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As part of your job search you may decide to seek employment through the use of a recruitment agency. Recruiters work with a variety of companies, candidates and job seekers and as a result, they’re in a position to see which kinds of people are the most successful and why. Here at Renovo, we decided to ask some top recruiters what attributes they look out for in the candidates they work with, and which traits are the most successful in the search for work.
One of the most essential traits in a job candidate, according to recruiters, is the ability to be contacted at all times. Recruiters will look to inform their candidates of impending meetings or even interviews, often by phone or by email, and these can occasionally be same-day notifications. If their clients are unresponsive, however, the recruiters are likely to be less than impressed, as an interview no-show will potentially damage the reputation of the recruitment agency itself. It’s important from an employer’s perspective, and employers will not chase you for an interview or job offer if you fail to respond promptly and eagerly as they will be working with a high volume of other candidates that will also be suitable for the role.
There is no such thing as a white lie when it comes to your career. Recruiters are not in favour of candidates who massage the truth, and again, an interviewee who is found to have been dishonest on their CV, either during the application process or even after an offer has been made, will potentially tarnish the reputation of the recruiters themselves. You need to be honest and upfront, not only with recruiters, but with your potential employers too. Any lies or exaggerations will inevitably be found out. Worst case scenario, dishonesty could cost you the job offer.
Recruiters often find that the best interviewees are those who have a confident and positive attitude and are happy to tackle any potential challenge set before them. Going into an interview with the right attitude and being prepared to make an effort with any job you’re sent for will earn you the respect of the recruiter and also give you a better chance with the employers themselves.
Recruiters look for candidates who take the application process seriously. It’s your life after all, so every potential job should be thoroughly researched in advance of the interview itself. If you turn up for an interview without much idea of what the job entails, who the interviewer is or what they might expect from you, you’ll have little or no chance of walking away with a job offer. If you arrive armed with pertinent questions and insightful answers, however, you’ll wind up with a job offer in no time.
It’s the job of a recruitment agency to sell your skills and strengths to position you as an excellent candidate and an encouraging prospect for any potential employer, but they can only work with the raw materials you give them. When you hand over your CV to a recruiter, they’ll give it a read-through in order to determine whether or not it’s in need of an edit. If your CV doesn’t put across the right information and sell your key skills and characteristics, or is full of spelling and grammar errors, the recruiter, and by association any employers, will be less than impressed. Make it as easy as possible for a recruiter to send off your CV without needing to edit it for basic consistency or spelling errors.
It is easy to lose focus when you are unemployed, especially if you have been job searching over a long period. You’ve may have rewritten your cover letter multiple times and sent your CV to many generic email addresses, without hearing anything from the recipient. Hunting for jobs can seem a lot like trying to find a needle in a haystack which is why you need all the help you can get to re-join the world of employment sooner rather than later.
A recruitment agency will liaise with employers to find out what job positions are available, and get to know you too to make sure they can put you forward for jobs that you are well suited to.
When looking for your first job, you’ll find that it involves a lot of trial and error. You may apply for one job and be lucky enough to get an interview, only to discover too late that it’s not quite the job for you, either because it’s not what you expected it to be, or you feel you are under, or over-qualified. However, recruitment agencies are experts in their field. Many recruitment agencies specialise in certain sectors and are familiar with the job positions they are advertising, so they will often be able to offer you helpful guidance and inform you of the work each job position is likely to include.
If you’ve ever wondered why most recruitment agencies are free, it’s because they are being paid by companies to bring them the right candidates for the jobs they are advertising. That means that they want to help you find successful employment, but also want to please their own employers by offering them suitable candidates. To do this, they will get to know you, become familiar with your skills and level of expertise, and ensure you only apply for jobs they believe you have a good chance of getting.
Some agencies deal exclusively with temporary positions. If you’re unsure which career path you want to take but simply cannot afford to remain unemployed while you decide or seek further education, you can turn to recruiters to help you find temporary employment. This is also a great way of building up the experience that might be required for another, better job, and the perfect opportunity to practice those interview skills!
Renovo is one of the UK’s leading providers of outplacement and career transition support. We work with both organisations and individuals to support all their career transition requirements. If you would like to understand how Renovo can help you please call 0800 612 2011 or email info@renovo.co.uk
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