THE WORLD OF THE RECRUITMENT AGENCY

A significant number of jobs are filled by agencies, connecting job seekers with employers. They rarely call themselves ‘employment agencies’, which they are in law, but use other terms including ‘recruitment consultancy’, ‘staff suppliers’, ‘search’ or ‘search and selection consultancy’, or ‘headhunters’. These businesses operate in different styles and at different ends of the market, but they all have one thing in common: they make a charge to employers for putting people into jobs. Some agencies also place large numbers of temporary workers, and others handle interim managers.

They are an important part of your job search. They are an even more important part of your interviewing experience. Agencies screen candidates so that employers don’t have to, and very often this involves a telephone interview (see Chapter 14) or a face-to-face interview.

Recruitment expert Shirley Howe offers this advice, based on her wide experience: ‘Agency recruiters are focused on the hard core skills. Because most of them will have never done the job themselves, they will work on logical lists to check the candidate ticks all the boxes and has the required amount of experience. The hiring manager on the other hand has generally done the job themselves, or has a very good understanding of what is required. They will be going on their “gut” reaction as to whether they like the person and if they will fit in their team. They won’t necessarily be so concerned with skills, as they will be able to tell from some very simple questions if the person has them.’

Interviews with recruitment consultants vary in terms of structure and quality as much as employer interviews. Some candidates make the mistake of thinking it’s ‘only’ an agency interview, but there are important reasons to take agency interviews seriously, and a number of factors which should shape your thinking.

WHAT AGENCIES CAN DO FOR YOU

• No matter how well an agency looks after candidates, ultimately its responsibility is to fit people into jobs and fulfil an employer’s needs. You may receive helpful career advice in passing, but it’s not guaranteed.
• Get your message across quickly and succinctly when talking to recruitment consultants – if you can say what you offer and are looking for in under two minutes you’ll get their attention.
• The recruiter is being the eyes and ears of the employer in these circumstances and a strong recommendation may push you right through to a job offer.
• Professional recruitment consultants have often spent a great deal of time analysing job requirements, so can give you detailed information about how far your profile matches the job.
• If an agency decides to put you forward, you should ask for tips and guidance about ways to strengthen your position. Ask the recruiter to help you understand what the employer is really looking for beneath the surface of the job description.
• Your recruitment consultant will have spent a great deal of time building a relationship with the decision-maker, so should be able to advise you about the kind of people who will be interviewing you at the next stage.
• If you make a good impression as an employable candidate, the agency may have other options to offer you. In some circumstances they will also recommend other agencies, or good career coaches.
• With exceptionally strong candidates agencies are often able to press hard on points such as job content, salary and timing. If you are very marketable, an agency may persuade an employer to create a job around you.
• An agency will always have more leverage than you in persuading an employer to commit to decisions about short listing, interview dates and job offers.
• Agencies can often offer employers flexible means of solving problems, including temporary or short-term appointments. Don’t be surprised if you are asked about these ways of working.
• Recruitment specialists of this kind really understand the market, or at least the sectors they work in. They can therefore give you good advice about what employers are looking for.

WHAT AGENCIES CANNOT DO FOR YOU

• Agencies are relatively intolerant of poor fit. If you are lacking in key experience, they’ll tell you pretty fast. You will need a strong ‘pitch’ to get past these issues.
• They are relatively conservative – the perfect candidate for them is one who has done the job before. However, if you build relationships they can sometimes help you change sector.
• Remember that agencies are overwhelmed by hopeful candidates, particularly in a tough market. There is no point approaching an agency that is never going to handle the kind of role you’re after.
• If you fail to make a good impression or to take the interview seriously, it’s unlikely the agency will deal with you further unless you are exceptionally employable.
• They can coach you before an employer interview, but can’t guarantee you the job.

FOLLOW-UP FROM AGENCIES

• After an agency has talked to you, you may get a quick response, or it may take some time for the employer to decide on a final short list. Don’t read anything into delays – things can sometimes take a long time.
• Occasionally you may hear nothing at all – the willingness of agencies to deal professionally with candidates is notoriously varied.
• Since these recruiters interview candidates all the time, they are often in a position to give good feedback.

RECRUITMENT CONSULTANT FEEDBACK

The last point needs special attention. The feedback you get from recruitment consultants might be the best you ever receive, or might be very slanted to the agency’s perspective. Sometimes they have a distorted picture of how many jobs are available because in a recession employers can often fill jobs without their assistance. Consultants often have strong views about CV format. They usually dislike CV profiles (they want your job history unfiltered so they can ‘sell’ you to an employer, but it’s still true that a good profile helps in a CV you send directly to employers). Sometimes they have hard and fast interview rules (‘always/never wear a white shirt/brown shoes/earrings/a trouser suit ...’). These ‘rules’, like all advice, should be cross-checked against what others recommend, and what works for you and the company that is recruiting you.

External recruiters are busy people and want to understand what you have to offer quickly. Because they want employers to commit, they are highly tuned to employer buy-in, and can persuade employers to make a final job offer decision.

However, where recruitment consultants often excel is in giving candidates no-frills advice about how they come across at interview – advice to take seriously. An executive recruiter told me about sending a candidate to be interviewed by a CEO, who fed back that the panel were ‘exhausted’ after the interview and felt completely drained because this candidate talked incessantly. Afterwards the candidate admitted that he completely forgot his coaching on brevity. A tough feedback session followed – this candidate’s habitual over-delivery and its impact on others were seriously getting in the way of his career prospects.

Judith Armatage, Director of Professional Development at the Recruitment & Employment Confederation adds: ‘A good interview with a trained recruiter can be invaluable – allowing the work seeker to uncover previously unacknowledged skills and the depth of those skills. It should establish the motivations for any job move and importantly establish the key criteria for the next role. An agency interview can also open up new opportunities in terms of flexible working through temporary or contract opportunities.’

RELATIONSHIPS MATTER

Recruitment consultants are essentially relationship driven. If you think about it, it’s obvious. The main part of their job is a consultative sales role, persuading an employer to give them a vacancy to fill. This requires a high level of people and influencing skills. So these are the qualities they respect most in others.

So, like most things in life, who you know can get you through the door and recruitment agencies are no exception. They are far more likely to take your call if you are being recommended by someone who gives them business. So if you know someone who works in HR ask them to recommend someone in the recruitment world.

You need to work hard to get an agency on your side. One consultant summarised short listing: ‘We typically offer four to five candidates to an employer. Candidates one to four will be pretty much identikit matches, but candidate five may have a slightly unusual background with experience in a different sector. This candidate is slightly different from the profile, but one who will impress.’

Another recruiter admitted recently: ‘When I drive home every evening having interviewed between five and eight candidates a day, I ask myself who can I remember? On a good day it’s usually no more than two.’ Busy recruiters often ask candidates to register on a database, but in reality they only turn to it if they are bored or desperate – most short lists are filled with people the recruiter has spoken to recently. Don’t pester, but do maintain relationships with recruiters – by voice, rather than by email. Often an updated CV is a good reason to call.

So, if you are trying to work with an agency and you are advised to ‘email in your CV’, do realise that you have not moved up to first base yet, at least in relationship terms. If you are told to ‘register on the website’ that really means ‘we haven’t begun any kind of conversation with you yet’. Ask for opportunities to speak to actual consultants handling the kind of job you are seeking, and ask them detailed questions about the job. Above all else, however, try to strike up some kind of personal rapport by taking whatever opportunity you can for a face-to-face conversation.

Finally, even if your recruitment consultant is half your age and seems to be giving you very basic advice, don’t be arrogant or complacent, or treat the occasion as uninspiringly routine. Don’t let your doubts about recruitment consultancies or agencies influence this one interview or decision. Agencies need a flow of enthusiastic, committed candidates.

BEING INTERVIEWED BY A RECRUITMENT CONSULTANT

So, what matters in this kind of interview? A small amount of content, and a large amount of trust. You wouldn’t be getting an interview if you didn’t have at least some of the skills and experience required, so what matters now is answering two big questions in the recruitment consultant’s mind: (1) ‘Can I place this person?’ and (2) ‘Will this person get an uncomplicated YES at interview?’ Therefore it really matters that you take a recruiter interview just as seriously as the real thing, and give detailed, memorable answers to (1) and send off a whole range of positive signals confirming (2).