads to furious turnover quantity!