It generally starts well enough – there’s usually a pot of tea brewing with the prerequisite eight tea bags to kick start the morning. Then the phone starts. It can be anything from clients calling in with new roles they’d like us to work on, to marketers registering with us or giving us feedback on their interviews. But it’s not just reactive.
As a part owner of the business, my role as a recruitment consultant is far broader than reacting to inbound calls.
Fundamentally, my role revolves around education. It’s important to give honest advice on where a candidate sits in the market; what they can expect and how they are positioned against similar candidates. I’ve got to help a candidate see how a potential move will affect their long-term career. If they make this particular move how will that affect their future career? Serious stuff.
We help both junior and senior candidates with their career planning without being patronizing. We need to understand the reasons for a move. Are they moving because they are unhappy with their boss or company culture? Their work? Moving roles may not necessarily solve problems that are endemic. And sometimes, we need to firmly and gently help to address the issues that are preventing better team relationships or issues around work load. At a senior level, it can be even more challenging to work out the right move.
I also frequently help our clients to think a bit more broadly. Sometimes clients come to us with an idea of the type of candidate or role they want, but after a thorough discussion, will come away with a different, clearer understanding of what they actually need.
Technology is such a broad space, what’s happening with digital marketing is completely different to what’s happening on the product and propositions side. We make it our business to know about all the trends in the technology marketing space in order to give sound advice on both the client or candidate side.
Though we update our website with new roles almost every day, we’re still waiting for the chance to recruit some of the more unusual marketing titles to have emerged in the last few years: Chief Inspiration Officer, Brand Evangelist, Customer Advocate or Digital Know it all, anyone?
The best thing about the job? The satisfaction of placing the right candidate with the right client. The cultural fit is absolutely critical. There’s a great feeling when you know that you’ve had an influence over something as significant as a career path.
The worst thing about the job? Cold tea!
