Agency Recruiter? 5 things to consider before going in-house

I rather doubt I would ever return to work at or even run a recruiting agency again.

But making the move across to corporate might at first sight appear to be a knee-trembling prospect for a seasoned agency hunter.

Here's some advice/thoughts I wish I'd had, and I give to people who ask me what it's like - if they are thinking of moving over the fence.

I wanted to do this with the least amount of smug, because I don't feel suddenly entitled. There are definitely pros and cons to each side of this part of the talent business, more than I can go into in a single posting.

1. In industries where the people employed there are relatively web savvy - The recruitment agency model is in rather shaky
territory. This is because identifying and recruiting specialist skills at scale becomes so much easier, thanks to
contemporary tools which are now cheap to acquire and fast to implement. When was the last time you called a Travel Agent to book a
holiday? Same internet-led, cost-driven change happening here. And about time
too.

2. As long as you pick
a company where you respect, and can learn from the people, you’re going to be
happy and highly regarded (after all, you’re providing a service for free which
they might have been paying external consultants to do for years)

3. Pick a firm where
TALENT is the PRODUCT/OUTPUT. Not a bank, IT company or an FMCG. Pick a
consulting firm, creative shop or media network.

4. Pick a firm where
you can be yourself and you like the people. Find somewhere that doesn't reward politicians and is meritocratic.

5. Pick an employer
where you can build it yourself, not where you are inheriting something already
working perfectly well.

I’ve never had so much fun in my life and would never look back. If you, dear reader ever want advice from a person who has made the jump over there are a ton of people to talk to on Linkedin, but I'd be happy to provide an impartial view if you comment here.