Curious about the reality of life when working in recruitment? To give you insight into what it’s really like, we’re speaking to John Marks, Director of Dynamic Search Solutions, to find out about the reality of working in recruitment.
How much can I earn as a Recruitment Consultant?
How much you can earn as a Recruitment Consultant can vary depending on a huge number of factors: Varying from business to business, industry to industry, and depending on where you work and what experience you have.
But typically in your first year of recruitment you can earn a base salary of between £21,000 – £25,000. But depending on your success, your commission can propel your earnings to £28,000 – £40,000!
If you progressed to a manager position, this could become a base salary of around £40,000, with commission meaning you double or even triple that!
As you progress, the sky’s the limit. Of course this isn’t everyone, but it’s an indicator of what you can achieve with the right mindset, the hard work, and the team to support you.
And the salary and commission is just part of your earning potential. Many recruitment businesses also offer bonus schemes, physical and mental wellbeing support, and reward and incentive schemes that reward high-performing consultants with holidays and trips abroad.
What’s the day-to-day like?
The day-to-day of recruitment is challenging, ever-changing, and energetic. You’ll be speaking to, or reaching out to people constantly, and your days will be filled with phone calls and meetings.
While the majority of agencies operate a typical 9 – 5 structure, Consultants regularly work outside of these hours to try and speak to candidates and clients when they are available to speak
And there is a huge variety in your days. One day of the week you may be reaching out to people on LinkedIn who look right for a role you’re trying to fill, and spend the afternoon on the phone to people who have applied to your job advert. The next day, you might be in a meeting at a client’s office in Berlin.
And while this may sound like hard work, you’ll also be rewarded with the knowledge that everyday you help people find new jobs that they love, progress in their careers, and help someone to grow their business with the perfect new hire.
What’s the culture like, working in recruitment?
While it differs from agency to agency, there are a few consistent truths of recruitment culture despite the different industry or organisation…
A career in recruitment can be demanding
Most Recruitment Consultants salary depends significantly on commission, and how well they are performing. Which can mean putting in the extra hours and calling people outside of work hours to hit targets.
But this is balanced by a range of bonuses, schemes, and incentives that reward Recruitment Consultants for their hard work.
Plenty of support for career development
Recruitment agencies are great at offering support when it comes to learning, training, and career development. As Consultants progress and are more successful, they earn more and so does the business.
So it’s always in a recruitment business’s best interest to make sure their Recruitment Consultants have access to the best training and the best tech on the market.
Hybrid and flexible working
Most agencies offer some form of hybrid working, with some even offering fully remote. Agencies are less focused on getting everyone into the office, and more focused on supporting the Recruitment Consultants to be successful and make more placements.
And they often offer more flexible working as well. As long as a Consultant is hitting their targets, it doesn’t matter then they get the work done, because they are getting it done!
Autonomous and collaborative working
Recruitment Agencies have an independent and autonomous work environment and culture, as a Recruitment Consultant is often driven to perform at their best: Meaning some Consultants prefer to work independently and try to fix any problems themselves.
Although there is still support and collaborative working available: The best agencies work together, supporting each other to be successful.
Is Recruitment a competitive environment or career?
Recruitment can be very competitive, especially for graduate and entry-level recruitment consultant roles.
What businesses look for are the ability to communicate effectively, being able to build rapport and relationships quickly, confidence, and a strong work ethic.
Previous experience in sales or a customer facing capacity is obviously beneficial, but is by no means a requirement. Most agencies offer plenty of training and development support throughout your career, to help you become an effective and efficient Recruitment Consultant.
Promotions and progression in recruitment are rarely based solely on years of experience. Recruitment is a performance based role, and if you have the drive and ability you can progress quickly.
If you prove yourself a capable recruiter who can confidently work with both clients and candidates to consistently make frequent placements, you can find yourself quickly promoted to a Senior Recruitment Consultant and then on to Principal, or Managing Recruitment Consultant.
Progressing in your recruitment career obviously makes you a high-demand professional.
However, recruitment isn’t all sunshine and roses. It takes resilience to overcome some of the lows that come with the job: KPIs and targets to hit, phone calls to make to people who don’t always want to speak to you, and candidates pulling out of the process at the last moment or accepting counter offers, are just some of the struggles and problems you will encounter.
What opportunities for progression are there?
Going hand in hand with the opportunities to be earning an impressive salary early in your career, are the rapid opportunities for progression.
In recruitment, promotions are generally KPI based, not years of experience based. So as you learn and grow as a recruiter, it’s possible to progress in your career much quicker than in another industry.
Which makes it a great industry for a graduate or beginner, as you aren’t held back by your lack of professional experience.
You can also further your career and earning potential by specialising in a certain area of recruitment like HR, Sales, Digital Marketing etc. Here at Dynamic we specialise in recruiting for IT Professionals.
Additionally, the skills you develop working in recruitment will be beneficial throughout your career. For example, if you choose to leave an agency and go “in-house”, joining the HR or recruitment team of a business.
For more information on the career path available to you as a Recruitment Consultant, you can have a look at our career guide here.
So, is a career in Recruitment worth it?
We would argue, yes, a career in recruitment can be incredibly worthwhile: But it’s not for everyone.
Recruitment suits people who are hard-working, driven, and want to overachieve: And are willing to put in the work to learn and earn.
If you’re someone who wants to get to work, get through the day and is less interested in putting in the extra work that you may need to to hit targets, then recruitment may not be the best choice.
If you’re still interested and want to hear more about a career working in recruitment, you can have a look at our open vacancies here. Here at Dynamic, we’re always looking for driven potential recruiters!