At GSR2R, we know that when you’re building a relationship with a potential new client, it is vitally important to make sure they know the value of your fee. As a rec 2 rec company we are filling recruiter jobs for other agencies and it isn’t any different for us. We need to demonstrate our value. Remember the value of your fee should not be confused with ‘how much you cost’, because these are two very different things.

As an example, let’s say your fee is 20-30%. At first glance, that may seem like a lot to your client. Recruiters are often mistakenly undervalued – the danger being that your client thinks all they’re getting for their money is you filling a vacancy for them. Of course you’re actually doing much more than that, which is what makes your role as a recruitment ‘consultant’ so important, and therefore valuable.

Your client might think ‘I could go to a bog standard agency and pay 10%’ or even ‘I could post the job on social media myself and pay nothing!’ Both of those options would probably result in them finding ‘someone’ to fill their position. Whether that someone would be a good fit in the long run, is another question.

Let’s say the client takes the ‘DIY’ approach. They send out a tweet about their vacancy, shortlist a few CVs, conduct interviews and take on the best qualified candidate. A month down the line, said candidate turns out to be less capable than they had hoped, fails to pass their probationary period, and is denied a permanent position. The client then finds themselves back at square one, needing to spend time, money and effort on the recruiting process all over again.

Had they come to you to fill the same vacancy, they would have benefited from your professional expertise, your market knowledge and your experience in recruitment. You would have used all your experience and tools to tailor a well suited shortlist of candidates – all while the client was able to carry on running their business without distraction.

From your shortlisted candidates, the client would appoint a fully screened, amply competent and capable new employee. A month down the line, they are more likely to have been a fantastic fit and an obvious choice for a permanent position. Moreover, that candidate is likely to become a valuable employee who will help your client’s business grow and ultimately increase their profits by many times the ‘cost’ of your fee!

This is the point you need to make to your clients when it comes to fee negotiations. One of the most important recruiter tips we can offer is to know the value of your fee, and make sure your client knows it too. In understanding the value rather than just the cost, they will in turn see your value as an individual and keep coming back to you with all their future recruitment needs.

It is your job to make the client see that you know how to be a great recruiter. Make them understand that a candidate recruited by someone with a wealth of industry knowledge, for whom recruitment is a full time career and passion rather than just another task on a to do list, is far more likely to excel and help their business grow.

Make it clear that your fee is in fact a very valuable investment in their company’s future.

Till next time,

Cheryl Wing

Competition is tough out there for recruitment consultants. Let’s face it, your earnings depend not only on securing new vacancies to fill, but having a good range of suitable candidates for each role. Otherwise you won’t make placements that stay or smash your billings.

It has never been easy to find that stellar candidate and it is getting harder. With many candidates choosing to find work themselves online with the temptation of an abundance of job sites and everyone’s favourite site; LinkedIn.

Convincing candidates that they should choose a recruitment consultant can be a challenge in itself, so read on for five tips that will make sure that you are the recruitment consultant they choose.

1. Take a consultative approach

Many candidates don’t know what to expect when visiting a recruitment agency for the first time and don’t have an understanding of recruiter roles. Often, they are asked to hand in their CV and advised they will be telephoned should any suitable vacancies arise. Investing time in the first meeting or phone call can reap dividends and reassure the candidate that you are genuinely interested in their career.

Take a consultative approach by really listening to the candidate to establish what is important to them. Be bold and ask them what they are looking for in a recruitment consultant and tailor your conversation to meet their expectations or make alternative suggestions if they are off the mark.

2. Suggest alternative positions

This is where your expertise can shine. The role you have has enabled you to get into a conversation with this candidate; what if they are, spot on for a different job you are placing? Suggest alternative positions they would be suitable for based on their prior work history and hard and soft skills. Having an established client base will help here; allowing you to cross reference and match their expertise with what you know your clients seek in a member of staff.

3. Know your clients

Talk to your candidate about your current client base. Of course, you don’t want to divulge too much information – after all, you don’t want any of your rival recruitment consultants to snatch your potential placements from under your nose or breach any confidentiality, however, you can talk about your relationship and trust with them, successful recent placements and the specific sectors in which you operate.

If you have any suitable open vacancies, talk to your candidate about them. If not, explain that you will call your existing clients to pitch them in speculatively. Even better if you can make some calls right there and then to show that you are proactive.

4. CV and interview preparation

Reassure the candidate that you will be with them every step of the way and can help with rewording their current CV to meet the requirements of job descriptions and the client’s essential and desirable criterion. Reaffirm that you know exactly what your clients want and can therefore prepare them for interviews in line with the job role, company culture and mission.

5. Invite questions

Invite your candidate to ask questions to begin a soft close to the deal. Encourage the candidate to call or email you regularly if they have any further questions. This is a good time to set your expectations such as what you expect from them, potential time frames and next steps. Finally, ask for their business and confirm that you will start on their next career move right away.

Till next time!

Cheryl and the GSR2R Team

If you are looking for recruitment consultant jobs in the UK, there are a few options open to you. You can hang out on LinkedIn and see what recruiter roles are being posted. You can Google any number of related words and phrases and see what appears. If you have the contact details of a hiring manager in a recruitment companies you would love to work with, you can give them a call and hope you get through or you can talk to a specialist in the field like a recruitment to recruitment agency.

These are the facts. The truth is we all love using the skills and expertise of a specialist. As a recruitment consultant reading this article I am sure you would agree. Look at data and trends in the recruitment industry and you will see this fact being played out at every turn.

Sector specific recruitment companies are some of the most successful on the planet. Why? Because both candidates and clients know they are in safe hands with someone that understands, at depth, their industry and who can give the advice they need. Add into this access to a network of key contacts and you will then appreciate the facts I shared earlier.

This exact scenario plays out when you are looking for a recruitment position. A rec to rec company that is either local or sector specific or even a combination of both is a logical first step.

So how does the whole rec to rec thing work for recruiters who are looking for recruitment consultant jobs in a range of sectors?

First step is to do your research. Head over to LinkedIn and ‘Google’ and search for what you need. The beauty of the, internet driven landscape we live in is that at the click of a mouse we can be presented with hundreds of bits of information all of which can help in pointing you in the right direction for your next recruiter role. Once you have narrowed down your search have a good look over their website, follow them on LinkedIn and give them a call. All rec to rec’s are discreet, they have to be. Top tip don’t contact the one that your current company uses! It isn’t a smart move.

The next thing is to set up a meeting and explore your options. Any rec to rec worth their ‘salt’ will know who is recruiting when, and importantly will be skilled in understanding how you would fit with their clients and the type of roles they have on offer.

Here is the thing – it is worth taking action on this now. In the world of recruitment, relationships are King; or Queen depending on your viewpoint. Get to know your rec to rec consultant, make sure they understand what you are looking for and that you keep in regular contact.

Being front of mind works wonders and building a relationship in this way will reward you when suddenly the ideal role in the ideal company is up for grabs.

Till next time,

Cheryl

Recruitment consultant jobs are available in most market sectors that you could possibly imagine. With the current upswing in the economy many successful recruitment consultants are looking for new opportunities and will often ask me what are the sectors they should consider when they are considering a move.

From my own experience as a rec to rec company, all our sectors have grown in the last year. However it is a good idea to get onto Google and have a look around for yourself. Though I have saved you the trouble as I have listed down my top 4 below. They are in no particular order.

Remember when you are considering a move; don’t just move to the latest fad or trend. As a recruiter you can, and should aim for a long term career. This month financial recruitment might be the flavour of the month, later in the year it could be another sector. Of course market growth is important however think about your own skill set; what you like doing and do you have a network of contacts that can help you excel.

1. IT and Digital

This sector is obvious. Don’t assume because it has been on top of the recurring growth markets for a while that the growth has slowed down.

It hasn’t and with, IT being the centre of most of our lives; I know we just moved offices recently and I had a sharp reminder about how vital it is; this will always be a key recruitment area.

2. Construction

Nice to see this one increase. Last year we placed a number of construction recruitment consultants and with the economy moving this is set to continue. You only need to keep your eyes and ears open as you travel around the UK to notice new builds occurring at an increased rate.

3. Finance

As the economy bounces back this sector will always move with it. The upside is that all the aligned departments will also grow. This is something to consider as it might be worth thinking through your options and consider exploring working with an agency that, though they recruit into the finance sector, they also provide additional services and source candidates for all the different roles their clients might need e.g. admin, support, marketing and sales.

4. Engineering and Manufacturing

Both are on the up and lovely to see, as a nation that has manufacturing and engineering as our backbone. Both these areas growth can be attributed north of Watford gap with the north; particularly Yorkshire showing the biggest expansion.

Many sectors are still great places to work and if you are an experienced consultant, my observations; having placed thousands of candidates is you will always be successful.

Think about it? I wouldn’t be surprised if many recruiters reading this article will have recruiter friends and contacts that are knocking it out of the park, in what, on the surface, appears to be impossible situations.

Skill, knowledge and a good dose of hard work can work wonders no matter what sector you choose.

Till next time,

Cheryl

Recruitment consultant jobs are on the increase and they just might be the role that suits you best. If you are looking for a rewarding career where hard work pays off, let me explain more.

The UK and global economy is on the move and this time in the right direction. The last few years has seen a global recession with many companies either, ‘going to the wall’ or scaling down by having a job freeze or worse still making employees redundant.

On a positive note this is now changing and many organisations are recruiting again, which is good news for all. So how do companies find new staff? Generally there are two ways, organisations either; recruit themselves using time and resources they have internally or they hire in a team of professional recruiters known in the industry as rec to rec agencies.

Internal recruitment teams can vary in size and expertise. Depending on the size of the organisation this team will often include people from both the human resources function and the recruiting department. In some cases this might also include a project team if a large recruitment drive is happening. In most cases internal recruitment will still involve using recruitment agencies because of stretched internal resources.

For many companies using a recruitment company will save them both time and money in addition to providing access to a broader range of potential candidates. Why is this? The truth is a recruitment consultant can dedicate more time to the task and often with a higher level of knowledge of the available candidates. Add into this the latest awareness of the competition for talent and the value of the ‘consultant’ aspect of a recruitment consultant job is plain to see.

With employment increasing many organisations are turning to recruitment companies to supply their talent needs. This then results in a corresponding growth for recruitment companies who in turn have more vacancies for recruitment consultants.

A recruitment consultant in today’s economy has the potential to have a fulfilling, challenging and well paid job. Provided of course they are up for the role.

The good news is that gaining that role is easier than most people realise provided they have the grit and determination needed for any job that involves ‘ selling’ and ‘relationship’ building.

You can of course contact a company direct; though without prior knowledge of you or someone to ‘sell ‘you to the hiring manager, it will be an uphill struggle.

An easier place to start is to contact a recruitment agency that specialises in the field. They are known as rec to rec companies. As the name implies they provide recruitment services exclusively to recruitment companies. Many of them specialise as well; either geographically or in specific sectors e.g. retail, secretarial, construction or finance.

That means you will be able to find a rec to rec company based just in London or one that recruits consultants just for construction or retail or finance. In fact every business sector will have a rec to rec company where that is their speciality.

What next? Take some action!

Till next time,

Cheryl

Recruiter roles are easy to excel in provided you find the right one and know exactly what you need to do to get results.

Let’s step back first and explain exactly what a recruitment consultant is and exactly what they do.

Recruiters (sometimes also called recruitment consultants) help connect talent with great organisations. In other words, they help companies find candidates for roles within their organisation.

When a recruitment consultant successfully provides this service they are paid a fee by the organisation in question that is usually a percentage of the salary of the person they have recruited.

Using an example; Jane has a recruitment consultant job at Danvers recruitment. Danvers specialise in providing medical representatives to the pharmaceutical industry. One of Danvers clients is Peak Pharmaceuticals and they want to recruit an experienced medical sales representative to work the North of England. Jane has experience in this sector and has a lot of contacts who would be ideal in this role.

Jane works closely with the hiring manager Andrea to find out the type of candidate she is looking for. Jane then looks for candidates who might fit the role. Jane short lists this down to four people and sends the CV’s over to Andrea. Andrea decides to interview them all and then takes two through to final interview stage. One of these candidates stands out for Andrea and she offers him the role. An ideal scenario!

The candidate is offered a salary of £30,000. Danvers has a special arrangement with Peak Pharmaceuticals and for every candidate they place they get a commission of 20%. On this occasion Jane’s commission or billing fee; as it is known, is 20% of £30,000 so £6000.

Sounds pretty simple doesn’t it? Well it is and it isn’t. Hard work, tenacity and consistency will produce rewards in a recruitment consultant’s job.

As a consultant you will need to understand how to influence and persuade. How to listen to both your candidates and clients to make sure you understand what is important to both of them. It can be far too easy to place a candidate in a role that you think will be perfect, only to discover they have moved on three months later! This is not good customer service from the client’s point of view and can often be avoided with some knowledge, experience and good questions.

So the question everyone wants to know? How are consultants paid and how much can you expect to make? As always in depends. As a general rule a recruitment company expects you to make them money. A quick look on a few rec to rec websites and you will see what the salary range for consultants is. This will depend on your track record and level of experience. In essence recruiters are ‘sales’ people and as such can increase their salary significantly the more successful they are.

Just this morning I noticed on a rec to rec website a junior recruitment consultant job at £25K plus commission and a senior consultant role at £35k plus.

Add into this regular commission and you can see why ambition people move into this excellent career. It is not uncommon for good recruiters to place candidates at great fees that can exceed the half a million mark. Do you think their managers and directors reward them with good commissions? You bet!

Want to learn more about recruitment ? Have a look around this website and the articles here on the GSR2R blog.

Till next time,

Cheryl and the GSR2R Team

I know you are probably reading this and thinking; “I haven’t got a clue what drives them?” Well that isn’t really true is it? As a recruiter you will understand people- you have to or you won’t last long in your current recruiter role.

Motivation is a fascinating topic and one that switched on recruiters study. Because those hard to access, passive candidates can be motivated to move companies-yes they can.  You just need to make sure you find the right button to press that; lights their button or rings their bell.

As recruiters we are generally pretty self-motivated. We like the buzz, the hard work, the thrill of placing candidates, the respect of our bosses. In the most part we go home pretty upbeat and pleased with where we are at. So how can you find out your candidates equivalent? Let’s step back first and ask; “What exactly is motivation then?” Well here is a definition for you from about.com.

Motivation is defined as the process that initiates, guides and maintains goal-oriented behaviors. Motivation is what causes us to act, whether it is getting a glass of water to reduce thirst or reading a book to gain knowledge.

Uhm… in plain English then what does that mean for us as recruiters? Well people are driven to do certain things because it is important to them. These are known as emotional drivers. This might shock you and it’s rarely money. Think about it? Those hard to reach passive candidates are no  doubt well paid- once we have a certain level of income that fulfils our basic needs it becomes less of a driver for us-or they would have moved on before.

What might motivate them is an opportunity to work on a new project, more responsibility, and the chance to work from home one day a week and pick the kids up from school; remember they aren’t you, so what motivates them might be totally different.

Lou Adler talked about a similar topic recently when he highlighted that a good salary and conditions are a given for great candidates. Where you need to get creative is how you then ‘sell’ the original aspects of a role that will appeal to your candidate. How will you know? Find out by taking the time to talk to them and ask them; “What is important to you about……”

Don’t be fooled by this simple question as it will uncover things that might surprise you; as long as you truly listen to the answers. Ask questions like this and you will be head and shoulders above other consultants and your candidates will recognise it.

Till next time,

Cheryl and the GSR2R Team

GSR2R, an award-winning recruitment-to-recruitment agency, has hired Mark O’Keefe as a new member of its recruitment consultancy team.

With several years of experience in recruiting, working with three different companies, Mark has built up an extensive network in the recruitment sector, which he will use to provide a top-quality service to GSR2R clients. As one of the country’s best-respected rec 2 rec companies, GSR2R prides itself on its ability to attract the best consultants around, and Mark’s experience, skills and personal attributes demonstrate that he will be a valuable addition to the organisation.

“I am delighted to join the GSR2R team of recruitment consultants. I really admire Cheryl Wing’s work and am excited to have the opportunity to work with her and her colleagues in an organisation with such a strong reputation.

“Although I’m sure I’ll learn a lot from my new colleagues, I’m also confident that I’ll be able to bring some added-value to the team. As a former tennis pro, I’m highly competitive and enjoy the challenging, fast-paced nature of recruiting. In some ways, this industry is like a game but the prize is not a trophy, it’s the opportunity to link a client with the ideal position, which is very satisfying.

“I moved into recruiting from sales several years ago because I wanted to work in a more versatile working environment where I would have the opportunity to progress professionally. I enjoy working with people more than with products, because every day is different and you have the opportunity to work with a really interesting range of people.”

GSR2R was established by Cheryl Wing in 2001 and developed quickly. In 2007, it won the Best Recruitment to Recruitment Award for Outstanding Excellence, demonstrating that it had quickly become a leader in the field. GSR2R strives to remain the best in the business, by offering an individual and refreshing approach through putting passion into all of its activities.

“We love our jobs and we want our clients to love theirs too”, commented Managing Director Cheryl Wing. “We hire only the best recruitment consultants and are delighted to have Mark on board. Since 2001, we have developed a diverse team with backgrounds in everything from Sunday league football to sheep farming. We believe that interesting, friendly people make the best recruiters and I’m sure that Mark will fit the bill.”

http://www.pressreleasepoint.com/rec-rec-company-gsr2r-expand-their-team

It is not uncommon to find many recruiters without a game plan. You know a game plan for their life and career? So what is your game plan? Did you just fall into recruitment and are now wondering how you map out your future?

Perhaps it has only just occurred to you that this might be worth spending some time on. That is good news because for most recruiters the penny doesn’t drop, that they will need a career plan; unfortunately that is why they ‘fail’; lucky breaks tend to happen to people that take focused action.

So why does planning work? Well if you don’t have a goal to head towards it is terribly easy to get distracted and end up going where the current might take you. The smart recruiter has a plan-both short and long term.

A long term plan can be quite simple-pass my probation, move to a company with development opportunities, make great billings, get promoted, retire to Eastbourne! Not exactly inspiring. If you are serious about a career it makes sense to study the ‘recruiter’ game plan in detail; even down to your particular sector. Yes of course you will need to build in a contingency plan for ‘things’ that might happen that are out of your control. Interesting though the switched on recruiters will have seen the indicators of a change long before it happens and will have planned accordingly.

I spoke to someone recently who said, “Who would have predicted the scrabble for talent then?” I didn’t answer-the truth was any recruiter who took an active interest in their industry.

So study how recruitment in a commercial setting works- hint we can tell you!-even down to your particular sector. Analyse the progression steps you need to go through to hit your goal. That might be to eventually own your own recruitment agency or be a recruitment manager with a big player.

Work out how many steps it might take you.Think through each step and how it will help you develop yourself. This can be; gaining experience in a particular market, learning people management skills, understanding business growth-you know the type of thing.

Then work out how you will make each step. This might be moving department or branch or moving to a different company altogether. If you are in a small agency you are unlikely to get the opportunity to become a billing manager, which is a huge experience gap if you want to then go on to be a director or own your own agency.

You need to have that compelling future in other words start with the end in mind. You can then look back and identify all the steps you will need to take- this is exactly what I did when I had the dream of creating GSR2R.

Now here is the thing; you can have anything you want. Many people don’t dream big and as a result end up being totally underwhelmed by what they achieve. When I started in recruitment I had a dream to have my own successful rec to rec agency in London. It took planning and focus and here we are with a great team who have placed hundreds of recruiters.

So what is your dream? You know what comes next; start planning.

Till next time,

Cheryl and the GSR2R Team

Social media platforms can be an effective method of finding out more about clients, companies and candidates. In our own world of Rec 2 Rec, we know only too well the opportunities they have opened up as a head hunting tool and a great way to make introductions.

Although still relatively new – Facebook is only ten years old – social media platforms look set to stay and are increasing rapidly as a way to; recruit, gain employment and make new connections.

As part of the recruiter role, it is imperative that you offer advice to your candidates on the use of social media to prevent them blowing their chances of securing a role with their online activities! There is no rule book when it comes to professional social media engagement and the waters of online etiquette range from grey to muddy, so discouraging candidates from using the internet in an ‘inappropriate way’, may take some gentle persuasion.

A good starting point is to suggest your candidate smartens up their own online presence. When was the last time they used a search engine to establish what information is showing about them? More and more employers and recruitment consultants are performing online searches to find information about candidates over and above what is detailed on their CV.

What does their online presence really say about them? They may be the best candidate for the role, but if there’s a Facebook profile with pictures of a drunken night out or a risqué comment on Twitter, the reader may reject their application without bothering to delve deeper into the actual facts.

Suggest your candidate changes their privacy settings on any personal accounts and for anything they have accessible in the public domain; change their profile picture to a professional looking image and delete any comments that could encourage assumptions or potential discrimination.

Talk to your candidate about appropriate uses of social media platforms and open a discussion on whether they should be connecting with any potential employers. Don’t take it for granted that candidates will presume it’s probably not a good idea to try to connect with personal Facebook, Twitter or Google+ accounts. Many won’t.

There’s the old adage of business should be business and personal should be kept just that, however, the information held on social media platforms has bred a false familiarity with people we haven’t even met. Explain worst case scenarios with your candidate if they are determined to connect with your clients.

Encourage your candidate to use social media as a tool to find out more about potential employers and to research companies. There should be plenty of information in cyber space without the need to directly connect. Work with them if you can, to ensure they find the correct accounts such as LinkedIn groups, Facebook business pages and the professional (not personal) Twitter and Google+ accounts.

Finally, discuss the differences between connecting with a company or business person and engaging with them. Connecting or following can contribute to their knowledge of the employer or brand; however, commenting regularly may significantly reduce the possible opportunity for them.

Till next time,

Cheryl