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There are different types of recruitment consultants, and you may even deal directly with a hiring manager. Whoever you deal with, here are a few basics you should know.
A good recruitment consultant (or talent advisor, as we say in Barden) can be a great asset as you work through the many stages of your career. Identifying a great consultant amid the mass of recruitment firms can be tricky, however, and requires both patience and persistence.
While Google or LinkedIn will present you with an almost endless list of firms and contacts, the best way to identify a good recruitment consultant is through word-of-mouth referrals. Talk to respected colleagues or acquaintances about their experience of the world of recruitment and ask for recommendations.
Identifying the Type of Relationship you Want
What you expect from a recruitment partner can change as your career develops and as your priorities shift at different stages of life. For some people, a recruiter is simply someone who helps them secure a job when they are actively searching – nothing more complicated than that.
For others, the relationship is more advisory. They value a recruiter who can act as a career coach, offering guidance at key points in their professional journey. In these cases, the recruiter may not always place them in a role but instead provides insight into available opportunities, drawing on their expertise in a specific sector and their close understanding of the market.
Some professionals connect with recruiters out of curiosity or a desire to stay informed. They want to keep up to date with hiring trends, salary benchmarks, and future opportunities in their field.
At the most comprehensive level, a recruiter can act as a full talent advisor, supporting professionals across all aspects of their career. This may include CV guidance, interview preparation, salary benchmarking, and broader career planning and development.
At different stages of your career, you may need one or all of these forms of support. The goal is to build a strong, trusted relationship with a recruiter or talent advisor so that you can turn to them for guidance whenever you need it throughout your career.
Initial Consultation
Start by identifying what you want from the relationship and be open about it. It’s perfectly fine to say that you’re not actively looking for a new role but would like to stay informed about market trends. Likewise, it’s reasonable to use your recruiter as a sounding board, whether that’s to sense-check another opportunity you’re considering, get advice on preparing for an interview, or discuss salary expectations.
So how do you get started? Practical next steps
Arrange a meeting. Ideally, this would be in person, but an online meeting is a strong alternative. Since COVID, location has become far less of a barrier to building meaningful professional relationships. Even a simple phone call at different stages of the relationship can be an incredibly effective way to stay connected.
Dealing Direct
On occasion, you may find yourself dealing directly with a hiring manager in a company. Once you enter a direct recruitment process with an organisation, you must bear in mind that the organisation is duty-bound to look after its own best interests, so it’s important that you seek out the most objective insights and advice possible.
Invite a current or former employee for coffee and ask whether they would recommend the organisation, what they enjoyed or disliked about their time there, and what the reality of career progression is like. But beware of disgruntled employees! You can mitigate this risk by talking to multiple sources with links to the organisation, as the more people you speak to, the better (and more balanced) your understanding will be. It might sound like a lot of work but when you consider that you will spend roughly 90,000 hours at work in your lifetime, it’s a worthwhile investment.
A Final Piece of Advice
Changing jobs can be stressful. That’s something you don’t often hear recruiters say. An exciting opportunity, a fantastic time to consider a move, the market is buyout at the moment, etc., etc. – these are all common snippets you’ll read and hear about in the employment market. There is nothing wrong with these statements, and I will say such things when supporting our great clients on their recruitment needs
However, when it comes to career advisory, it’s important to take a broader view. Before deciding to move roles, it’s always worth exploring whether there are ways to improve your current situation. While securing a new role can be exciting, it can also feel daunting. You may be leaving a company where you’re well known and highly regarded to join a new organisation where you have to build your reputation and prove yourself all over again. Of course, if you’re unhappy in your current role and the move also comes with a meaningful salary increase, the transition can feel much easier.
One way to reduce the stress of the process is by working with a talent advisor you genuinely like and trust, someone you feel has your best interests at heart. Talent advisors won’t get it right every time, but the good ones will always do their very best to support you along the way.
Want to discuss your tax career?
Contact Kate Flanagan at kate.flanagan@Barden.ie or via LinkedIn to organise a bespoke advisory chat.