Recruitment or Executive Search Consultants are essentially matchmakers. The role of a Recruitment Consultant is to find the right people to join our client’s company, be it an MNC, local conglomerate or SME. Consultants play the matchmaker between job seekers and employers, in searching for candidates who would best fit the client’s requirements. Besides having suitable qualifications, past job experience and skillsets, a cultural fit is also a key consideration, as the candidate will need to integrate well into the company’s working culture.
Being a Recruitment Consultant in an employment agency is a very exciting career. It is also a very noble profession because Recruitment Consultants play an important role in shaping an individual’s career – even their destiny – when they help candidates land their dream job.
Recruitment Consultant Assignments
Once we are tasked with an assignment to search for a candidate on behalf of an organisation, we begin the process by understanding the client’s concise needs and human resource challenges, as well as the specific skillsets and experience requirements for the role. From there, we search for the right candidate using four methods:
Next, we shortlist the candidates by assessing their suitability based on a set of criteria determined at the start of the assignment. Some degree of psychological assessment of the individuals is imperative, in order to understand their career aspirations and assess the cultural fit; even to the extent of whether they will be able to get along with their prospective supervisor.
Not all candidates found through the above mentioned methods may be suitable and at times, we may not even find anyone who’s a good fit for the job through this preliminary search. That’s when the Recruitment Consultant will need to continue to source for more candidates in order to fulfil the assignment.
Shortlisting the Candidates
Usually, the Recruitment Consultant will need to shortlist at least three to five candidates for the client’s initial consideration. The client may eventually meet with three or four of them and go through several rounds of interview to whittle the selection down to two final contenders. On many occasions, the client may seek feedback and input from the Recruitment Consultant to help assess the candidates’ suitability. This is especially so during the last round of choosing between the two final contenders.
Manage the Recruitment Process
As Recruitment Consultants, it is our duty to manage the entire placement process, which includes facilitating the interviews, closely following up on client/candidate’s psychological feel, and managing the expectations of both the candidate and prospective employer.
At times, we will also need to conduct reference checks to validate the candidate’s experience and credentials, especially for senior positions.
Once the client is certain of the right candidate, it is our duty to help negotiate the salary package on behalf of the employer and candidate, ensuring that the interests of both parties are met.
The Recruitment Consultant is also responsible for ensuring that the candidate eventually shows up for work with the client on the agreed commencement date. As we have been in this business a long time, we have encountered situations in which candidates do not fulfil such obligations even after signing the appointment letter with the prospective employer! So some degree of handholding is necessary until the very day the candidate is supposed to start work with the new company.
After the candidate starts work at the new job, the Recruitment Consultant does a post-placement follow-up to ensure that the candidate is happy and well-adjusted with respect to the cultural fit, the expectations of the role, and whether he/she gets along well with the immediate supervisor. This is the point where any concerns may be communicated to the consultant, who will then work towards smoothening out any issues between both parties.
Rewarding Career As A Recruitment Consultant
Being a Recruitment Consultant is a truly rewarding career; from the excitement of hunting for the right candidate to eventually matching them to the right employer. And on many occasions, the candidates we place are so grateful to us for providing them with a wonderful job that they send us flowers, chocolates and greeting cards to convey their appreciation. Similarly, our clients are also very grateful to us for finding them the right employees to help them grow their business and take their organisations to new heights of success. Indeed, working as a Recruitment Consultant is an infinitely fulfilling and enriching experience; being a blessing to others and bringing success to all parties is what keeps many of us in this career for so many years.