From: Experienced Recruitment Consultant

Dear Old Boss

I wanted to update you on how my life has changed since I left my job as a recruitment consultant with you. As you know, I regularly billed in excess of £10k on perms and around £3k GP per week on temps. I had been with the company for around 2 years and really enjoyed being a recruitment consultant.

However, I felt that often my efforts were not rewarded enough. For example, I had a high threshold that I had to hit before I saw any commission and even then, I only took home 20% of revenue above that threshold. This gave me the feeling that I was earning too much for the company and not enough for myself. Recruitment is, as you know, a really hard job with constant pressure and highs and lows and to feel unrewarded was very demotivating. This coupled with the company’s insistence that I hand over vacancies that I had unearthed within my client base, to other consultants made me want to leave.

So I began to look around – I have a good knowledge of my market and being a good biller I knew I could easily get another job as a recruitment consultant. However, I was concerned that I would face the same issues at any other agency I went to. I was also aware that my time in recruitment had made me autonomous in my work which may have made it difficult for me to fit into a team structure. In short, I began to think …”why don’t I do this on my own?”

Then I came across Support Services Group who are interested in talking to recruitment consultants like me who are thinking about starting up on their own. They have strict criteria and are only looking for experienced recruiters who are used to good billing and more importantly have the desire, drive and ambition to start something for themselves.

I know that I can make money – but I was concerned about the high cost of setting up a business, especially as I wanted to make it as professional as I could with a dedicated website where I could attract candidates and clients. I was also concerned that I wasn’t familiar with all the legalities involved – I am a recruitment consultant not a lawyer! I was also aware that to compete effectively, I needed access to the candidates and I was interested to learn from David that this company provides these things as an investment into my new business. They also provide full back office support so I did not need to worry about how to pay my temps.

Support Services Group is a well known investor in recruitment startups and have well over 100 companies at various stages of development under their wing. When I met with them, they gave me the confidence that they knew my market and could provide me with what I needed to build my own agency – they made sure that the name I have chosen for my new company was not taken already and they have provided me with the support and guidance I have needed in my first few years of trading. I have taken on another consultant and they found that person for me via their rec to rec and even negotiated the fee.

Of course they took an investment decision having met me and I in turn had to dip into my savings for the first month just to keep me in baked beans! But after I started billing, I was able to keep 70% of all revenues/GP and to me this is perfect – Support Services Group kept 30% which obviously pays for the initial investment and on-going support and I have significantly increased my earnings whilst being totally flexible on where, when and how I work. If I come across a vacancy in my client base, I can fill it – if I want to take Friday off, I can, all the while I am building an asset that ultimately may be saleable – in the meantime I am making more money for myself.

David is always interested to hear from recruitment consultants like me and I thought it worth passing his details to you, just in case you ever feel like I did!

If you would like to discuss what we do at Support Services Group, please contact David either on line or on 07894 110336, or email david@myjobsltd.co.uk

This is a genuine business opportunity and not an employment opportunity.

This Morning -Battled in to work – I am sure there are far more people driving on the roads than when I started my career as a recruitment consultant 2 years ago. If I worked for myself, I wouldn’t have to do this commuting.

Arrived at my desk –  to a whole host of emails that really have nothing to do with making a placement, but that I have to work on for my company. These include admin on KPIs, a presentation on where the next load of clients is going to come from, a request from my boss that I go on a visit with a new consultant. Really all I want to be doing is recruiting. If I worked for myself, I could just concentrate on revenue generation. The ad said that Support Services Group would do all the boring admin and invoicing side of it and I would be free of KPI’s!

Team meeting at 11am –  Today we are told that our advertising budget has been cut – this means that I can’t advertise for the candidates that I need to place to earn my commission. I am really fed up about this. If I worked for myself, with Support Services Group, I would be provided with access to candidates for as long as I need them.

Called in to see my boss at 12 – the ‘good’ news is that my commission has been increased to 20%, the bad news is that my threshold has been increased. Working for myself with the backing of Support Services Group would mean that my commission would be 70% or more with no thresholds and no caps. Of course, there is no salary but even so, I am a successful recruitment consultant, regularly billing £10k on perms and when I was working the temp market, billing £3k GP per week. Doing the sums on those numbers, this looks a really interesting proposition.

Lunch – I call David and explain that I have seen the ad and that I have been working as a recruitment consultant within a UK agency for a couple of years. I have been thinking for some time that I would like to work for myself, not only because of the obvious financial reasons but because I want the freedom and autonomy to run a recruitment company in a way that I know would be successful. He explains to me that his client is a recruitment business incubator (a what?!) – This means that they provide investment services to start-up recruitment businesses to help them grow. Their aim is to sit down with a recruiter and draw up a list of everything they need in order to run and grow their recruitment business. His client does everything apart from the recruitment bit. That’s what I’m good at! I would get a company totally owned and branded by me, all the legalities taken care of, all the invoicing and back office dealt with (this is interesting to me as I would like to work the temp market along with the perm market). They support me for as long as is needed and, as it is in their interests, they help me to grow and develop my business, potentially into a saleable asset. David also started out this way four years ago.

David said that it would probably be best if we had a proper chat (I am standing in the car park at the moment which is not the best place to talk about a life changing decision like this!) He said I could call him on 07894 110336 anytime up until 9pm.

Grab a sandwich.

Afternoon – My head is spinning with thoughts of running my own business and I start to get a bit carried away with thinking about company names and logos and websites (all of which David’s client Support Services Group will do for me).

I set up an interview between my client and a candidate and then close off an offer that has been on the table for a week. I try not to imagine how I would feel if 70% of that placement value was to be mine!!

The rest of the afternoon passes as normal, with some highs and some lows as is normal in recruitment. One of the particularly galling things is that, having worked with a client for months on a couple of vacancies, they then gave me another one which I know I could fill but I had to hand over to a colleague….if I was working for myself I wouldn’t have to do that.

Home –  at normal time and straight in to call David….

 In the first instance, please apply to David Marshall from Electrical Recruitment Specialists either on line or on 07894 110336, email David@electricalrecruit.co.uk

This is not a job but a genuine business opportunity. There are no set up costs associated.

So what is the role of a Recruitment Consultant? Looking in from outside of the industry it may look as simple as we find people jobs. To some degree this is true but recruitment is a service industry to both candidates looking for work and companies looking for candidates.

There are many reasons why a company will appoint the services of a recruiter to support them on recruitment. It may be that the business does not have a dedicated HR department. This would mean pulling resources from another area of the business to deal with the recruitment process. The overall cost of this can sometimes outweigh the outsourcing fee. Taking into account the time involved in dealing with advert response, short listing, interviewing, reference checking and the initial advertising. Still, the right candidate might not be found. Using a recruitment Business for this means the client will only pay a fee if the recruiter presents a candidate that meets the client’s requirements and they appoint that candidate.

Another reason may be that the client only needs people short term, for a particular project or to cover absence. Using a Recruitment Agency means the company don’t need to run a payroll for these short term people and take on the responsibility for employer national insurance and tax.

A consultant will be responsible for building lasting relationships with clients. These are our customers and we need to understand their business. Most recruitment companies will work with you and offer training on the techniques used 1) To find these customers and 2) Work with these customers to build ongoing lasting relationships.

Don’t be phone shy, although there is a wealth of information available to us online. I believe the phone is king, people in business do love to talk. If you have done your research before you call and your call is relevant, you won’t go far wrong.

You may be responsible for advertising your client’s positions and short listing candidates. There are many different avenues available for job advertising. Social media such as LinkedIn or specialist job boards like MyJobs Ltd. The recruitment business will know what works best for them and the sector they work in.

Candidate relationships are extremely important and you may be conducting interviews. Understanding candidate’s requirements and personal needs are important. Ensuring a candidate going forward for interview has as much information as possible on the company. We need happy candidates and well as clients.

Where do you start? If you are a graduate looking for your first step into recruitment there are many specialist recruiters who recruit for the industry. These are known as Rec2Rec recruiters and will have a good understanding of local vacancies that may not be advertised openly. This type of business will be able to guide and advise you on suitable opportunities. You can also find recruitment jobs online you can apply to on specialist jobsites.

If you are changing career and thinking about recruitment use your current skills as a bench mark. Many recruiters specialise in a particular sector and you would have a lot to offer these recruiters. My background is Electrical Engineering and Technical Sales. Although when I first entered recruitment I did general vacancies. I soon brought the two together and specialised in Engineering and Sales recruitment. You will also find when speaking to potential clients. If you know their industry as well as they do, and can talk on the same level, you are half way there.

Some recruitment business will provide ongoing training both internal and through external providers. The Institute of Recruiters run courses designed for the industry and offer both individuals and companies many benefits and guidance.

Recruitment is not for the faint hearted. Working to deadlines and targets, while still maintaining professionalism, can be stressful. But it’s a great career choice and if you are willing to work hard the rewards are fantastic.

If you are not already aware of the IOR I have included some brief information below and a link to the website. The IOR may be something that would benefit your business or you as an individual?  If you would like further information please feel free to contact me on 07894 110336 or email me at david@myjobsltd.co.uk

The IOR is the professional body for HR, Agency & In-House recruiters. The IOR represents professionals working in the recruitment and retention process that fall into the areas of agency recruitment, corporate (in-house) recruitment and HR. As a professional body, IOR Membership levels are select, based on assessed and qualified standards. The IOR is working towards being an industry leader in services and information, leveraging our performance driven culture to deliver value to members. The IOR and its talented teams will work hard to:

• Provide services which rivals cannot match.
• Provide University backed CPD and Education that is internationally recognised
• Lower the cost of professional body membership.
• Ensure IOR membership is considered ‘essential’ by recruitment and HR professionals.
• Support our members via constant service development and innovation.
• Connect members both nationally and internationally.
• Lobby for positive change.
• Engage with members using all mediums including social networking.

The Institute Of Recruiters – Transforming HR and Recruitment Globally .

http://www.theior.org.uk 

David Marshall MIOR FIRP TMIET FInstSMM

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