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Recruitment is a fast-moving, competitive industry. To be a successful recruitment consultant takes a lot of dedication, learning and tenacity. The good news though is that the majority of key recruiter skills are transferrable from other industries, or might even be a quality that is part of your personality! And of course, all of them can be developed with time, training and experience, so even if you are starting from scratch, don't worry!
Whether you are fresh out of school or looking for a new career, there are lots of skills and qualities that transfer into the life of a recruiter.
What skills do you need to be a recruitment consultant?
We spoke to our team and put together a list of 8 of the top transferrable skills and qualities that lend themselves to a career as a recruitment consultant. Check them out below!
1. Customer Service Skills
If your background is in hospitality, call-centres, retail or any customer-centric role, the customer service skills you have developed will be ideal for recruitment.
As a recruiter, you will be conversing with clients and candidates daily, so having a customer-centric approach - being friendly, attentive and able to anticipate the needs of the customer - will go a long way in winning business. How you listen and how you present yourself to the customer will be key to being a successful recruiter.
Excellent customer-service skills go a long way in recruitment!
2. Organisational Skills
Are you a super organised multi-tasker that's ALWAYS on time? Perhaps you've been a personal assistant or project manager used to managing multiple projects and schedules, or maybe you're the designated planner amongst your friends?
As a recruiter you'll need to keep track and prioritise multiple open vacancies at once and ensure that each one is getting the attention it needs to fill the role quickly with the best talent. If you love a spreadsheet, or your diary is your best friend, you'll be great at organising your busy recruiting schedule!
3. Analysis Skills
As a recruiter we use our analysis skills to assess the needs of a business and how we can help them add value. We then work between the business and our internal teams to deliver that value. A background in Business Analysis, or anyone who is an analytical thinker could bring those skills into recruitment.
As well as identifying business needs, analysis skills also come in handy when reviewing candidate profiles and CVs. A recruiter will be great at identifying the strengths, weaknesses and personality of a candidate to find the right role and company for them.
Analytical thinkers and ability to identify areas of adding value is key.
4. Competitive and goal-driven
Having a competitive nature is key to recruitment: someone who loves that feeling of success and achievement, of hitting goals and ticking things off the list. We often find that people from a sporting background thrive in recruitment as they are driven by targets and overcoming obstacles.
If you have a desire to win, or that feeling in your gut that hates giving up, then you are likely a perfect match for recruitment!
5. Flexibility
Working in recruitment is not your typical 9-5 job. You need to be free when your candidates are free, and if they already have jobs, then a lot of the time that's outside of working hours! The ability to be flexible is key to getting deals over the line.
But the flexible aspect of recruitment isn't just about your working hours: it's the ability to make changes at the last minute, to adapt and thrive with changing requirements from your clients, or turn your whole schedule upside down when something becomes the new top priority.
Recruitment isn't your typical 9-5!
6. Sales Skills
Recruitment is ultimately a selling job. You are selling exciting roles to potential candidates, and then selling those candidates to the clients. If you have a background in sales then you'll already have many desirable skills for a recruitment consultant role.
To be a great seller you need great negotiation and communication skills. So even if your background isn't strictly sales, if you've ever haggled down your phone bill, pulled off a successful business pitch, or simply have the confidence to try, then you're on the right track!
7. People and Communication Skills
While customer service skills highlight the mentality of putting the customer first, people skills is more about the way in which you communicate with those customers.
Being a recruiter requires a great deal of empathy: you need to have the patience to really listen and understand both the candidate and the client to get a feel for what business culture will match what personalities. The ability to read body language and be aware of your own body language when face-to-face is also key to presenting yourself well and establishing a relationship with the client or candidate.
Are you great at reading body language?
When messaging potential candidates via email or LinkedIn, your outreach has to be well presented, so excellent written skills are key.
Above most other things, at Bright Purple we care about transparency with our customers. We will always be upfront and honest in order to build a relationship on trust.
8. Creativity
While a lot of recruitment skills can fall on the more analytical side of the spectrum, anyone with creative skills can also be a great match for recruitment.
Writing eye-catching job adverts, being creative and outside-the-box in how you reach out to potential new clients or candidates, having a creative solution to a problem, will all help to make you a well-rounded recruiter.
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Remember, you don't need ALL of these recruiter skills to be successful; if you don't have all these qualities now, they can always be developed with training and experience. As with any job, the longer you do it, the better you become!
What do you think makes a great recruiter? We'd love to hear your thoughts!
We're hiring for recruiters of various levels.
Call us on 0131 473 7030 for more details!
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