Recruitment agencies work with clients and employers to help them fill vacancies, and also with candidates to help them secure employment. Our previous blog focuses on FAQs for candidates about the industry. So, if you’re after that one, click here. For this blog, we’re focusing on clients’ FAQs!

What does a recruitment agency do?

To put it simply a recruitment agency works with both clients and candidates. For their clients they will find job-seekers to fill vacant roles. For their candidates, they will help them find a new role or help with the next steps in their career path. 

However, behind the scenes, there is really a lot more to it. Read on!

What does a recruitment consultant do?

A recruitment consultant has a varied role, one of the biggest things they do however is build relationships. They are your ultimate people person. They are excellent at understanding business needs, while reading people’s personalities and experience and then matching that person with a role.

More specifically, recruitment consultants work with employers to find and fill jobs for open positions. Here at Cox Purtell, we spend a lot of time with our clients and really get to know their businesses so we can ensure we make the right placements that suit not just the role itself, but the company culture as well.

A typical day in a recruitment office will include reading through resumes, conducting phone screen calls with candidates, sorting through applications, interviewing qualified candidates, conducting reference checks and providing consultative advice to candidates and clients. Then of course, they will pass all this information on to our clients.

They will then be heavily involved in organising interviews for the client to undertake, presenting offers to candidates and assisting generally with the new employee experience for our clients organisations.

A recruiter is typically always speaking to someone and they see themselves as an extension of their clients businesses.

How do recruitment agencies help clients find the right employee?

Recruitment agencies help clients find employees for their businesses and fill their open vacancies.

The consultant will meet with the client first to discuss the role in-depth and what their business needs are. They’ll discuss salary and how much experience they are expecting from potential candidates.

Recruitment agencies use a variety of methods including LinkedIn ads, company websites and job sites to advertise for these roles. Plus, they search through a large database of candidates they would already have on hand and conduct headhunting searches on other job platforms too.

Consultants are constantly updating their clients on the job search. Calling them to discuss candidates, sending over CV’s and doing that first screening interview before sending the candidate over to the client. They are looking to save their clients time by sending through only the most suitable candidates for the roles who have been through a thorough screening process.

Do recruiters charge their clients?

Yes. At Cox Purtell we offer two full-service options, Retained Recruitment and Non-Exclusive Recruitment.

Our non-exclusive options runs parallel with your own in-house recruitment campaign, supporting you in all the key areas, like position description, development, candidate search, interviewing and selection.

Retained is then the end-end service we have unlike any other offered by competitors. We will exclusively run a complete recruitment service for your vacancy, operating as an extension of your team so that you have as much control and input into the process as you need. It includes longer guarantee periods, post-employment reviews at 3 and 6 months, plus preferential fees and payment terms, so it is of great value.

Is it just about the commission?

Recruiters are people too and yes earning commission on a placement for a client is great, however, it certainly is not everything. The best recruiter wants repeat business from that client so they can forge a long-term relationship with you and become the go-to recruiter for your business. The satisfaction that a recruiter gets when they work with a client and do a fantastic job where both client and candidate come out happy is a big part of it. This is why we provide the best possible service we can!

Can we just do it ourselves?

Businesses can do anything and course doing their own recruitment is possible. However, we have more time to do it better – we devote all day every day to doing this so we have certainly got more time than most of our clients! Time is key when it comes to recruitment as well, if you don’t move quickly with your recruitment process, you are likely to lose out.

We have large candidate pools, we have licences to use the back end of professional talent sourcing platforms, we know what to look for/how to interview using a variety of techniques and of course we have a vested interest in helping your business thrive.   

Why is the recruitment industry so busy right now?

The competition for good, reliable top talent is fierce, which means this time of year is an excellent one to consider expanding your team.

Everyone is looking for a company that is a good fit for them and not taking anything less. They want flexibility, good pay, a challenge and of course honesty from their employer. So, when you build your team you are very likely to get loyal, long-term employees that really want to be there.

Companies have taken this competitive market into consideration and are certainly selling themselves more, they are offering better benefits, higher salaries, flexibility and so much more.

Because of these factors, there are a lot of jobs being advertised right now and a lot of people moving jobs, these moving parts are making it so busy and so competitive.

How can I help a recruiter help my business?

By being open and honest. Tell the recruiter exactly what you’re looking for. Tell them why you need someone in the role and the type of person you’re after. Also, let them know if you are using other recruiters or looking for someone yourself too – we need to know what’s going on with every aspect of the position so we can recruit well.

Tell your recruiter what has worked in the past and what hasn’t. Mistakes you don’t want to make again and be as specific as you can, so we can help you.

For more information visit this link to read about our recruitment services: https://www.coxpurtell.com.au/employer-services/recruitment-services