I think that as a recruiter, you need to be lots of things. Whilst what we do isn't rocket science, there are certain skills that will differentiate the good from the bad and the great from the good. For me, one of the key skills here is the ability to be objective. So much of recruitment is subjective....that the ability to step back and look at things with clarity and without influence of outside influences can be very helpful in aiding decision making.
I work with many advertising, digital and marketing agencies across the North. Over the years, I've seen many changes in different agencies. Changes in ownership, structure, clients and often in the services that they provide too - agencies evolve over time. People change too and this can often alter the fabric of an agency and it's a key factor in the 'reputation' of an agency or business. Candidates, when they are seeking a new opportunity will have a number of criteria that they are looking for a new role to meet. In our industry, this is often about creative output, the mix of clients, the hours of work, career progression, the salary and of course people and management. Candidates will usually do some form of 'due diligence' prior to allowing a recruiter to send their CV to a prospective employer. Due diligence might be checking out the website or it might be asking your friends and colleagues who also work in the industry. Increasingly it might also include looking for reviews on Glass door. So reputation is important. Even for a truly great agency, if a candidate has heard anything negative at all, they are quite likely to sit tight.
In our current Economic and Political climate I'm finding that candidates are quite cautious in making a move. That is, they are only moving role if they are absolutely sure it's the right opportunity. I've had several situations recently where candidates have commented that they'd spoken to people and that had led to them withdrawing from opportunities where previously they were perfectly content. I certainly don't object if someone withdraws from a recruitment process generally - they do so for all sorts of reasons! However, if it is because they've heard something on the industry grapevine, then I'll ask them to take a step back and review that 'feedback' objectively.
Over the years, most agencies that I've worked with have had 'reputations' and what I've learned is that reputations last for a long time and as is often the case, the more conversations about a subject, the likelihood is that the facts can be distorted - particularly if it's recounted as a friend of a friend worked for agency x or similar. I should add that reputations can be positive too! But recently I've had to caution a few candidates where I've thought that they've had feedback that hasn't really been objective. Often, an individual will not enjoy a workplace due to a personality difference or it just might not be the right 'fit' for them. But that doesn't necessarily mean it won't be a fit for someone else. I'm often reminded of this because I am speaking to a lot of individuals who work for agencies across the North and I hear different things from different people.
It's hugely important here to have an objective recruiter who can honestly tell you how it is. For every agency that a candidate has told me something negative about, there are an equal and opposite number of people who'll tell me something positive. Some people stay at agencies for years whereas others may not be able to hold out for 6 months. I suppose what I'm trying to say is Horses for Courses... By all means chat to friends and colleagues but do keep an open mind, stay pragmatic and actually, go along and have a chat with the agency so that you can find out if it might be right for you. Most agency bosses are happy to answer direct questions about the work environment. They don't want to spend money on hiring someone who only lasts a short time....that first chat is the opportunity for both parties to explore if they might be right for each other. Don't discount an opportunity purely on hearsay and by all means, call me anytime for an objective lowdown on any agency across the North!
I work with many advertising, digital and marketing agencies across the North. Over the years, I've seen many changes in different agencies. Changes in ownership, structure, clients and often in the services that they provide too - agencies evolve over time. People change too and this can often alter the fabric of an agency and it's a key factor in the 'reputation' of an agency or business. Candidates, when they are seeking a new opportunity will have a number of criteria that they are looking for a new role to meet. In our industry, this is often about creative output, the mix of clients, the hours of work, career progression, the salary and of course people and management. Candidates will usually do some form of 'due diligence' prior to allowing a recruiter to send their CV to a prospective employer. Due diligence might be checking out the website or it might be asking your friends and colleagues who also work in the industry. Increasingly it might also include looking for reviews on Glass door. So reputation is important. Even for a truly great agency, if a candidate has heard anything negative at all, they are quite likely to sit tight.
In our current Economic and Political climate I'm finding that candidates are quite cautious in making a move. That is, they are only moving role if they are absolutely sure it's the right opportunity. I've had several situations recently where candidates have commented that they'd spoken to people and that had led to them withdrawing from opportunities where previously they were perfectly content. I certainly don't object if someone withdraws from a recruitment process generally - they do so for all sorts of reasons! However, if it is because they've heard something on the industry grapevine, then I'll ask them to take a step back and review that 'feedback' objectively.
Over the years, most agencies that I've worked with have had 'reputations' and what I've learned is that reputations last for a long time and as is often the case, the more conversations about a subject, the likelihood is that the facts can be distorted - particularly if it's recounted as a friend of a friend worked for agency x or similar. I should add that reputations can be positive too! But recently I've had to caution a few candidates where I've thought that they've had feedback that hasn't really been objective. Often, an individual will not enjoy a workplace due to a personality difference or it just might not be the right 'fit' for them. But that doesn't necessarily mean it won't be a fit for someone else. I'm often reminded of this because I am speaking to a lot of individuals who work for agencies across the North and I hear different things from different people.
It's hugely important here to have an objective recruiter who can honestly tell you how it is. For every agency that a candidate has told me something negative about, there are an equal and opposite number of people who'll tell me something positive. Some people stay at agencies for years whereas others may not be able to hold out for 6 months. I suppose what I'm trying to say is Horses for Courses... By all means chat to friends and colleagues but do keep an open mind, stay pragmatic and actually, go along and have a chat with the agency so that you can find out if it might be right for you. Most agency bosses are happy to answer direct questions about the work environment. They don't want to spend money on hiring someone who only lasts a short time....that first chat is the opportunity for both parties to explore if they might be right for each other. Don't discount an opportunity purely on hearsay and by all means, call me anytime for an objective lowdown on any agency across the North!