Articles From the Team
How to benefit from using a recruitment consultant
It is not often that I speak to a candidate that is not using other recruitment agencies to help with their job search. This can become confusing and more often than not, you won’t be able to remember which agency you have spoken to never mind where your CV has been sent too!
This is why it is important to be choosy about the agency you want to help with your job search and how to make the most out of your relationship with them. Here are some tips to help you get the best out of your recruitment consultant.
Be clear about what you want
The most important thing to consider before beginning your job search and contacting a recruiter is to know what you want to achieve. Are you looking for a higher salary? A better cultural fit? A shorter commute? A better work/life balance?
All of these factors (and more!) are important to consider. You might be working long hours at the moment or have a long commute. Would salary be the overriding factor if you could be closer to home or have a better work/life balance? You might find the money you save on travel or your unpaid overtime makes the drop in salary more palatable.
I handle personal injury recruitment in Liverpool and I know as well as you that a Portal Fee Earner role or a Fast Track Litigator role at two different firms is going to entail the same daily duties. This means that there is an underlying factor motivating you to move. If your reason is “I just want a change” then you need to figure out what it is that you want to change because your day-to-day responsibilities will be largely the same.
Listen to your consultant’s advice
Your recruitment consultant should have a good understanding of the industry and the market so they will have a good idea of which firms would be best for you. They will also be able to give you realistic and subjective salary advice. You might have seen an advert with an attractive salary however, your experience might mean you are perfect for the role but not for the maximum salary.
Do listen to our advice as we don’t want to you be underpaid or price yourself out of the market. We want to help you find a job that makes you happy, after all this means we are doing our job right!
It is also important to listen to where you have consented for your CV to be sent. If a potential employer receives a duplicate CV from two different agencies, it may make you look you have not paid attention and that you are somewhat disorganised.
Make sure you keep a record of where your CV has been sent and get this in writing from your recruiter. You should also not really apply for the same role within a 6 month period.
Don’t use an offer to get a better deal out of your current employer
If you have a job offer on the table it is highly likely you have had a few frank discussions with your recruitment consultant about why you are looking for a new role. You have put lots of effort into securing a new role and now your current employer makes you a counter offer! What do you do?
Well, before you get to this stage if you are looking for a role purely to secure a higher salary then you should just ask for a pay rise before beginning your search.
If it was for another reason then you must consider how this offer from your current employer is going to fit what you have described as your ideal role to your consultant. For example, if you wanted to find a role which could offer a better cultural fit, how is your current employer going to offer this to you? You know what it is like working there and it is unlikely to change.
It is worth considering that 60% of UK employee’s who accept a counter offer end up leaving the firm within 6 months. This means that you missed out on the original opportunity and reduced the pool of firms that you could interview for again.
For more information contact Georgie Willisford at BCL Legal.