A large proportion of vacancies in the UK financial services marketplace are hired through recruitment consultancies. Many candidates are highly dependant upon the decision of recruiters and their willingness to forward CVs and personal details to their clients. Candidates can greatly advance their chances of getting their target job, by following specific guidelines in the selection of a consultancy with which to work.
Specialisation
Not all recruitment consultancies are the same. It is important to work with an agency that is registered with the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and has agreed to abide by its best practice recommendations. Moreover, specialisation is tremendously relevant to the success rate of an agency, and candidates should seek out practices which have experience placing candidates in their industry and also at their level and type of position.
TSUB
There is a shortage of experienced candidates in many areas of the financial services marketplace. This offers candidates more choice, but also means a concerted approach is even more important. Less candidates means it is easier to achieve first round interviews, but these can be a waste of time if candidates are not properly educated about the opportunity. There are only a limited amount of days which can be taken off from work and candidates should not waste them on opportunities that do not suit their preferences, therefore they should endeavour to work with recruiters who listen to their needs and career goals and pair them with open job positions in the financial services marketplace.
Small consultancies seem to perform best when partnering with candidates. They are more strategic and have the freedom to create structures which meet the individual needs of candidates. This is important as partnerships with an individual recruiter opens up opportunities for a targeted speculative CV distribution which in the present market could generate opportunities not registered with agencies. This type of strategy can only be done with a single recruiter as indiscriminate CV distribution has the opposite effect and can be sorely detrimental to your job search if employers receive your details from multiple suppliers.
Spending the time
Candidates should spend some time on a consultancies website before registering. Information such as the company’s mission, clients, vacancies and staff biographies should be reviewed as it is important jobseekers work with a maximum of three different consultancies. Websites provide some basic information but jobseekers should also be encouraged to phone and speak with potential consultants. If the recruiter will not take the time to get to know you upfront then it is a good indicator of the type of relationship which will follow.
When you speak with a recruiter you are not necessarily looking for someone you like and want to chat with. You are looking for someone who can easily identify your strengths and weakness and link them with industry opportunities. Speak with the recruiter about their clients and current opportunities that they are representing. Identify if they know their market and if they understand the positions you are applying for. CVs and personal details should only be sent when the candidate is confident in the abilities and knowledge of the recruiter.
Referrals are a very strong indicator of ability and it is highly recommended that jobseekers speak with friends and colleagues about their experience when looking for a job. Testimonials may also be available on the company website as may press releases and any articles detailing their work. These are good bits of additional information.
Not an exact science
Choosing a recruiter is not an exact science, but candidates can be confident in their ability to switch if needed. Permission to send out CVs and details should be closely guarded and should only be given on a case-by-case basis. Do not give anyone the right to send out your CV without first knowing the company, the opportunity and why the recruiter thinks it’s a good fit. This is not possible for speculative distributions, however, the jobseeker should still be involved and help choose the companies on the marketing list. Working in this way empowers the candidate and assures that each interview is a good use of time and resources.
