Rutherford Cross’ Sophie Randles shares her thoughts on why a career in recruitment should be front of mind…
Recently returning from holiday with a bunch of friends I reflected on the many conversations had, ranging from the stresses of buying your first property to the excitement of engagement celebrations. However, this time round our careers became the hot topic of conversation. It’s interesting to see where we have all ended up; Business Owner of a new pioneering food brand, Solicitor at a leading international law firm, Surveyor at a global real estate services provider, English Teacher at an independent private school, and then there was me – Head of Audit & Advisory Recruitment for a high growth Scotland headquartered recruitment consultancy.
On further reflection, I considered that a large proportion of us “Millennials” have found ourselves in the world of recruitment. Recruitment is now being seen as a career path of choice, in a world of limited resource this matching skill is key.
Recruitment was not a career publicised at university. If you did not hear about it through advertisements or word of mouth you were unlikely to think about pursuing recruitment as a career. But, ask yourself the question “What is the most exciting and impactful job in the corporate world?” While others may answer differently, to me the answer is clearly recruiting. The impact that recruiters have on both people’s lives and the organisations they join is massive. Matching talent with the right businesses for the benefit of both which, when executed correctly allows for personal and career fulfillment and, on a bigger level, the growth of businesses.
Personally, I feel there is a false perception of what a typical day in recruitment looks like….and no we don’t sit on LinkedIn all day awaiting responses! Highly successful recruiters are seen as the key liaison by both the company and candidate, providing invaluable advice and supplying market intelligence to ensure companies are investing in the right people in conjunction with guiding professionals in the market around how to better their personal offering. I thought it would be insightful to understand just how commercially minded professionals in this line of work need to be and what core skills and attributes are needed to be successful.
The core elements of recruitment are career advice, ability to understand people’s motivations, relationship management, interview preparation, interview screening techniques and offer and acceptance management. However, this is all well and good when you have the candidates to provide advice and your clients (firms) agreement to partner with you as their chosen supplier…what happens when you don’t?
This is when business development and sales acumen is important. Do you enjoy the “how do I questions”? For example, how do I become the go to consultant in my area of expertise; how do I position my personal brand to gain respect in the market; how do I run a business which will continue to grow year on year; how do I attract the top talent in the market where there is a talent shortage; how do I differentiate my offering from my competition?
Your ability to identify opportunities, develop and manage relationships and demonstrate strong business acumen around negotiations is crucial. Recruitment is a lot more than “give us a job” – it is a key component of any business, and investment in the right people is essential for any business to succeed.
Another important element to recruitment is your access to expertise and knowledge. If your approach and advice is correct, you are prepared and genuine with your proposition, then results will follow. This role offers the opportunity to speak with prominent business leaders about their organisations; market growth; restructuring; innovation, etc. You are privy to high level information that will shape the direction of your client’s teams, and from a personal capacity, help shape you into a well-rounded business professional.
This brings me onto why professional services recruitment? The professional services offering is a pivotal component of any recruitment business; a key connecting point. Following on from the importance of commerciality and generating a network, the professional services consultants should occupy the skills required to leverage their network for broader business development whilst, being innovative around process and service offering. Through successful placements you soon become seen as the go to person in your field which, if you have nurtured your relationship correctly and asked the right questions, will open the door to further business referrals and introductions.
If you are motivated by people and interested in being intellectually challenged whilst at the same time using and developing your communication skills, then I would strongly recommend pursuing a career in recruitment.
So, why Rutherford Cross? I mentioned earlier that recruitment is impactful, well, Rutherford Cross is an impactful business. We truly have commitment to our key stakeholders (clients, candidate, colleagues and communities) to provide excellence in all areas of our job. Within the practice team at Rutherford Cross I support newly qualified to partner level professionals, this variety of level has allowed for a strong understanding of what the market can/is offering which, has further allowed me to obtain the knowledge needed to be seen as a trusted advisor. Answering some of those “how do I” questions touched upon earlier.
My work environment is friendly and supportive with an underlying emphasis on both hard work and the right work. Delivering high quality services, making a difference and being famous for excellence are only a few of our core values. I am surrounded by like-minded individuals who know how to work hard and constantly challenge, excite, enthuse and motivate.
As a recruitment consultant you have the opportunity to run your own business within a business, develop a reputable network within the local business community and work with some amazing, commercially mind, innovative and vibrant people
The question really is…..why wouldn’t you want this job?
