Recruitment Consultant at Precision Agriculture for Development (PAD)

Overview

Recruitment consultants are responsible for attracting candidates for jobs and matching them to temporary or permanent positions with client companies. You’ll build positive relationships in order to gain a better understanding of your clients’ recruitment needs and requirements.

Working as a recruitment consultant, you’ll attract candidates by drafting advertising copy for use in a range of media, as well as by networking, headhunting and through referrals. You’ll screen candidates, interview them, run background checks and finally match them to clients.

You also provide advice to both clients and candidates on salary levels, training requirements and career opportunities.

Responsibilities

As a recruitment consultant, you’re the vital link between clients and candidates. The role is demanding and diverse. It involves:

• using sales, business development, marketing techniques and networking to attract business from client companies
• visiting clients to build and develop positive relationships
• developing a good understanding of client companies, their industry, what they do, their work culture and environment
• advertising vacancies by drafting and placing adverts in a range of media, such as newspapers, websites and magazines
• using social media to advertise positions, attract candidates and build relationships
• headhunting – identifying and approaching suitable candidates who may already be in work
• using candidate databases to match the right person to the client’s vacancy
• receiving and reviewing applications, managing interviews and tests and creating a shortlist of candidates for the client
• requesting references and checking the suitability of applicants before submitting their details to the client
• briefing the candidate about the responsibilities, salary and benefits of the job
• preparing CVs and correspondence to forward to clients regarding suitable applicants
• organising interviews for candidates as requested by the client
• informing candidates about the results of interviews
• negotiating pay and salary rates and finalising arrangements between clients and candidates
• offering advice to both clients and candidates on pay rates, training and career progression
• working towards and exceeding targets that may relate to the number of candidates placed, a value to be billed to clients or business leads generated
• reviewing recruitment policies to ensure effectiveness of selection techniques and recruitment programmes.

Skills

You’ll need to show evidence of the following:

• excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• sales and negotiation skills
• a goal-orientated approach to work
• the ability to handle multiple priorities
• problem-solving ability
• the ability to meet deadlines and targets
• ambition and the determination to succeed
• tenacity
• confidence and self-motivation
• time management and organisational skills
• team-working skills
• creativity.

You must also enjoy working in a high-pressure environment and the responsibility that comes with it.

Work experience

Experience in sales, marketing or any customer-oriented role is useful for starting a career in the recruitment industry. Active membership of student societies also shows that you have the necessary communication skills to succeed.

Recruitment consultancies often accept applications from those without recruitment industry experience, as long as they demonstrate the right combination of skills and personal qualities.