Recruitment – it is all about matching clients to candidates. While on the surface this makes it sound like all recruitment is basically the same thing, when you look a bit deeper, this clearly isn’t the case.

To match the right candidates to the right roles, you need to understand the role as well as the hiring client does. This means being comfortable with all of their jargon, and what the skills they are looking for will entail.

If you are recruiting for a client who wants a database administrator, and you have no idea what MySQL is, how are you going to know if the candidate; whose CV in front of you is competent enough to meet their requirements? Equally, if a job requires a list of professional qualifications and you don’t know what any of them mean or how relevant they are, you’ll struggle.

As well as understanding the client’s industry and needs, you will also be much more successful in sectors where you have put a lot of time and effort into building and maintaining relationships. Nobody can have the same high level of professional network in every industry going, so if you have spent your career working with clients and job seekers in the insurance industry, you’re going to find it much harder to emulate the success that you have previously had immediately if you try and recruit digital marketers.

Recruitment also changes as you move from general positions into senior executive roles. Those recruiting for extremely senior or prestigious roles will find they spend more time head hunting and trying to persuade high profile candidates to move than those who work with vacancies lower down the pay scale.

When looking for more general positions, a recruiter will normally handle more jobs at once and generally be dealing with people who are actively seeking work. The nature of the day to day tasks involved and the skill sets called to the fore most often change.

This is effectively why many recruitment businesses specialise in certain sectors, or at least have teams that do. It is also why one agency can appear to be the very best in one field, but barely scratch the market’s surface in another. The best recruiters know where their strengths lie, and use them in everything they do.

When it comes to recruiting for recruitment itself, this is where a rec to rec company really adds value to its clients and the candidates it represents. At GSR2R, we specialise only in matching the best people to the best roles in the recruitment industry, and because of this, our team and our networks are strongly geared towards understanding and connecting with what really matters in our field.

Of course, this also means working with recruitment businesses that have their own specific spheres of focus, and we ensure we have people on our own recruitment team who are experienced in working in all of the recruitment niches we interact with.

Till next time,

Cheryl

Recruitment is an exciting, fast paced industry with lots of challenges and opportunities. If you are a recruiter and feel like you want a new challenge after a few years in the same niche, then a good option could be to switch to working as a recruiter for recruiters in a rec to rec environment. Your knowledge and experience can really help you to find the right people for recruitment companies in your specialist area, and help you guide other candidates looking for jobs like yours.

What makes recruitment to recruitment work interesting?

Recruitment to recruitment is a great sphere to move into after a successful period as a recruiter, because it allows you to take your skills to the next level. Everybody you deal with, that is your clients, your colleagues, and the candidates you are trying to place, all live and breathe recruitment, so you need to be at the top of your game. You also get a chance to help people just like you make the right choices when it comes to their own careers. Basically, everything you have learned from your time in the business is useful every day.

How do you move into rec to rec?

Recruitment to recruitment agents are usually people with a good amount of experience in other recruitment fields. Just as recruitment agencies deal with specialist niches, recruitment to recruitment agencies also specialise or have people within their team who specialise in dealing with clients in certain areas. This means if you have spent five years or so working as a recruiter for the financial services industry, the logical move for you would be into handling financial services recruiters as a “rec2rec” agent.

What are the important skills for a recruitment to recruitment specialist to possess?

As you would expect, a lot of the skills required for a successful career in rec2rec are very similar to those needed in any other area of recruitment. This means that as well as a good background in your own recruitment field, you should also be able to demonstrate:

1. Excellent networking skills. You need to be great at building valuable relationships with all of the key people, from recruiters you may want to place (even those who aren’t actively looking for work) to potential clients.

2. Top notch research skills. Finding the meat of what is required for a role and matching it to strong candidates is crucial. So many recruiters in other niches get by keyword searching CVs to find potential matches, but the kind of mistakes this can lead to will be spotted immediately when the people you are dealing with are recruiters themselves.

3. Good time management and organisation skills. You’ll need to stay on top of a lot of roles and a lot of candidates, so it’s vital that you are reliable and organised.

If you are interested in a new challenge that can be rewarding both in terms of money and morale, and you can say you are strong in all of these areas, then recruitment to recruitment is certainly worth your consideration as your next career step!

Cheryl Wing is the Director of GSR2R an award winning Rec 2 Rec company based in Soho London. GSR2R have placed hundreds of candidates in the last 12 years. If you want the help of a respected rec 2 rec agency to help you land a great recruiter role visit their website  at http://www.gsr2r.com.

Whether your specialism is finding staff in the financial sector, IT or any other recruitment sector, the market in London is unique. It offers a lot of challenges, as well as a lot of opportunities to make money, advance your career, and gain important experience. As you might expect, there are more recruitment jobs in London than anywhere else in the UK, but the standard and competition is high. This is why all of the most successful London recruiters make sure they are always connected to the best recruitment to recruitment agencies in the capital.

I’m happy in my current role – why would I need rec2rec agencies at this point in time?

If you wait until you actually need to find a new job because you’ve lost yours, or until you’ve decided the time is right to seek out a better position, then you are missing out. Many people only fall onto the top rec2rec companies’ radars when they are suddenly out of work, and while they are certainly the right people to help you in this situation, if you are already connected with them you are likely to get a lot more time and attention when you become available.

They can of course also inform you of roles you may never have heard about otherwise. While you may not be actively seeking a new job, would you say no if the perfect opportunity came up? If you don’t know about it because you aren’t searching for jobs, you’ll never get the chance to decide. If your contacts in rec2rec know about you they can get in touch when that perfect match comes up and give you the option to apply.  That sense of being “in demand” is always a nice feeling, too!

Why networking is key

Staying informed about who the biggest players in terms of recruitment to recruitment agencies in London are is the first part of the battle. You can find out a lot by using your existing network – you already know other recruiters, who use sites and networks like LinkedIn, and your current employer may even use a rec2rec company to source their own staff. These are all places to start. Find out who your friends have used, and ask for recommendations. Connect with anybody who could be useful to you on LinkedIn from a rec2rec point of view, as well as just potential clients and candidates. Make sure your profile on LinkedIn reflects what you can do for an employer, as well as for a client. Also, when you do find a new job through a rec2rec company, make sure the relationship doesn’t end when you sign your new contract – you never know when a friend or contact might need their services.

Till next time,

Cheryl

We are currently living in what can at best be called “interesting times” when it comes to employment in the UK. If you’re someone who works in the recruitment industry, you’ll know this only too well. While a general decrease in hiring across the majority of sectors has happened over the past few years; things are changing and for the better.

Being involved, as we are with recruitment, we are cheered by the fact that many of our friends in the industry are being given more roles to fill which means we have to find more recruiters to fill them J

This means that good recruiters are in high demand and to stand out and get the roles you want, you may have to compete that little bit harder. That is where the help of a good rec to rec agency comes in. A good rec2rec (recruitment to recruitment) agency can make a huge difference. To your chance of success.

What does a recruitment to recruitment agency do?

 A recruitment to recruitment agency is essentially the same as any other recruitment agency. It wants to find the right people for its clients’ roles, and helps its candidates find jobs that suit them. What makes a recruitment to recruitment company special is that they deal in recruitment jobs, so both their candidates and clients are in the recruitment industry themselves. This means that they understand the way their clients operate extremely well, and also, as recruiters themselves, know what their candidates’ major concerns will be.

What are the benefits of working with this kind of agency?

 You may think that as a recruiter, you know enough about the job seeking world to find that perfect new role by yourself. However, just as you add value to your candidates in the sector you specialise in, a recruitment to recruitment company can add significant value to you. They will be exceptionally well connected, meaning they will be aware of roles that haven’t even been advertised yet and will have their finger on the pulse when it comes to what is going on with all of their clients. This means they can give you many useful insights that can help you get the job, or can even allow you to work out if a job isn’t right for you before you accept it. This can be especially useful if you were with your last employer for a long time and don’t have a lot of connections outside of your current recruitment sector.

Get connected

 Whether you are looking for a new role right now or not, it pays to be connected with the best recruitment to recruitment companies in your area. Being on their radar can mean you are the first to know when the perfect opportunity becomes available and can also speed up the job hunting process dramatically if you are already looking for that next role.

Cheryl Wing is the Director of GSR2R an award winning Rec 2 Rec company based in Soho London. GSR2R have placed hundreds of candidates in the last 12 years. If you want the help of a respected rec 2 rec agency to help you land a great recruiter role visit their website  at http://www.gsr2r.com.

Recruitment to recruitment companies are a vital part of the whole recruiter world.  They provide a much needed service to recruitment companies across the globe.

For someone reading this outside of the recruitment world or a budding trainee consultant this is how it works.

It is a well-known fact that companies that use recruiters to hire staff save money. This was flagged again in a recent article on inc.com and by a post on recruiting blogs by Amie Bennett. Did you know that the cost to replace an employee can be up to four times their annual salary? A recruiter’s fee then pales into insignificance.

The general process involves the decision that a position needs to be filled. The hiring manager or H.R. then decides to contact a recruitment agency. At this point there may be a number of recruitment companies in the frame who the job is given to. In reality if the recruiter has a good relationship with the hiring manager they normally get first option.

So what might the definition of a good relationship be? Well a proven track record of producing good candidates is normally at the top of the list. Now here is the thing. Really good recruiters make that look easy. Yet it isn’t! The skill of the recruiter is finding out exactly what the hiring managers wants.

Attached to this are the company culture and particularly the team in which the new hire is going to work. A professional recruiter will take an extensive brief and ask the questions others don’t ask. This then puts them in a strong position to be able to match the candidate with the role.

Logically the same will apply for a recruitment company looking to hire a new recruitment consultant for their team. The point to remember here is that recruiters that work at recruitment to recruitment companies understand exactly what is needed. After all the industry is very familiar to them.

Taking the same scenario again. A recruitment business owner may contact a number of Recruitment to recruitment companies. In exactly the same way they will choose one depending on the level of service and quality candidates that they have received before.

The value and money saved is just the same as in other markets. The reason that this process is so cost effective is that the rec to rec company will know a lot about the pool of talent out there on the market and importantly other undercover recruiters that people would love to have on their team.

The thing about recruitment to recruitment companies and their recruiters they are generally great networkers. Add to this that they have served their time in recruitment and you will understand why they have so many connections and seem to know everybody. For a recruitment company that is vital. Because they not only know the great recruiters they also know who the not so great ones are as well! You know the ones that talk the talk and then don’t deliver.

Cheryl Wing is the Director of GSR2R an award winning Recruitment to Recruitment company based in Soho London. GSR2R have placed hundreds of candidates in the last 12 years. If you want the help of one of the most respected recruitment to recruitment companies in the uk visit their website  at http://www.gsr2r.com.

Following the incredible response we received from our New York referral over the past two years, we wanted to find a way to create EVEN MORE ‘WINNERS’ in 2016.

With that goal in mind we are delighted to announce the first opportunity to WIN is live NOW (Jan 26^th to March 31st).

The STUNNING city of LILLE is waiting for you and a friend/partner to EXPLORE!

What you need to do:

Refer any experienced Recruiter to GSR2R, between now and the 31^st March, who we successfully have a conversation with and your name will be entered into a draw to win:

a) 2 Eurostar tickets to Lille

b) 2 nights stay in a Superior Room at the 5* Hotel Barrier De Lille

http://www.lucienbarriere.com/en/luxury-hotel/Lille-Hotel-Barriere-Lille/home.html

If your referral is successfully placed, you will also receive the GSR2R Referral Scheme which is £150 worth of vouchers of your choice.

Why?

GSR2R want to reward you for spreading the word about our outstanding service. If you know an experienced person who works in Recruitment who is looking for the next step in their career, please tell them about GSR2R.

When can I start?

Right now! Email claire@gsr2r.com or call GSR2R on 0203 696 1215.

IMPORTANT PLEASE NOTE COMPETITION RULES APPLY: You can find these by clicking this link http://www.gsr2r.com/referral-scheme

Warmest regards,

Cheryl, Mike and Louise

Candidate Background

Rowan joined the recruitment industry as a graduate in 2009 and spent over 3 years working with a specialist finance and accountancy recruitment company.

During his first 15 months his role was as an associate consultant making cold calls and undertaking head hunting activities. He was then offered several seats as a Consultant and opted for a desk specialising in retail banking, which he then went on to successfully develop over the following 2 years.

In late 2012, Rowan left the recruitment industry to purse a new opportunity in the world of entertainment as a sales and business development manager.Rowan subsequently re-evaluated his position and career path realising that he missed the world of recruitment and that his reason for leaving was because of the kind of recruitment organisation he had previously worked for. It was at this point in the late summer of 2014 that Rowan decided to make contact with a Rec to Rec.
Having used Rec to Rec agencies before Rowan had experienced;

• Rec to Rec’s commonly focus on the ‘numbers’ not the person
• He would be frequently asked; “Do you want to work on a desk with a low threshold?”
• Recruiters would ask about Rowans commission and OTE expectations

However 18 months into his earlier recruitment career, Rowan had previously been through a recruitment process and been offered a position that he decided not to take. One of the GSR2R team had worked closely with Rowan through the whole process and stayed in regular contact afterwards. Having built up and enjoyed a ‘fantastic’ working relationship with the GSR2R team, Rowan decided it was time to ask for their professional help.

What happened next?

• GSR2R took the time to understand what had motivated Rowan to leave the recruitment industry and what was attracting him back
• They discovered what kind of role he would enjoy, culture he would he thrive in and where he could he see himself staying over the next, 3, 5 even 10 years of his recruitment career
• Cheryl at this point also uncovered how concerned Rowan was about moving back into the
  recruitment industry. He regarded it as a ‘risky’ move because he didn’t want to make the jump back into recruitment and discover he had joined a company similar to the one he left

To address this, Cheryl suggested they took a ‘consultancy’ approach. This involved Cheryl using her vast network to source roles that were an ideal fit with GSR2R then arranging for Rowan to attend a number of interviews. Together they reviewed the roles, the company cultures and his interviews and established that, ‘Yes’ Rowan did want to return to recruitment.

Through the GSR2R consultative approach they were able to identify the company where Rowan felt he could happily invest the next 5 – 10 years of his career and life.

What Rowan thought of his GSR2R experience

1. The whole GSR2R experience gave Rowan the confidence to go into interviews and be himself. He knew that the two specific roles Cheryl had identified had been carefully considered based on his character and aspirations. As a result both company cultures were a fit to his needs and likewise Rowan was their ideal candidate profile.
2. Due to the strong relationship that had been established over time with the whole GSR2R team, Rowan trusted the approach Cheryl recommended and the advice she gave.
3. The team at GSR2R are highly regarded in the industry, are informed and have a great understanding of their clients. They are also selective in who they work and where they place candidates.
4. When GSR2R talk about team work they mean it. When Cheryl was away, Mike made himself available to help and support him through his decision making process which he valued and appreciated.

Would you recommend GSR2R and why?

“I would absolutely recommend GSR2R; the value for me is that it’s a personal, long lasting relationship. I don’t feel I will ever need to go to another Rec 2 Rec because I have established a partnership with GSR2R and they know and understand who I am. They see no value in placing me into a business where they can get a quick win. They treat you with respect, intelligence, they understand exactly where you are coming from and they are about creating
very suitable matches. They are so well connected I would see no need to ever go and speak to another Rec 2 Rec.”

Rowan Fisk

Candidate Background

Katy was a graduate with almost two years of experience within the recruitment industry. She had made an impressive start to her recruitment career consistently hitting her billings target and while she was enjoying recruiting, when looking to further her career Katy had begun to ask herself, “Is this the recruitment company for me?”

Having decided to look for a new position, Katy experienced the following;

– She was inundated with calls from Rec to Rec companies

– Found she was investing a lot of time researching the companies and their Consultants that could help her find a new role

– Through this research Katy found many companies were the same and talked ‘the same old Rec to Rec story’

– She was sent job profiles that were unrelated to her background and expertise

– Katy received other job profiles that were of no personal interest

– In addition, Katy felt she was being pressured to take calls during work hours and Rec to Rec companies demonstrated little empathy and understanding of her demanding work hours which were 8.30 to 7pm, often 7.30pm

However one company did standout during Katy’s research, GSR2R.

What happened next?

Based on researching GSR2R’s website Katy decided to contact them.

– During the initial conversation with GSR2R, Katy was invited to meet with Cheryl the next day and suggested 7.30pm after Katy had finished work. Cheryl made it clear that this was preferable compared to wasting time on the phone and subsequently sending irrelevant job details

– Cheryl and Katy met the next day from 7.30 – 9pm

– Based on this conversation Cheryl sent Katy information on a small number of relevant roles that she believed would be the closest match to what Katy was looking for. She then gave Katy several days to review these before they spoke again. This gave Katy time to think through the roles and research the companies without feeling pressured

– When she then spoke with Cheryl they discussed which roles she preferred to be put forward for and why, Cheryl then successfully secured interviews for Katy

What Katy thought of her experience of the GSR2R process

1. Cheryl and Mike both took time during conversations with Katy to understand what Katy was doing day to day in her current role, the types of clients and candidates and colleagues she was working with and the way she was expected to work.

As a result they helped Katy understand why she felt that her current company may not be the best fit for her to enjoy her job and develop her career further. These approaches made Katy feel that GSR2R cared about her and she wasn’t just another ‘number’ towards their monthly target.

2. Katy valued the level of flexibility to meet and call her outside her regular work hours, in addition Cheryl and Mike in effect ‘took over’ the job searching for Katy. This was a huge relief and made the whole process painless and stress free.

3. As this was still relatively early in Katy’s career, she was incredibly nervous about the prospect of moving companies and making the right choice, especially as she was being very successful in her role and company.

With their vast experience and in-depth market knowledge, Mike and Cheryl reviewed each role she had been interviewed for and explained why they were different to what Katy was used to and which most closely suited her. Because of this approach Katy’s concerns were alleviated.

Would you recommend GSR2R and why?

“I would highly recommend GSR2R; in fact I have already referred 2 friends. Rec to Rec unfortunately doesn’t enjoy the best reputation in the industry. Way too few people are aware of the quality and level of service GSR2R provide, because of the industry experience, knowledge and ability to build great client and candidate relationships. I believe if more people experienced the GSR2R service, GSR2R could change the image of the Rec to Rec industry.

I am in a job that I love, working for a start-up business which is exactly what I wanted to do. I would never have found this job or company had it not been for the team at GSR2R”

Katy

Client Background

Daniel Marks is one of the leading head hunting companies in London specialising in the marketing communications arena and specifically within leading creative agencies.  The business was formed in 2006 and now deals with some of the top Advertising, Digital, Creative and Direct Marketing agencies who create everything from TV and cinema advertising right through to Apps and websites that we use. In addition, they work with leading global direct marketing agencies.

Over the last 9 years Daniel Marks has grown in to a recruitment company with several divisions including account handling and planning, through to creative and technology recruitment as well as project management and production roles.

The business has achieved its success through a program of work which included nurturing and developing graduates after the recession. While this proved fruitful, it was very time intensive for the directors involved. When the company decided to increase the number of hires in 2011, it was simply too large a scale of work for the directors to undertake themselves. They also recognised the need to bring on board some experienced recruiters, therefore using a recruitment to recruitment service was the obvious option.

Having made the decision to explore recruitment to recruitment agencies, Robin and company founder Dan Matthews wanted to work with someone who understood the creative and marketing industry. Daniel Marks deal with senior to executive level appointments where 80% of the work is undertaken through traditional head hunting, referrals and recommendations. It was important that the recruitment to recruitment company they worked with understood this and were prepared to go out and find the best recruitment consultants in the industry for Daniel Marks rather than an agency who would send anyone that they had on their books.

What happened next?

Robin and Dan initially approached two recruiters who they knew who had set up separate rec to rec businesses. However due to the economic downturn they had moved onto pastures new and one of them recommended GSR2R.

Following an initial call, Robin and Dan met with two members of the GSR2R team to brief them on their requirements.

Sarah, the senior consultant quickly demonstrated that;

– She knew and understood the creative industry, dividing her time between the digital and creative side

– Was able to grasp the importance of the ideal candidate being a cultural fit

– She had very good relationships in place with clients

As a result of a productive meeting GSR2R were set three briefs. Two for very specific groups of experienced or senior consultants and a third brief for anyone that GSR2R thought would fit in with the Daniel Marks vision and culture. In effect GSR2R became Daniel Marks talent spotters.

Robin and Dan then received 1 CV for each of the two main roles. Having reviewed the CV’s they were unsure if the candidates were suitable for Daniel Marks. However, once it was explained why they were particularly suitable for each role, Robin and Dan felt confident to trust the recommendation. Both candidates were successful and have progressed to be leaders of the divisions they were recruited for.

What Robin Longes thought of his experience of GSR2R 

– The team at GSR2R invested time and energy understanding our needs

– They were able to grasp the importance of the ideal candidate being a cultural fit

– Sarah had very good relationships in place with clients

– Demonstrated a thorough understanding of the creative and digital industry

– When Sarah decided to move in a new direction with her career, Cheryl (MD of GSR2R) picked up the desk which Robin saw as a good statement of intent, especially as it was not an industry Cheryl specialised in

We have since given Cheryl several briefs and are very pleased with the consultants she has placed with us

Would you recommend GSR2R and why?

“If you want a team of rec-to-rec consultants that are going to keep in contact with you, are going to try their level-headed best to solve your recruitment needs then I wouldn’t look any further than
GSR2R.  They will understand your needs, get their head around the market and try and bring the best possible people to your attention.”

Robin Longes

Daniel Marks, London