Why Do You Want to Work in Recruitment

Why Do You Want to Work in Recruitment Why Do You Want to Work in Recruitment? 3 Sep 2018 Katrin-Martha Shearer The question I am asked most often by people outside my work is ‘why do you want to work in recruitment?’ Here are the main reasons I became an associate recruitment consultant at Eden Scott. Have a read and you might find that they apply to you too.   The post-graduation unknown I studied for both my undergraduate degree in Management Studies-Psychology and for my postgraduate research degree in Psychology at the University of Aberdeen. I chose my subjects because I have always been fascinated by human behaviour and its impact on the functioning of an organisation. I enjoyed my degree thoroughly but did not appreciate how quickly the time goes by. Before I knew it, I was standing among fellow graduates, wearing my academic gown, holding my degree, and embracing the great post-graduation unknown. Students must make important decisions quickly nowadays. They pick their major at a young age and then pick a career direction, often before they have had any exposure to the industry or the sector they are interested in. I believe that you won’t know what your dream job is until you’re already in it. Therefore, I undertook various student placement while studying for my degree. I worked in diverse roles across diverse sectors; from marketing and research, to recruitment and headhunting, to data management, to office administration, to social care. My previous experiences made me realise that I wanted to work in a dynamic business environment with a strong focus on people skills and sales, which is why I applied for the graduate role with Eden Scott. Why do you want to work in recruitment? Working in recruitment is no longer just a job â€" it has become a career. It’s not realistic to think that many children want to be a recruitment consultant when they grow up, but most of the people I have met in the industry so far are enjoying their role and making a good living from it. Unfortunately, there is still an element of bad reputation associated with the industry and some recruitment companies do nothing to remedy this. I cannot speak for other companies, but I can reflect on my experience with Eden Scott in discussing why it’s a great idea to work in recruitment: • Greater autonomy and responsibility Compared to other graduate programmes, Eden Scott offers their graduates much more autonomy and responsibility from the very start. You are given training and guidance from senior co-workers, but then it is up to you to find a niche where you want to work . Once you decide what niche you want to fill, you can start interacting with candidates and clients and attending events. You have to be organised to maintain the workload whilst also being flexible and creative enough to identify new solutions and opportunities. • Possibility of earning good money We all need and want to make money. While recruitment isn’t just about the remuneration, it can be very financially rewarding. Although not often perceived as a typical sales role, it really is hugely focused on sales and customer relations. A successful career in recruitment comes down to building lasting relationships with both candidates and clients, which can only be achieved through dedication, resilience, responsiveness and empathy. Finding the right person for the right job is greatly satisfying and comes with a welcomed commission too; win-win. Doing things half-heartedly or treating people as a means to an end will not take you far. Eden Scott prides itself on being a people business. • Friendly, but focused working environment Recruitment is a very competitive industry. Much of your success comes down to developing your own brand and positioning yourself properly within your targeted market. Therefore, healthy amount of competition between staff members at Eden Scott is natural. However, the working environment is still very friendly and, unlike in some other agencies, Eden Scott employees often work together in order to achieve the best possible outcome. • Scope for development, incentives and progression opportunities Eden Scott is dedicated to promoting the development and progression of its employees. The directors recognise that a successful and satisfied recruitment consultant benefits the company as a whole. During our induction, we were introduced to various staff members who have developed and progressed within the company; starting as resourcers or graduate consultants and progressing to recruitment consultants, senior consultants, managers and directors. A company that supports your development is the right company to work for, in my opinion. Eden Scott offers various incentive programmes and advice in order to improve your performance and help you succeed in you role. Why do you want to work for Eden Scott? If you are considering working for Eden Scott or, more generally, working in recruitment, I recommend that you don’t just read my blog or other staff’s blog entries. Do your own research and find out if it’s the right career for you. Find out more about who we are, how we do business, and what industries we work in, and then determine how you would fit with our culture and values. A good recruitment consultant is able to undertake similar research for each client and each candidate. Otherwise, you won’t be able to match the right person with the right job - so treat it as a practice round! Don’t worry if you don’t have previous recruitment experience or if you think your degree is unrelated. Eden Scott’s graduates this year  all have different backgrounds and experiences. What you need is a certain set of skills and personality traits â€" including great communication skills, analytical skills, listening skills, negotiation skills, determination, resilience, ambition and a competitive nature. Since Eden Scott only recently started their graduate programme, you will find that the structure and goals are very much tailored to you and offer support to promote your growth. Next steps If you are looking for a peaceful desk role, where every day is same as the previous one, and you only interact with the same people all the time then working in recruitment is probably not the right career for you. However, if you enjoy challenging and dynamic working environment, meeting new people, taking on responsibility and autonomy of building ‘your own desk’, earning good money and making a positive change in other people’s lives,  then you are definitely on the right track here. I know how difficult it is to make such an important decision â€" listen to your gut, figure out what your interests, abilities and needs are, and let them guide you during your job search. After all, we spend so much time at work is crucial that we like what we do! I wish you all the best in your journey and, who knows, maybe we will find ourselves working together at Eden Scott. Some useful links: https://www.edenscott.com/blog/from-sports-management-to-recruitment-consultant https://www.edenscott.com/careers/graduate-careers https://www.edenscott.com/about-us https://www.edenscott.com/graduates-2018 https://www.edenscott.com/careers/graduate-careers/2016-graduates