‘I really want to work with people’

This is one of the standard answers given when asked ‘why do you want to become a recruitment consultant?’ This was certainly my answer when I started out in the recruitment field some years ago.

Admittedly I didn’t fully understand where my career might take me but I did know that my strength was in building relationships. So I undertook my new role with gusto under the (now fake) illusion that I would be building relationships, helping people find jobs they were passionate about and really making them feel valued. However I quickly learnt that the reality of recruitment consulting and the genuine value a candidate gains from applying through an agent can often be, very different.

I first questioned my initial enthusiasm when after a training session for 15 minutes with a Director who asked the new group of eager recruits “What do you see when a candidate walks through the door?” With the assumption that my answers in my interview for the job were correct I said, “A person”. She looked at me, with a shake of her head and a slight grin as if I were a naive child who still believed carrots helped you see in the dark. “No, wrong answer,” she responded. “I just see a pound sign.” Boom... illusion shattered.

Experience the value of being a direct candidate instead of a £ sign

Since joining the recruitment team with SAP Consultancy, Bluefin Solutions, I noticed that when SAP consultants apply directly to opportunities they actually experience the real value of being a candidate. Like many companies, Bluefin Solutions is built around core values which resonate through its workforce. As a candidate, the more you can speak to people who work for the company e.g. communication through the recruitment process, you see how welcoming people are, what people are like every time you phone into the office to ask any questions about the process, directions, parking, anything; you can get a real feel for what it is actually like to be an employee and what the environment is really like.

Already as a candidate, you are building a relationship with the people in the company which will help you determine whether working there is something for you. If it is, then it places you in a stronger position to demonstrate that you share the same values in the interviews and if successful, makes it an easier transition to fit into the environment when you start your new role.

When applying through recruitment agencies, communication takes place though the agent across most stages of the process.

A good recruiter is a good salesperson

Yes, there are recruitment agents who are especially good at their job who genuinely care about the candidate, know the business they recruit for inside out, so much so that they are almost a part of the company. However the high staff turnover within the recruitment industry is well documented and so as a candidate, there is no guarantee you will deal with the right recruitment consultant, committed to this cause.

Whilst some agents will know a lot about the business environment of the company they recruit for because of regular communication they have with a handful of the company staff, the candidate is still going through a ‘middle man’ who is ultimately trying to sell you the opportunity with the ‘right’ environment and ‘similar’ values to yourself.
Of course, ultimately this is their job - selling. Second hand information from a salesman is not going to be enough for a candidate to make an informed decision on a company’s environment. How much genuine information about the environment will a candidate get through this consultant versus an employee of that company?

Recruitment agents often suggest a business or an industry that the candidates may not have heard of or may never have thought of applying to. This can be useful if a candidate is unsure of which direction to take their career, discovering unchartered opportunities but again it’s all information coming through the hard sell of the recruitment consultant.

Take full advantage of being a direct applicant

As a candidate in an interview, common questions to ask the interviewee is how long they have worked there for and what their experiences are? Even if you don’t get a genuine answer, you can tell a great deal by what people say and what their reaction is. Why does this have to stop within interview? Take advantage of being a direct candidate when speaking to more people in the company and explore other people’s experience to gain a more genuine, clear picture of the environment.

By taking time to really think about the various industries available within which to shape a career you can usually discover the companies yourself by doing a little extra homework and then apply directly to opportunities or even speculatively. At least then, you are not being steered in any way towards an industry by an agent who may have dressed it up, and you can ask the questions you really want to know the answer to.

Applying directly to a company you really want to join, can give you a greater insight into the environment of that company and its values. To those you interact with in the company, you are potentially, a colleague, a person they will be working with, not just a pound sign.

I'm always interested to hear other people's experiences so if you have any, please share...