As I write this blog I am over 2 years into my career in recruitment, and I have learnt so much about the industry during this time.  Before I became a recruiter, I had been an analyst for over 15 years from conducting analysis on location planning for retailers and leisure operators to helping telecoms companies locate their international networks.

My first contact with a recruiter was when I moved to BT in 2002.  I can’t remember the name of the recruitment company that had advertised the role online, however I do remember that It was a very positive experience as the recruiter was very helpful, never pushy, and seemed to understand my skills and how I was a good fit for the role. He helped me get the role, but I also felt like he helped me in the next step of not only my career, but my life (I moved up to the North West and watched many a Champions league triumph at Anfield).  I thought about this experience when I set up Red Tiger Talent with Steve, and it has influenced our approach to recruiting.

Not everyone has a good initial experience of a recruiter, and many see recruiters in a bad light, mainly caused by experiences such as being “hassled” on LinkedIn, ignored after initial messages, or targeted for completely the wrong role.  In this blog I would like to explain what a good recruiter should be like, and how they can positively impact your career.

We can do a lot of the leg work

I could write a whole separate blog on how time-starved people are, but recruiters can help in this area.  Not everyone has the time to look at job adverts, so if you register with a good, specialist recruitment agency in the area that you want to progress, they can help alert you to interesting roles as and when they come up.  At Red Tiger Talent we specialise in Location Planning, Property Research and Consumer Insight roles.

We can improve your chances of landing a dream job

How is this possible you may be thinking?  Well, there are a number of ways we can help:

• We can get you in the frame for a role before others hear about it. We often hear about roles before they are advertised as we have regular dialogue with our clients.
• We are highly likely to get you an interview (80% of candidates we put forward get to 1^st interview). Being specialists in our area we are trusted by our clients and therefore if we think you are a good candidate and you are interested in the role, it is likely we will get you an interview.  We can also help you tweak your CV to make you stand out more for the role in question.
• We can help you prepare as knowing our clients and what they are looking for we can help to coach you in preparing for an interview – these little nuggets of advice can be invaluable to give you the better chance of progressing.

We can negotiate on your behalf

A good recruiter will be honest and open and up front with you from the start.  We also need candidates to be honest with us and by working together we will try and determine from the start whether it is worth putting you forward for a role.  To decide if a role is financially right for you, and to eventually negotiate on your behalf, it is vital to understand what the overall package is compared to what you currently earn.  Dealing with a lot of analysts (and being analysts ourselves) it is important for us to have a clear picture of your current salary, all benefits, and also for us to understand the same for the role that we are working on.

So far Red Tiger Talent have managed to get candidates an average of 18% pay increase. Once a job offer is materialising it can be an exciting and sometimes unpredictable time. Not many people are experienced in the art of salary negotiation, and a good recruiter will have done this plenty of times and can use their experience to leverage a suitable remuneration package.

Another area that candidates don’t often understand is the Fees. Recruiters are paid by the hiring company’ and the budget to pay our fees is not from the same budget used to pay your salary, so no need to worry about your salary being hindered by going through an agent.

We can career coach

It isn’t all about the money (Yes it does help), it can also be about moving you away from the coal-face to think a bit more about your career. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a good diagram to look at to bring into context your career, and how you prioritise aspects of your life.

Your career can touch each segment of the hierarchy, but the top two segments are the ones we often de-prioritise or even ignore, and these are the areas that can be helped most through career-coaching. All it takes is someone to give a different perspective on which way your career should be heading.

We can turn your head

Some of the best candidates we have placed in roles have either not been actively looking for a new role, or have not heard of a company or post until we have approached them.  This type of interaction demonstrates more of our value-add to both the candidate and the client.

I may be a little biased as a recruiter, however do consider that next time you are approached by a recruiter it could just be worth that initial 20 minute chat to explore an opportunity. Tell the recruiter a bit more about your experience and where you would like to progress, it can take time for the right role to come up for a candidate, but it is worth the wait and it may just be the best career-move you make!