In these modern times of online advertising, digital media and social networking there are many new ways of finding the job of your dreams. You can make dozens of online applications for roles that tick your boxes and eventually you’ll get a call back and an interview – simple really.

So what value does an executive recruitment consultant bring to the process?

Firstly, we know our clients. We know the culture of the company and we know what personal qualities they are looking for in their employees. Going for an interview is not simply about meeting the skills requirement for the job; it’s also about “Will this person fit in to the team?” “What contribution will they make to our company outside of their daily role?” What qualities and information the interviewers are really looking for is not handed out by the person arranging the interviews so without some guidance on what attributes to really play up (and which to tone down) you’re taking a bit of a gamble with your application.

Secondly, we know you. All good Executive Recruitment Consultants will take the time to meet with you, learn about your job history, learn about your likes and dislikes at work, your motivators, career aspirations and what company and culture fit will be right for you.

We usually know if you’re going to be what our client is looking for. And we can also spot the potential in someone who has 80-90% of the skills and qualities our clients want and we know how to coach and help you turn that into 100%. Often, we have the relationships with our clients to be able to persuade them to see you despite the fact that you don’t meet all of their criteria.

A good Executive Recruitment Consultant will take the time to prepare you for the interview. No matter how old you are, how experienced you may be, how many meetings you have presented to or deals you might have closed, you will always benefit from some interview technique preparation. The style that works for you in the boardroom probably won’t work for the HR Manager who is doing the first stage interview for your dream job. However, with our help and pointers you can confidently approach the interview in a manner that will get you through successfully.

I’ve lost count of the amount of times a candidate tells me that they applied for a job directly - sometimes they even went for one or two interviews - and then they never hear from the company again. And this is with some of the largest, blue chip clients in Australia. This is where we are worth our weight in gold; we have strong relationships with our clients. We know the right people to speak to. And ultimately, we take the pressure of you. So instead of calling the client over and over again with no joy, you can sit back and wait for us to call you with the feedback or decision you need.

And another advantage is that although you might not be right for a particular role in a company, we will know if you are right for another role when it becomes available. This is an area often overlooked by the HR department as they have so many roles and so many applications to sort through each day not to mention non-recruitment related duties. As specialists in executive recruitment, we do this 100% of our time – it’s what we are good at and how we make a living.

So next time you talk to a recruiter about a role and you then think you might apply to the company directly, maybe you’ll reconsider and trust an expert to help you instead.