Matching employer offers to the candidates in a CV database is not the only task of a recruiter. In career consulting companies, recruitment is a multistage process directed towards the success of both parties. Every consultant values their candidates as much as their clients. What benefits are entailed in the cooperation with a recruiter? Why is it worth making some time for them and discussing career prospects?
Candidates perceive their CV through their own past experiences and subjective self-image. They often lack distance and fail to see the opportunities available to them. A consultant offers a fresh perspective on their resume and is able to unveil some of their unrealised skills.
Their idea of self-development is a promotion within the field they are familiar with. A recruiter encourages them to take a broader look at their career and can point out those skills that may be useful in other businesses. For instance, a corporate client counsellor will make a good finance and new investment specialist.
Consultants also provide support in analysing feedback from previous recruitment processes. With the use of their experience, they are able to identify weak points and tell where some employers’ doubts may come from. The reason for them may be a poorly written CV, illogical explanation of previous career choices, lack of self-presentation skills during an interview, or inability to control stress. It is possible to eliminate such problems and increase candidate’s chances in face-to-face meetings with their potential employer’s representatives.
One of the most visible benefits of cooperating with a recruiter is the economies of scale. Consultants have access to offers from companies of different background and size, which operate in various businesses. They are always up to date, know the market and can predict upcoming recruitment processes.
Some companies that want to lay off their employee, at the same time might need to keep the information from surfacing too early. Listed companies are concerned with rate stability and consider confidentiality paramount in personal changes at key positions. Such processes are dealt with only by career consulting companies and candidates have no means of acquiring information about them through generally available job boards.
A job advertisement published online does not always reflect on the wide spectre of employer expectations. Companies seek candidates combining various competences and skills and they want to hire people who can perform non-standard tasks, which do not match labour market patterns. Such recruitments are entrusted with consultants who have access to a large database of candidates and know their professional profiles as well as aptitude. A proxy in this process is in fact indispensable.
When a recruiter decides that a given candidate matches client expectations, an offer is made. If there is initial acceptance, a consultant’s role is to support the candidate in the preparation for the final interview with the potential employer. Recruiters know their clients well and can identify what is critical to them, while at the same time explaining to the candidate the stages of the recruitment process in detail, as well as suggesting some focal points. The consultant assists in preparing the strategy of presenting the candidate’s fortes and persuading the employer about the merits of this particular application. They are also constantly in touch with the client in order to keep up with any feedback throughout the process. Thanks to that, the candidate may know what impression they have made on the employer. Such feedback coming from the client is a great starting point to analyse the candidate’s strong and weak points.
Consultants build long-lasting relationships with their clients. In establishing them, they get to know the specifics of their business, the field they operate in, and the people the organisation is made of. A thorough knowledge of the organisational culture is a tool which allows for a great increase in the effectiveness of the recruitment processes. From the candidate’s perspective, it largely improves their odds of finding a job, especially the one which not only matches one’s competences, but also the values, personality and temper. Working in a friendly environment is one of the rudiments of job satisfaction levels. The recruiter’s goal is to minimise the risk of making a wrong decision – if a meeting with the candidate reveals some restraints or boundary conditions, they will be borne in mind in the search for a suitable offer. This context is absent when a candidate looks for a job on their own – they do not possess this knowledge of the company they are interested in joining.
Recruiters are an invaluable source of information about the current state of the job market. Not only are they familiar with the present remuneration levels, they are also able to identify key business trends. Recruiters know what the recruitment plans and upcoming structural changes are, and how they can be reflected in new job offers. We strive to be as close to our clients as possible. As a Polish company operating in Poland, we know the local market through and through. These are the assets that can be translated into undisputed candidate benefits. Working with us costs nothing, but the benefits are immeasurable.
