If you enjoy helping others succeed and building relationships, a career as a recruitment consultant may be right for you.

A RECRUITMENT Consultant’s job entails searching for the right candidates and matching them to temporary or permanent position jobs with client companies. These jobs may vary from entry-level roles to senior management positions.

You would work with client companies and build relationships with them in order to gain a better understanding of their manpower needs. Some of the methods used include advertising, networking, headhunting, and using referrals.

After short-listing a potential crop of candidates, you would then screen and interview them, as well as conduct background checks so that you will find and recommend a candidate that will be the perfect fit for your client’s company.

Recruitment consultants also provide valuable advice to both clients and candidates on areas such as salary levels, training requirements and career progression.

Many recruitment consultants will tell you that they enjoy a high level of job satisfaction that arises from helping candidates find jobs and career success. The work is exciting and heart-warming, as they are directly impacting and improving peoples’ lives, instead of dealing with tangible products or machines.

Here are the top five qualities to succeed as a recruitment consultant:

1) Vision

Success begins with a clear vision. You must know exactly what you want out of life. It can be material success (designer clothes, a high-end car, the District 10 condominium) or an increased ability to help others – so long as it motivates you to work hard and succeed in order to fulfill your dreams and goals.

2) Dynamism

The recruitment industry is extremely dynamic, and speed of delivery is a top priority. Thus, you need to have a high level of energy and be always eager and ready to rise to challenges, as these will help you deal with changes in the fast-paced industry.

3) Perseverance

This is an essential quality of a successful recruitment consultant. Because when the going gets tough, you will need to persist in your efforts to acquire new accounts, and persevere through setbacks and rejection. You should not be easily discouraged. Instead, you ought to have a strong will to focus and work towards your desired outcome.

4) Good communication skills

As a recruitment consultant, your job will entail many forms of communication –understanding the clients’ needs and the career aspirations of the candidates, negotiating terms between them, and marketing the company to potential clients. Therefore, you must be able to speak confidently. While you need to speak well, you also need to be a good listener because the ability to listen attentively and understand clients’ concerns and needs will win their confidence.

5) Integrity

Some people underestimate the importance of conducting oneself with integrity at work. A successful consultant delivers what he promises. So you must always be sincere and accountable to clients, candidates and your employer, and build an image of trustworthiness. This will place you in good stead with your clients. Discipline is another building block for success because without it, you will never be a top performer.

If you think you possess these qualities and are up to the challenge, consider taking the plunge. The rewards are likely to be more than just financial.

Article by Susan Koh, Assistant Vice-President, Human Resource, Achieve Group.

Source: The Straits Times Recruit, 10 October 2011