Recruitment consultants are an integral part of the recruitment process. They don’t live simply to frustrate your job search ambitions.

You've just seen your dream job advertised. You've got the skills, you've got the experience, you've got the burning ambition. All you need is a shot at an interview to convince the boss you'd be perfect.

Between you and that interview… is a recruitment consultant.

Recruiters add a whole new dimension to your job search strategy. Understand what makes a recruiter tick and you can dramatically improve your chances.

Understand their position

Recruiters take assignments from companies to find suitable staff. They earn a living from matching candidates to jobs but they work for the hiring company, not the job seeker.

For temporary assignments, recruiters will place a candidate with the skills to immediately fill a temporary vacancy. For permanent assignments, recruiters will likely be briefed to deliver a shortlist of three or four candidates, all with the skills to do a particular job. If the employer chooses one of those candidates for the job, the recruiter earns a fee — a percentage of the annual salary of the new employee. For highly paid positions, a single placement can earn a recruiter thousands of dollars.

It's not easy money, however. A consultant may be recruiting for a number of positions at any one time. Roles for graduates or those that have a big advertising budget may mean a recruiter is answering 100 calls from candidates in a single day. It's a stressful, deadline-driven environment.

So why do companies hire recruitment firms? Typically, recruiters say that their clients recognise that recruitment is not their core competency and that their time is more valuably spent elsewhere. "The general manager doesn't necessarily know or care how his computer system works. He just wants to hire someone who will make sure it works," comments Daniel Lehrer from Network Recruitment.

Recruiters also say they can usually find suitable people faster, can attract more applications for a position and can reach suitable people through their candidate databases. And besides, their fees are tax deductible.

Different rules

To boost your chances of success, understand the differences between approaching a recruiter about a job, compared to someone in the hiring company's human resources department or a line manager. The most obvious difference: you won't know who the client is. Don't count on finding out either, until the recruiter thinks you're a contender for the position. While a lot of candidates tend to get their backs up about not knowing who the position is with, confidentiality is often very important to clients.

You won't develop unrealistic expectations if you remember that you're not the client: the hiring organisation is.

Secondly, brace yourself for an upfront question about your salary expectations early on in the relationship. "A candidate can be very blunt about money," says Daniel Lehrer. "An employer may be insulted if you ask about money right upfront, but it's almost the other way around with a recruiter. If a job is not in someone's league, in either direction, let's not waste each other's time."

Rebecca Jarvis, from sales and marketing recruiters Bladen Taylor, agrees. "Everyone's shy about money and doesn't want to talk about it until it's too late. But if a company's saying 'I can't pay more than $35K and a car' and the candidate is looking for a job that pays $50K, I don't want to waste my time and the candidate's time pursuing that role."

The phone call is an interview

If you're applying for a government position, it's fine to ring up the administrative assistant and ask for a job description. That's not going to get you anywhere with a recruitment consultant. The first approach to the recruiter is a sales call and you're the product. "Your call is like a radio commercial," warns David Hume from HR Network. "You've got 15 or 30 seconds for your opening line. Be interesting, compelling, cooperative. 'This is my name. I'm interested in this position. This is my background, these are my skills. When can I come and see you?'. That way, you're making a positive statement, forcing someone to respond."

All the recruiters who spoke to SEEK emphasised the basics. Your manner is important. Be friendly, polite and open. Don't make it sound like you're hiding something. And try to put past experiences behind you. "Sometimes people call up, they've already got it in their head 'oh it's an agency, I hate dealing with agencies'. We come up against that all the time," says Rebecca Jarvis. "The candidate's got a mindset built up from previous bad experiences. Anyone who truly wants a job needs to get over that. This is a new person, a fresh opportunity."

If you've already fired off your resume, you've got to be organised. Expect a call from the recruiter and you need to remember what you've applied for.

Be upfront if you can't talk when the recruiter calls. "Don't have other distractions in the background," warns Daniel Lehrer. "There's no negativity about saying 'can I call you back in five minutes', because the conversation is not private. Don't sound all vague and whispery. If the situation isn't right for the conversation, tell us."
When you're one of dozens or more phone conversations a recruiter will have in a day, it's vital that you listen to what you're being asked for. "People need to listen and they need to be succinct," says Rebecca Jarvis. "I tend to ask people 'give me a run down, start with what you're doing at the moment'. I want a presentation. I'm trying to work out how effectively this person communicates."

Depending on the seniority of the role, the amount of competition in your industry and the way an individual recruiter likes to work, you may be asked to send in your resume or to come in for an interview straight away.

Don't be afraid to ask what the recruiter prefers. Would they like your resume emailed or faxed? Is a particular file format OK? Does the recruiter want a cover letter with your resume? If you're attending an interview, what information should you bring with you?

There's different schools of thought about how to prepare resumes, acknowledges Joe Chadwick, managing director of IT recruiters Interquest. "But it's important that a candidate's last few years of work are fully documented. We're interested not just in what they've done, but what they've achieved."
If you've sent in your resume, make sure you understand what the next step will be. Because of the size of the response, recruiters may put the responsibility on you to keep in touch. "I tell people that if they've been shortlisted, they'll hear from me by the end of a certain day. Then, if you haven't heard from me by this particular date, give me a call," explains Rebecca Jarvis.

Meet the recruiter

Generally, if you're asked in for an interview, you've cleared the first hurdle. Take the recruitment agency seriously. "You need to prepare for the interview, starting with dressing appropriately for the position. People might think 'oh, they're only the agency' — but we're the people who make the decision. If you're asked for two copies of your resume and copies of certificates and contact numbers for your referees, then bring that information. It shows you're committed and organised.

It depends on the type of role you're looking for and whether you're applying for permanent or temporary work, but you may be required to run through some tests administered by the agency. For administrative and customer service roles, these may be basic literacy and numeracy tests. For managerial or sales roles, you may be presented with psychometric assessment tools. You should expect to have forms and tests clearly explained to you and to understand their purpose. You should receive feedback from someone properly qualified to do so if you complete psychometric assessment — but this may not be until after an appointment has been finalised.

If the interview is going well, the recruiter is likely to make a decision on the spot to tell you who the client is. At this point it's important to confirm whether you're interested or not — or whether you need more time to think about it. There might be a range of reasons why you wouldn't want to work for a particular company. If you'd rather chew glass than work there, tactfully count yourself out now. That way you won't jeopardise your chances of the recruiter considering you for other positions.

Based on the interviews, the consultant will compile a shortlist of potential candidates who are willing to be presented to the client. This list goes to the client who will usually decide to personally interview all or some of the shortlisted candidates. "We put forward a shortlist of people who have got the goods, they're all quite capable of doing the job," says Rebecca Jarvis. "We can go some way toward delivering a 'cultural fit' between the organisation and the candidate, but the client takes final responsibility for that."

Once you've been scheduled for an interview with the client you can expect a measure of support from your consultant. They've put in many hours of work to get to this stage. They want the client to be happy with the shortlisted candidates and for a placement to occur quickly. Recruiters will tell the candidate about the job and the company, warts and all. You will then have a good understanding of the job you are going for. Candidates are so much better prepared for an interview if they go through an agency. Your consultant may ask you to call them immediately after the interview. They don't want any surprises at this stage. If something went wrong — or if the interview went very well — they'll want to know right away.

Temporary positions

The process is a little different for temporary or contract roles. Recruiters who place temporary staff will often advertise for candidates to register with them. It's important to be specific about what you're looking for, says Daniel Lehrer. "When someone says 'I'm interested in registering', the first question I ask is 'registering for what? A resume may reflect what the person has done but not what the person wants to do. Make it very clear in the covering letter — let us know what you want to do, where you're willing to travel and be very blunt about money."

When it comes to placing temporary staff, reliability is of key concern to the recruiter and his or her client. There's two types of temp assignments, says Daniel Lehrer. "Some are one-off: the receptionist is sick, the client needs a replacement for that day. Some are longer contracts that don't really have an end date. Those positions may become permanent. But unless the job is advertised as 'temp-to-perm' don't ask at the interview about whether the job will turn permanent. You'll scare people off."

Daniel Lehrer says he wants to hear good reasons why someone is willing to leave a permanent role to take up a temporary position. "There's a certain amount of security you leave behind."

When you understand what drives a recruitment consultant, you can work out how to make their life easier. At the same time, you're doing yourself a big favour.

Practice your pitch

Read the ad thoroughly. Understand what kind of candidate they want. Write out your pitch in point form, suggests David Hume from HR Network. "Say to yourself, 'these guys have got a tough job. What could I say to make myself interesting to these people, to put myself above all the competition?'"

Respond fast

Recruiters told SEEK over and over: if the ad was first published on Saturday and you don't apply until Thursday, you're already too late. By the fourth or fifth day, the client may already be interviewing the shortlisted candidates. (The exception would be for senior roles; these usually take longer to fill). Have your resume ready to go. Yes, ideally you should adapt your resume to every application. But recruiters want your resume now. So don't mail it.

Understand the process

Find out what happens next and what you're required to do. Find out the consultant's preferences for format and delivery of your CV.

Be readily contactable

"I'll try three times to ring a candidate," says one recruiter. "After that, their CV goes to the bottom of the pile. I might get to it again — maybe. If the candidate hasn't got an answering machine, they're in trouble. There's no point in giving phone numbers if you can't be contacted."

Call back when arranged

"Take responsibility for your application," counsels Rebecca Jarvis of Bladen Taylor. "Chase the opportunity — but do listen to what I'm telling you! Call me when I ask you to. Entrench the relationship you have with me, make sure I remember you."

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Don't approach the client

The recruiter already has a business relationship with the client. The client is paying the recruiter a lot of money because they either don't have time to handle recruitment in-house or they trust the recruiter's judgement and expertise. Who's the client going to trust more?. When people contact the client directly they think they're doing themselves a favour by demonstrating enthusiasm and initiative, but they're not. The client is using a recruitment firm for a reason and the candidate will be referred back to the recruiter. The candidate is jeopardising their chances.

Don't be unrealistic

Know what you're looking for. Be realistic about what you're prepared to do with regard to travel times and salary. "Generally candidates lie about being prepared to earn less," says one recruiter bluntly. "They'll say 'oh I'm earning $50K now, but I'd be prepared to consider $40K.' My first question is, have you budgeted for this? Do you know how much less a week you'll earn? And they haven't."

Be positive

"Unemployed people often say 'Oh I don't really care, I just want a job'. I know that's not exactly what they mean, but they're got to read the ad and understand what is required of the job," says one source. "Sound positive."

Creating a relationship

You won't develop unrealistic expectations if you remember that you're not the client: the hiring organisation is. However, your experiences with recruitment consultants may range from bloody awful to fantastic — most job seekers have got a story or two. It helps to know what's reasonable to expect.

There's no sure-fire way of identifying a great recruitment firm. And often, it's not so much about the recruitment firm as the individual consultant you work with. Recruiters agreed on this point: word of mouth is the very best way to find a good recruiter. "Talk to your peers about their dealings with particular companies. If you know hiring managers, ask which companies they have had pleasant experiences with," suggests Joe Chadwick of Interquest.

The size of the recruitment firm isn't necessarily important. "You've got to hit it off with the consultant. Size is irrelevant," says Rebecca Jarvis. David Hume — who recruits recruiters themselves — says that within specialist markets (for instance, IT or accounting), there are clear market leaders. "Look at the calibre of jobs that recruiters have," he adds.

As important as other people's recommendations is your own instinct. You can walk into an organisation and have a good feeling about it — you have to go by your gut feel. "Are you treated with respect? Were you asked questions about yourself and what you wanted?" Rebecca Jarvis agrees about the importance of basic courtesy. "We don't keep candidates waiting."

Once you've found a great consultant, it can be the start of a beautiful — or at least mutually beneficial — relationship. "I placed one candidate five times within about 10 years," recalls David Hume. "The industry has come a long way. It's more ethical, more reputable and far more commercially aware."

Warning signs

There are some signs that should set off alarm bells. Job seekers tend to be particularly bitter about the illegal practice of "blue-sky" advertising: publishing ads for fantastic sounding jobs that don't actually exist. Sources say the practice is about generating new leads — new names and contacts to add into the firm's database. Said one consultant: "We have about 22,000 names on our database — anyone who's ever registered with us. That's a fabulous number to quote to a client. Of that, about 200 at any one time are usable. Agencies might tell their clients that they have a massive database, but it's nonsense."

If a blue-sky ad is written well, it's hard to be certain that the job's a fake. But be cautious if the recruiter sounds vague and can't tell you anything about the industry or location and is keen to tell you all about other opportunities. (Note there's a difference between a blue-sky ad and one that invites candidates to register because the firm has a range of assignments — the latter is an entirely legitimate way of attracting new registrations).

Beware the agency that will take your resume, doesn't interview you, promises to call you and never does.

Your informed consent is also very important. "It doesn't happen a lot — but you should never allow an agency to forward your details to a client without your permission and without knowing about the company and the role," says Joe Chadwick.

If you're not happy? One avenue of recourse is to the Recruiting and Consulting Services Association (RCSA), the peak body for recruitment professionals in Australia and New Zealand. Their members are bound by a code of conduct and the RSCA will investigate complaints. "If a candidate feels an agency has been unethical, it's very important that they discuss that with the RSCA," says Joe Chadwick. "It frustrates me as the manager of an agency. We might see unethical behaviour [in the industry], but the only way that agency will be censured is if the candidate is willing to raise it with the peak body."

David Hume's been in the recruiting game for 26 years. "There are some very fine recruitment consultants. They do a very good job for their client. They also do a good job representing the candidate. The industry has come a long way. It's more ethical, more reputable and far more commercially aware."

Reproduced from SEEK Communications (www.seek.com.au)

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