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Recruitment consultant role

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  1. #1

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    Recruitment consultant role

    Out of the blue, whilst applying for an IT role, I've been offered a job as a recruitment consultant with a big recruitment firm.

    TBH, I have never dealt with a recruitment consultant or firm before, so I have absolutely no idea of the pros and cons, except for the obvious really.

    Has anyone worked as one before. Any opinions?


  2. #2
    Quote Originally Posted by Proplus:
    Out of the blue, whilst applying for an IT role, I've been offered a job as a recruitment consultant with a big recruitment firm.

    TBH, I have never dealt with a recruitment consultant or firm before, so I have absolutely no idea of the pros and cons, except for the obvious really.

    Has anyone worked as one before. Any opinions?
    The fact that you got offered a job doing this at one of the big firms with zero experience or knowledge tells you all you need to know.

    NOTHING matters other than placing a client in a job and making 'the sale'.

    No disrespect, but in what other industry could you secure a job when you don't even know the pros or cons?
    Last edited by Alan Partridge; 09-05-2012 at 02:28 PM.
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  3. #3

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    Worked in such years ago back in London. Learnt two things:

    1. Jobseekers are products to be sold and are to be discarded if they aren't a "quick sell". Move onto the next product; you have sales targets to meet.
    2. Don't do the job if you are, in any vague shape or form, a people person. This is a job for people haters.



    (And if that bitch Christine ever reads this, you aren't the person to tell someone to man up, who grieving over the very recent loss of his wife, to take a job as a way to get a fresh start just so you can make your fucking sales target. Especially when you started SHOUTING AT HIM!)


  4. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by Claire ex-ax:
    Worked in such years ago back in London. Learnt two things:

    1. Jobseekers are products to be sold and are to be discarded if they aren't a "quick sell". Move onto the next product; you have sales targets to meet.
    2. Don't do the job if you are, in any vague shape or form, a people person. This is a job for people haters.



    (And if that bitch Christine ever reads this, you aren't the person to tell someone to man up, who grieving over the very recent loss of his wife, to take a job as a way to get a fresh start just so you can make your fucking sales target. Especially when you started SHOUTING AT HIM!)
    Reminds me of my boss some years ago, who had to process a redundancy and decided that would be a good time to teach me how to do it 'the proper way'....he brought her into the office, put a box of tissues on the table next to them, told her she was redundant and while she was still in shock and trying to process that piece of information, planted a ridiculous grin on his face and told her not to look on this as a failure on her part but as an opportunity to find something she really enjoyed doing.

    I almost got up and slapped him myself. I didn't last too long with him and did bring up that experience in my exit interview - I thanked him for showing me how NOT to do something like that.

    OP, I am guessing that they are not after your recruiting skills but merely as a front person to talk the IT lingo with candidates and the hiring manager.
    Last edited by Fiona in HKG; 09-05-2012 at 02:52 PM. Reason: typo

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    I found it too much when one guy started cheering about how he got a "sucker" to take a job that had been on the books for ages (it was a crappy job, with crappy pay and an even crappier boss), and when one woman laughed at a jobseeker who was so desperate for a job he started crying, I suppose at least it was behind his back. The knives in that place didn't know whether they were coming (throat cutting) or going (back stabbing)!

    There wasn't enough time in the world to take a long enough soak in the bath to get the grim off that place.

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  6. #6

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    Thanks for all the feedback.

    I guess I'm just looking at all the possibilities out there, want to lay as many cards on the table so when the time comes to make a choice, I have enough info on each job to back it up.

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  7. #7

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    Proplus

    Don't do recruitment, It's unethical, Soul destroying and having to suck up to people that are total cnuts in the hope they sling some business your way. Horrific.

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  8. #8

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    The thread is giving flashbacks to 30 years ago.


    One other thing is that it can change your relationships with friends, family, clients... And I don't mean in a positive way. If you feel it is really something you would like to do, go for it. The most ruthless, er... top earners make good money.

    Last edited by Claire ex-ax; 10-05-2012 at 12:40 PM.

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    I guess someone has to put the opposite view. Our company has used a head-hunter (recruitment consultant) to hire three people over the past year. I had zero interest in using them initially because they cost us heaps (up to 30% of annual salary of the person they place) but they really did send us great people, who were all exactly the kind of people we needed, and no duff candidates.

    When they do that, they are value adding on both sides (matching people to jobs) and worth the money.

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  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by MovingIn07:
    I guess someone has to put the opposite view. Our company has used a head-hunter (recruitment consultant) to hire three people over the past year. I had zero interest in using them initially because they cost us heaps (up to 30% of annual salary of the person they place) but they really did send us great people, who were all exactly the kind of people we needed, and no duff candidates.

    When they do that, they are value adding on both sides (matching people to jobs) and worth the money.
    I have to agree with Moving, it really depends on who you use. I've seen the best and worst. And the best ones actually care about who they place and where. Success for the candidate and the company recruiting, is someone who comes into the role and performs as expected, and who stays (it is after all a very costly exercise). I worked with one (surprisingly) well-known firm and wouldn't again due to their ethics of just slamming CVs at me without even interviewing them (that's an old recrutiment trick, once you have 'received' a CV, you have accepted the candidate and if another agency sends it later, with a review/evaluation, you can't use that one as you have already received the candidate through the other agency.

    Another one I worked with made it hard to choose because so many incredible candidates were presented to me and had been thoroughly researched and evaluated with +/- comments. Sometimes it really depends on the individual consultant, though they are often working with some dubious company policies on their side.
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