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Recruitment/Employment Agency Consultant

Do you want to become a Recruitment/Employment Agency Consultant? Here is some information to help point you in the right direction:

Job Description - Print Page

• Recruitment/employment agency consultants help organisations to find suitable employees, and individuals to find suitable jobs.
• They keep in regular contact with their clients, discussing their requirements face to face and on the phone.
• When a client has a vacancy, the consultant contacts candidates on their books who have appropriate skills and qualities, for possible interview.
• They sometimes help to organise job interviews and coach candidates in interview techniques.

Consultants usually work from Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. Some employment agencies open in the evenings or on Saturdays, so consultants work these hours on a rota. They are office based and spend most of their time at a desk speaking to clients and candidates. Some visit clients in their own offices.

Salaries range from around £14,000 to £50,000 a year. These figures include basic salary and commission.

A recruitment/employment agency consultant should:

• be positive, persuasive and determined
• have good communication skills
• be responsible and able to gain clients' and candidates' confidence
• remain calm and organised when under pressure
• have good administrative and ICT skills
• enjoy working with targets and meeting deadlines.

Around 70,000 people work in recruitment in the UK. Agencies are mainly in larger towns and cities. Self-employment is possible in some agencies.

There are no set entry requirements, although some agencies prefer applicants to have GCSEs/S grades and experience of working with customers, in sales or marketing. Adult entry is possible.

New entrants usually receive on-the-job training from experienced staff. Some larger agencies run induction training courses. Specific qualifications are offered by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). These can be achieved through distance learning or accredited training programmes. NVQs/SVQs are also available in Recruitment Consulting at Level 3.

There are promotion opportunities to senior consultant or branch manager, especially in larger agencies or those with different branches. In larger agencies, there may also be the opportunity to work overseas. Some consultants become self-employed or open their own agency.

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