Recruitment Expert Interview Question:

Tell me what is it like to be a consultant and are you right for this job?

Submitted by: Muhammad

Recruitment Consultancy is a fantastically rewarding career both personally and financially but don't be under any illusion - it is not an easy ride!
You will get out as much as you put in and you will have a direct influence over your career progression and salary, not something a lot of industries can boast about, which will either excite or terrify you.

Recruitment is a targeted role. These targets may be daily, weekly and monthly and may consist of KPI's (Key Performance Indicators) and revenue generation targets (billings). These targets act as signposts to help you come to grips with the various tasks that make up your role and you will be monitored closely and given lots of support to ensure you achieve these. As you become more confident and have a better understanding of what the role entails, your targets will be more related to your Commission or Bonuses. Are you the sort of person who enjoys a challenge and will take advice from others on how to achieve your goals?

Days in Recruitment are long-the average consultant will work from 8.30am to 6.00/7ish depending on workload and determination to succeed. If you want to do well, you are likely to want to work long hours and put in the ground work for your success. It can be very satisfying working that little bit extra and seeing your pay packet grow as a result. Are you someone who really wants to make that commitment to your future career?

Managing the many components of the role can be demanding. There are a lot of areas to juggle with many things happening all at once. This in itself can be very stressful and tiring. Do you thrive on having many things to do at once?

There can be many ups and downs in the role. When things are going well and you are making placements and taking home good commission it can be the best job in the world. However, sometimes things will not go your way. Sometimes people may not take jobs at the last minute, or a client may decide not to recruit and you will feel frustrated. At times you may feel that you are not being successful when making New Business Sales call; you may speak to someone who is not receptive to what you had to say. You may feel at times that things are not going well. How resilient are you? Are you the sort of person who will look at how you could be better at your job, who will pick themselves up from being down and try even harder to get to where you want to be?

Other things to think about as you consider this Career Path are; How much do you enjoy persuading other people to do things you want them to? How confident are you? How do you get on with different groups of people? Are you happy talking at lots of different levels? Do you want to become an expert in a field of business? If so, what area?
Submitted by: Muhammad