How to Become a Recruitment Consultant with No Experience

A recruiter's main role is to identify and attract suitable candidates to fill open positions within a company. They are integral in the hiring process as they work with hiring managers and teams to understand a position and find potential candidates.

A recruitment agency, alternatively known as a staffing or employment agency is one of the fastest rising, most lucrative businesses of this century. You do not need a soothsayer or statistician to tell you that all over the world the ratio of graduates churned out by universities yearly to the available jobs is a landslide. Good business acumen tells one to take advantage of this phenomenon as a source of income. All over the world recruitment agencies are cropping up with the intent of connecting qualified graduates to hiring companies at a fee.

Several big companies are interested in hiring the services of recruitment agencies as it helps them reduce the cost of running a human resource department. The agency is thus saddled with the responsibility of making the connection to the eligible candidates, conduct screening exercises, interviews, handle new staff documentation before finally handing over the new hiring company. Trust me these companies pay quite a large sum to make this happen, meaning good profit for the agency. I am sure you are beginning to nurse an interest in this field already

To become a star recruiter, you’ll need to overcome a lack of experience, build credibility from scratch, and learn how to pick suitable candidates out of the crowd.

In the past, people who wanted to get into recruitment usually completed a human resources degree and obtained various professional certifications. However, this isn’t necessarily the only way into the industry. It’s even possible to land a position without a college degree–although a bachelor’s degree in any field is certainly advantageous.

In Nigeria, professional recruitment agency fees range from 22-27% of the first-year annual base salary of a recruited employee. Recruitment agencies also require an upfront retainer and payment in advance installments of the agency fee based on milestones such as start of recruitment, presentation of candidates, and scheduling interviews with a candidate shortlist.

 How to get into recruitment

The truth is that very few recruiters actually plan to get into recruitment. It usually just happens and if  you ask most recruiters their story, it will include starting out in another career altogether and then transitioning into becoming a recruiter. You’ll come across engineers, software developers and marketers (to name a few) who have made their way into the world of recruitment.

To my corporate recruiter friends who believe only agency recruiters need to know how to sell, I will respectfully tell you you’re wrong disagree. Whether you’re in agency or in-house, knowing how to sell is the number one skill you need to have to do well in recruitment. If you really strip recruitment down, it is essentially a sales role – you are selling opportunities using a company’s employer brand to people and selling your candidates’ skills/experience to companies. You are matchmaking through sales.

The most important skill of a modern recruiter: So we know that sales expertise is an essential skill to have, but today’s recruiter needs much more to be successful. The common misconception is that recruiters post jobs, wait for candidates to apply, interview them and close the deal.

Build your talent pool: One surefire way to save time during the recruiting process is to always have options ready to go. Instead of taking the reactive approach to recruiting (and getting stuck in a constant state of catch-up), save yourself the headache (and time), and be proactive. Start your search way before the job order comes in, and build a talent pool to stay ahead of client needs.

Having an internal database of candidates within your niche ensures that quality talent is readily available when it’s time to fill a new position.

Decide on what niche you want to focus on. There are several industries that make up the economy such banking and finance, agriculture, foods and beverages, telecommunication, etc. You must understand that you cannot delve into all these industries when you want to start up your agency. It is expedient to decide which you want to focus on and create a niche for yourself there. This is very important to note because each industry has its own peculiar staffing needs and till you grow to become a mega agency, it will be wise to stick with one so you can create a good reputation for yourself grow fast enough.

Gain experience. If you have not worked in the recruitment sector before, it is advisable that you seek some experience before starting up yours. Searching for suitable candidates to fill positions and the rest of the recruitment process can be really tasking and someone without prior experience is likely to create a major blunder if proper care is not taken. You can gain experience by applying for internship with an already established recruitment agency and work there for a while.

Run an encompassing feasibility study. This will cover everything you need to have as a recruitment agency. You do not want to start up your agency and then crash before you even hit the scenes. Starting a recruitment agency requires quite an amount of capital, you will need to get an office, properly equip it, employ staff, register your business, publicize your business and several other things. Make proper findings and make a list, this will enable you plan properly.

Go digital. In this era of technological advancement it is important that you catch up with the age, get a website. Doing this firstly shows how serious you are as an agency, then it helps you reach out to a wider market as people from all over can see what you do, as long as they have access to the internet. You can post job vacancies on your website, collect jobseekers data, sort out resumes, conduct trainings, tests and interviews via your website. Technology has made life easy, enjoy its benefits.

Recruit staff for your agency. There is so much work to be done in a recruiting firm, honestly, you cannot do it all by yourself. Consider how many people you need to employ, seek out people who are experienced in the field of recruiting or who are ready and able to learn fast and employ them to fill your predetermined positions. This will help you focus more on building the business while they assist you with carrying out other simpler tasks.

Prepare a list of all your requirements, create draft job descriptions for the positions that you want filled, and create a good recruitment project brief. This helps you talk to a recruiter in a precise manner, mentioning key objectives and outcomes of the recruitment project.

 Focus on client and candidate satisfaction: Prioritize building strong relationships with both clients and candidates. Solicit feedback, address concerns promptly, and continuously improve your services.

Stay up-to-date with industry trends: Regularly research and adapt to changes in the job market, employment laws, and best practices in the recruitment industry.

Starting a recruitment agency without prior experience can be challenging, but by carefully planning, building your expertise, and delivering exceptional service, you can establish a successful and sustainable business. 

How to become a recruitment consultant,  it serves as a comprehensive guide to help you get started. We’ve taken a closer look at what a recruiter does and what skills are required while outlining a clear, step-by-step process to teach you how to get into recruiting.

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