lonelysin

Hi guys,

My background is in Computer Engineering and have been working for the past 4 years in the computing sector as an engineer. Upon arrival in OZ, I've been offered a position as a recruitment consultant.

Anyone has information regarding this role? Is it good to be a recruitment consultant. What about its prospect in the future say in 20 to 30 years time? I was thinking of switching line from technical to a more management role but do not know whether it is a good choice.

Hope you guys can shed some ideas and comment.


Lonelysin

smoggieswilltravel

Hi

I have just spent that last 10 mins typing you a lovley long answer only to loose it before posting it.

So I'll keep it short this time.

Recruitment can be great but I found it a love hate kind of job. Its very sales orintated as you have to find new and grow existing business. Also manage your canidates closley. I have found that the Oz recruiters are very good and move very quickly, I feel this is because they are all dealing with the same businesses so they have to act quickly or they will loose canidates to other recruiters.

Its also very target orientated so if your not used to sales and targets that maybe a difficult environment to move into. I would be very sure your going to like that kind of job and ask loads of questions. Be warned that they are sales people and they do tend to sell the job to you and tell you what you want to hear. I was offered a position after being interviewed for another role. I am a mother of 2 and the youngest was only 2. When I went to them I made it quite clear that I needed office hours although I could be flexible at times. Yes, yes we clock off at 5:30pm and we're off home, NOT. I worked 10, 11 ,12 hours a day with no breaks / lunch, it just seemed to be expected. Sometimes I did'nt get to see my youngst daughter for days as she was alwasys asleep when I got home. But that was where I worked, it maybe quite different in Oz. Try calling another agency and being honest and ask them what recruitment is like in Oz.

It can be great and you can get a real real buzz when it all comes together. It can pay well, but check the basic and commision structures as they are not always straight forward.

Good luck.

hedgehog-girl

My Hubbie did recruiting for a long time and yes if you are very good it can pay well. You have to be a people person and you have to do your homework to be a good recruiter. You have to understand what the clients want and where you can get the people you need for the client.

It can be long hours and competitive and its a definite love or hate the job.

But lots of cash if you're good!

obiwan

Will a recruiter "look after you"?

meaning, will they wait until the best opportunity comes for you (a good company with career growth) or will they just put you in the first company (even if its a dead end job) that might get you?

and you being a migrant and needing to work would not really know any better.

chels

The thing to realise with recruitment is that it's not a human resources role - you have to win new clients, find decent candidates, and match sufficient candidates to roles to ensure you make a decent salary. The sales element of the role is significant - recruitment consultants do more than just interview potential candidates, they're on the phone cold calling, out giving presentations to potential new clients, generating new leads etc. IMHO you need quite a thick skin (to deal with a lot of rejection), an outgoing personality (you need to convince people to use your services and hire one of your candidates), and a capacity to work long hours with no guarantee of success.

There's a significant shortage of recruitment consultants in Australia - many companies are recruiting overseas to find decent consultants (which was how my OH got his job) or taking on people with no recruitment experience but with a background in a particular specialism and intensively training them to recruit in that area. OH's office has very few Australians, they're mostly people on 457 temp visas or people who have moved from 457s on to PR while being there.

If you're good at sales, you can make a significant amount of money - especially if you negotiate a good basic/commission package. At OH's place, you have to earn your basic salary in fees before you get commission - so if you negotiate a low basic you can start earning commission quicker, and build your earnings significantly. However, the top earners tend to be people who are extremely good at sales and who have built up a good client base.

People new to the industry tend to have to survive the first few quarters / year before they start billing and earning commission, as the process from getting a client to give you a job to fill, to the candidate starting, can take a while. Filling temporary positions can be easier, but it seems you make more money on permanent roles.

Future prospects - there are very few mature aged (ie 50+) recruitment consultants. It's a younger person's job. As you get older, the uncertainty of how much money you'll make that year becomes more of a concern as your financial commitments grow. People burn out, get bored, find easier ways to make money. There will probably always be a recruitment industry, because not every company has dedicated in house HR depts to recruit staff. In a recession, with less jobs being recruited for, there may be less recruitment consultants but the good ones should be okay (I hope, otherwise OH is in trouble!)

Dorothy

If they are good at their job then yes, they will look after you. The company I work for is wonderful and treats their candidates very well. If the role is not a good one for the candidate, then it is not good for the client either.
Our agency just recently won the inaugural SA CareerOne Recruitment Agency of the Year award for outstanding service. The nominations were from candidates and the voting was done by an industry panel. Obviously if the candidates are nominating for outstanding service, then the recruiters must be doing something right.

chels

It's in the interests of the recruiter (if they're good at their job) to place you in a role with a company that matches your expectations, skills, experiences. If you leave after the first week, or get asked to leave at the end of your probation period (for example), it reflects badly on the recruiter. The client may feel that they failed to find a suitable candidate, and so wasted their valuable time and money. And they may decide not to use that particular recruitment agency again. So therefore, a good recruiter will try to avoid such situations.

Like in any industry, there are great recruitment consultants, average ones, and downright useless ones. If you aren't happy with the roles that the recruiter is suggesting for you (and by doing a bit of research yourself, you should be able to find out if a potential employer suits you and your expectations), tell them - maybe you haven't been clear about what you are looking for. Or use another agency - there are plenty of them.

But don't expect any recruiter to baby you through the process - you have to make the first contact with them, follow it up, keep in touch with them to find out about new roles, get more feedback if you need it... Good recruiters are busy people, with a lot of work on, and a lot of candidates and clients - unless you're an exceptional candidate you have to make yourself stand out and be memorable.

obiwan

Thanks Dorothy. Congratulations on that award! Fantastic!

hmmmm, for a follow up question....how can you judge a recruitment agency (aside from the medalists like yours). is it the size and location of their office? does a more expensive office location mean its a better agency? (eg one on Queens st. vs one in Fortitude Valley?)

thanks!

btw - i see you no longer use the hilarious "woman with a chip on her shoulder pic"

chels

Try and find out which clients they worked with in the past - are they the type of employer you want to work for?

Would you prefer a smaller agency with a more personalised service, or a large multinational which may be a bit impersonal but could have a greater client base / more roles?

Office locations - are you really going to base your opinion on that???

Bottom line - the best thing to do is to sign up with a variety of agencies, some big, some small. If they want to put you forward for the same job, tell them the other agency has already put your CV forward. There's no law against you signing up with every agency, in fact it would probably increase the likelihood of you finding a job.

obiwan

Thanks Chels! this is very helpful advice...

cheers!

Dorothy

I personally liked the smaller agency feel of where I work. They get to know the candidates so it's a more personal feel that I like. My hub had been to a lot of agencies, both bid and small and in the end it was one of the smaller ones who got to know him and suggested he apply for a position he never would have thought to look at. In the end he got a fantastic position about 6 weeks ago in a world wide company that he loves.
At Christmas we bought cakes and Haigh's chocolates for every one of the temps who had worked for us in 2006 and delivered each one. For Easter we bought Lindt gold bunnies for every active temp and again hand delivered each one. It's the little touches that I like about being with a small agency.
Don't be fooled into thinking that only large agencies like Manpower or Kelly get big contracts. The one I work for does the recruiting for a large number of major employers here in SA, both government and non.

smoggieswilltravel

This will of course not be every recruiter, BUT in my experience (working as a recruiter) with the targets and tight time scales they have to work to and the added risk of another recruiter finding a more suitable position. They will to the greater extent use you in the first suitable role and sell that to you. The only risk in doing this is that sometime if candidates leave the positions within a given time scale they have to repay the client the fee. But by then they have hit their targets for the month and they would'nt receive any flack for their manager. But you will have the messing about and the short job on your CV.

Make sure the jobs for you, ask plenty of questions, it works both ways. They are very good at getting you interviews and IMO will get you through doors to companies and by pass all that application paper work. BUT on't forget that they do work over and over for clients so will be more inclined to look after the client than the candidate.

I have found Oz recruiters VERY good, my OH has used them alot and they were great. I would use them but remember the rules and make sure you interview them and the company you get interviews with.

Good luck