Recruitment Consultants See The Tables Turning

By Drum Recruitment

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Did you know that high-calibre recruitment consultants are in short supply? Yet demand for recruitment consultancy services is on the rise, as companies increasingly realise they can’t make the hires they need by simply “going it alone”. That’s a heady combination - rising demand coupled with constrained supply. No wonder your career move options today are looking rosier than they have done for many many years!
 

Recruitment Consultants in Short Supply

Recruitment Consultants See The Tables Turning

When it comes to the shortage of recruitment consultancy candidates, several key factors are at work. One major contributor is that we are feeling the after-effects of the recession. In many markets we have seen around a quarter of recruiters having left the industry altogether as a direct result of the lean years that followed the financial crash. A good recruiter takes time to become established, to truly learn the art of recruiting, and to gain trust and credibility. So bringing in new talent to replace all those who left the industry is not like turning on a tap. In a resurgent market, it will take years for those who left the industry to be properly replaced.

In parallel, we have seen major growth in corporates’ in-house recruiting teams. These major household names have been able to lure lots of our peers away from recruitment consultancy employment. The rewards and challenges are different, but a portion of all recruiters have decided that that is the direction in which to take their careers… and so another tranche of recruitment consultants has been lost from the market.

The dynamics of hiring recruiters has changed too. In both the UK and Pacific regions we are seeing recruitment businesses struggle to attract consultants to join them. Relying just on personal networks to increase headcount is not a robust strategy for either the candidate or the company. The recruitment world is so much larger than that. Another interesting thing about experienced recruiters; they do not like to apply for new roles via job boards. But generating results via social media can involve long sales cycles, so if a recruitment business is not connected and engaged with the right people today it is a candidate source that can’t be immediately switched on.
 

Recruitment Demand is Strong

Over the summer, figures published by the REC and KPMG showed that the UK economy was seeing an acceleration in the growth of staff appointments as a direct result of stronger demand from employers. In parallel they reported a record drop in the availability of permanent candidates, with the rate of decline accelerating to its fastest in the survey’s history. The picture for temporary and contract staff wasn’t much different.

So hiring demand is strong. But it’s more than that. In parallel we’re hearing that direct recruiters are increasingly struggling to make the hires they need using LinkedIn and the other direct candidate channels that they’ve come to depend on in recent years. Taken together, these trends mean companies are having to turn to recruitment consultancies once again – with this trend likely to accelerate as candidate shortages become more acute.
 

Time to Consider a Career Move?

If you have a track record of success in this industry, conditions today are ideal for making the next jump in your career. When I speak with recruitment consultants and understand their aspirations and frustrations, it’s invariably the case that I can start conversations with a recruitment business that will be a much better home for their talent. Not all recruitment companies are the same, each has a different culture and different set of values, recruiters just need to find the one that suits them best.  

Don’t be blinkered to opportunities, for example switching sectors is possible and often can be more lucrative. Also, there is a myth that regional recruiters don’t pay as well and that their client base is average. We work with exceptional regional recruiters, where the consultants are earning more than their London peers, and working with blue chip clients. In addition they don’t have to battle the commute. If you are fluent in other languages, especially German the recruiting world is even wider.

There are 9,000+ recruitment agencies, if you are not fulfilling your potential where you currently are, I believe there is a better home for you. Drum Recruitment can help uncover opportunities that recruitment consultants don’t have the network or the time to uncover for themselves.

If you would appreciate the chance to have a confidential chat about your options, do give us a call on 0208 123 8292 or email [email protected]


About the Author

Drum Recruitment is a friendly Rec2Rec business, recruiting for the recruitment profession in the UK and Australia. For more recruiting insights, follow us on @drumrecruit

 

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