Why recruitment is a long term career choice!

Recruitment as a career is sometimes seen as something short-term - and with high earning potential in a relatively short time compared to other routes, it's easy to see why. However, I'm keen to dispel this myth. Recruitment is in fact for many a hugely rewarding career that will last a lifetime... 

One of the major rewards of working in recruitment is getting the chance to be that someone; making a difference to your candidates - whether by increasing their salary, moving them closer to home, or cutting down their hours so they can spend time with their families. Forming relationships, and listening to the experience, skills and personal needs of both clients and candidates, are all key parts of a recruitment consultant's day-to-day role.

I know, I know, that warm fuzzy feeling won't pay the bills - but it is a nice bonus on top of the sales-based pay structure at most recruitment companies.

However great it sounds to have a rewarding job with decent pay, though, it is too good to be true - if you're the wrong kind of person. Like any job, there are certain attributes, abilities and passions that make you right - or wrong - for the role, and being able to identify them in yourself will help you identify them in your candidates.

One skill you definitely need is the ability to talk the talk - a lot of recruitment is about sales - both verbal and written. You need to be able to sell your agency to clients and candidates against your competitors; your candidates to clients, through phone calls and later their CVs; and your clients to candidates, so that they'll actually turn up to interviews when you book them. You've also got to be confident with a variety of people: your clients could be senior executives of major companies, while your candidates could be school leavers looking for their first job - and you've got to negotiate pay between them, because that determines your commission.
 
Thick skin - you can be as charming and as cheery as you like, but now and again, some more reticent candidates and clients just won't tell you the whole story. Out of the blue, the 'perfect' candidate will be rejected, will refuse to take a job they seemed so keen on, or just won't show up at all. The question here is whether you see this as a failure, and let it get you down, or enjoy the challenge, and rise above it!

It you are interested in a career in recruitment, then it would be worthwhile having a look at our website, on the 'Working for Us' section which will give you more of an insight into working for Sellick Partnership:

http://www.sellickpartnership.co.uk/about-us/video-gallery.html