16 Feb What does a recruitment consultant do?

In short, a recruitment consultant is someone who finds qualified, talented, and committed candidates to fill a company/client’s vacancies. They manage every aspect of the entire recruitment process from entry-level to senior roles.

There are two sides to the recruitment process: the client side and the candidate side. A recruitment consultant needs to keep both sides happy to succeed. The client will trust their recruitment consultant to find the best individuals for the role they need to fill, while candidates will trust them to put them forward for roles which they are well suited.

Here is a small breakdown of how a recruiter fills a vacancy.

Get to know the client and their recruitment needs

The recruitment process begins the moment a client contacts a recruitment consultant with a vacancy that they need filling. To be able to fill the vacancy successfully, the recruitment consultant needs to fully understand the client’s business needs. These needs can vary from company to company; They may be looking to recruit for different roles across the whole company, or they could be looking to build one particular team within the company.

A recruitment consultant will spend some time getting to know the client and their business in order to gain an understanding of the company’s mission, culture and recruitment goals. By doing this a recruitment consultant can then prioritize the roles that need to be filled also assisting in giving the recruitment consultant an idea of what kind of candidates would be a good fit, not just for the vacancy itself, but the company as a whole, which is vital for a successful placement.

As a recruitment consultant, creating and maintaining strong relationships with clients is at the heart of the role. By getting to know the client one on one, they will be able to know exactly what the client is looking for so they can find the perfect candidate, which will help to continue a strong working relationship.

Identify talented candidates to fill the client’s vacancies

Once the recruitment consultant has an understanding of a client’s recruitment needs and the company culture, the next step is to start searching for candidates.

There are many different methods a recruitment consultant may use to find candidates. They may utilise job boards and professional networking sites to advertise the vacancy as well as search for open CVs. Most recruitment consultants will have a team of resourcers working with them to assist them in their search. Additionally, they may look at their existing network of people.

After finding candidates they think would be suitable for the role, they will then contact them to discuss the role further and find out more information about them, such as their skills, experience, and career goals to further determine if they are a good fit for the position.

If the recruitment consultant believes the candidate is a good match for the vacancy, they will then create a candidate profile featuring all the information they have collected about the candidate (e.g. skills, experience, qualifications, what they are looking for etc.). They will then send this, along with a cleansed version of the candidate’s CV, to the client. If the client is interested in the candidates provided, the recruitment consultant will move them on to the interview stage.

Organise interviews

Once there is a shortlist of suitable candidates that the client is interested in, the recruitment consultant will then go on to organise the interview process.

The interview process can vary from client to client; The interviews can either be conducted via telephone, video call or face to face meetings. The client may simply want to interview all candidates at once, or they may want to conduct different stages of interviewing to shortlist the candidates further.

Hiring decisions can involve many key players; Namely the candidate, the hiring manager, and potentially other members of the team such as the line manager. Because this stage of the recruitment process can involve so many people, setting up interviews can involve a lot of planning.

The recruitment consultant will act as the intermediary between clients and candidates when organising an interview. They will find a time that works for all involved as well as coordinating other logistical details such as the location of the interview. Alongside this, they will also ensure that both the clients and the candidates are fully prepped prior to the interview.

The follow up

Once the interviews have taken place it’s time for the final and most important component of the recruitment process; Following up with the client and candidates.

While organising the interview process, the recruitment consultant will usually set up a system for collecting and processing feedback from both the client and candidate, so they know where both parties stand following on from the interview. Through this, the consultant can let the candidates know the outcome of their interviews and the status of their applications.

If a candidate is successful in being offered the position and has accepted, all further communication related to the job such as salary, employment terms, start date etc. will go through the recruitment consultant.

Overall, the role of a recruitment consultant is present in almost every aspect of recruitment. They are having to propose and market a job to a candidate while also marketing a candidate to the client! There are targets to meet, and you are working with what can be one of the most unpredictable products on the market – people! Because of this, it can take a great deal of work to reach targets and there are things that may not always go in the expected direction. It is certainly not an easy job, however, it’s a job that can also be incredibly rewarding. There’s an amazing sense of achievement in every vacancy you fill, even more so when it’s been a particularly hard one to fill. It’s always a fantastic feeling when you’ve helped a candidate accomplish their dream job too, being able to help make a positive change in someone’s life is one of the best parts of the job.

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