Demand for new recruitment consultants at an all time high

The current market 

Page Personnel Secretarial and Page Personnel HR are both facing unprecedented growth opportunities across the country and the only thing slowing that growth is the lack of consultants.Over the past twelve months, following years of painful recession, the recruitment market has bounced back. Clients who are once again in a position to expand their business are finding that competition for talent is heating up and realising that to secure that talent only the best consultancies will do. Candidates are becoming more selective in the opportunities they will consider while clients are often finding that buy-backs are an easier solution than going to the market to recruit. These conditions mean that the skill set of the modern recruitment consultant is changing; moving away from hard sales techniques to consultancy, service and brand awareness. With a client base aware of the time and cost associated with a recruitment process and highly selective candidates there is more need than ever for skilled consultants to bring the two together efficiently.

Client and candidate expectations

In each of the last three years we have seen year on year growth of over 20% within both the Secretarial & Business Support and Human Resources arms of Page Personnel. This has resulted in an increased demand for new consultants who can relate to our clients about the roles they are recruiting and also with candidates on the ups and downs of a job search. Now more than ever, clients and candidates are inspired by high standards of customer service and expect a consultant who understands their priorities and runs an effective and customer service focused process. We find that this often works very well when a consultant has experience within an industry and explicitly understands those priorities from the point of view of the clients and candidates they are working with. That understanding and support is invaluable when navigation the potential pitfalls of recruiting in a candidate short, job rich market.

Why industry background works best

Over the past year we have focused on hiring consultants who have previous career experience in the sector they are going to be recruiting in. Clients more than ever expect industry knowledge and are more comfortable placing trust in an individual they feel understands their market. Similarly, candidates are more receptive to a consultant who understands their market. We still value previous sales experience as we always have, but industry knowledge paired with great customer service really appeals to both our clients and candidates. We often talk about taking a truly consultative approach to recruitment and this process ensures that we can build long term relationships with clients and partner with them toward ongoing recruitment needs. 
An example of this approach working is with a former Personal Assistant to a Managing Director in Financial Services who now excels as a consultant placing Personal Assistants within the Financial Services sector. Fundamentally, good recruiters are people who can build great relationships and enjoy working with people. Recruitment works best when a consultant has a genuine interest in both parties and this is best achieved with face-to-face meetings and the building of a relationship between the consultant and their clients and candidates. 
Marlene James made the move to Page Personnel from HR within the tech industry and has put her knowledge of that role and industry to good use.
“Having worked in HR for over ten years I had often worked closely with recruitment agencies and was always impressed with how professional and helpful they were. There are many transferrable skills between the two roles and it was a natural transition for me to move to Page Personnel. Throughout my career I have always been a people person and the fast paced environment and variation involved in recruitment appealed to me. I now specialise in HR recruitment and having worked on both sides of the fence I am sensitive to both client and candidate perspectives and can manage expectations accordingly. This has been a positive move for my career and I haven’t looked back once.”

Could you succeed in recruitment?

We are recruiting experienced professionals who are looking for a new career utilising their skills finding roles for like minded candidates. This coupled with excellent training, a supportive learning environment and the opportunity to develop a long term career, means for many, Page Group is the natural choice when looking for a career change 
We are holding a number of recruitment road shows across the UK between the 3rd & 18th November, starting in Birmingham and ending in London. 
The evenings will consist of a presentation on working for us, what a day in recruitment is like, Q&A with Consultants who have joined our business from industry as well as an opportunity to meet the team and find out more.
So if you are in a Secretarial or customer focused role and think this could be for you, get in touch with Sarah Austin for more information now.
Sarah Austin
T: 0207 645 1414