to ask about the recruitment industry?

[BulliedNoMore]

I work for social services currently and I am bored of it. Looking for a change. Have lots of transferable skills. Always been interested in working for a rectuitment agency since I was a temp myself years ago. A lot of the ads for recruitment companies on Indeed etc. have ludicrous salary ranges; starting very low then going to £80k or "uncapped". I understand that it's largely commission-based but how likely is it to get to these very high salaries? Also they say perks of the job include (for example) work trips to Vegas / Ibiza / Dubai etc. I guess if something seems to good to be true then it probably is.... But I would love to know your experiences... Is it a horrible dog eat dog world? Do you really get these high salaries? I am in a position now where I can't earn more than ~35k unless I move into management which I don't want to do as am a single parent (shared care but I have DC majority of the time. Also if recruitment really doesn't work with having smallish kids please be brutal and tell me...). Many thanks!!!

I think it can be fairly brutal and you have to be a self starter - no one will really give you
Something to get on with, you have to be able to win work yourself.

If you’re not able to do a management role because of time commitments, it might not be the right career, the big money comes with long hours (most people can’t speak to recruiters when they are at work, so you’re looking at early mornings / late nights)

I think you need to consider it a sales role. A lot of recruitment firms require you to do your own business development and win your own clients to then recruit to. I found that the job was 80% trying to “win” contracts and roles to hire and about 20% actually doing the recruiting. This is why there are high salaries and big incentives offered.

My base salary was around £20k and I got about £500 commission over 6 months, though this was 5 years ago. I very quickly realised that I didn’t like the sales element and left. Some people at the firm I worked in were fab at the business development, won big long term contracts and were clearly earning plenty of commission and getting promoted very quickly. The requirements for entry were also fairly relaxed. If you think you could do well at the sales element, there are definite benefits but if you find you’re poor at that part, you might struggle.

It’s a very sales based job, hence the OTE. If you’re good at sales and good at filling the roles you can earn the big bucks. The trips you mention are probably perks for hitting targets. I work for a boutique recruitment firm run by someone who used to work for one of the big companies and it’s a brilliant job, I love it, but I steer clear of sales. That isn’t an option in most recruitment firms.

Thank you - that's a really valid point re the long hours which I didn't think of I do some long days at the moment but that is more because we are allowed flexi-time. The management side is more that I don't want that much responsibility; the buck to stop with me etc because we are working with very vulnerable children and families. I do my level best to support them but I can always ask my manager if I need help.

It's a work hard play hard culture. You'll be expected to work 8-6 as a minimum, and be available on Friday nights for drinks etc.
From your user name, if you are being bullied at work, you'd probably HATE recruitment. It's dog eat dog, and you can be sacked or managed out on a whim.
Most successful recruitment consultants are arseholes in my experience.

One of my closest friends does it.
Commission based work is often quite brutal, and there are things out of your control (ie the performance of colleagues) that can mean you only get paid your basic.
There are people she works with making £70/80k+ but they all pull mad hours including logging on at weekends/late evenings most days

Yep and it’s very sales-y. Very pushy, very target driven.

I spent 10+ years in recruitment, it can be brutal in all honesty, I regret spending so much time doing it.

You will be expected to come in early, leave late and work through your lunch, this is just how it is. You will also be expected to take calls on your days off and in the evenings. If your child is sick and you need to take a day off it will be frowned upon. You need to have a thick skin and to be able to stick up for yourself.

The money can be excellent but you have to work your arse off for the figures you mention. It's very target driven and you will be expected to hit your target.

All agencies say they are 'family friendly' or 'flexible' but the reality is very different.

If I had my time again I wouldn't do it.

You need to be highly motivated, able to take knocks and set backs, keep going when things get worse and worse and worse. You need to be eternally positive and trying to change things for the better.
If all this sounds exhausting then it is probably not for you.....
however the rewards are good and you can earn the sort of money they talk about (lots don't though).

There are many amazing trips and lunches and gift etc as these are incentives for performance so you have to achieve to get these.

It's a job that you don't need any particular qualification to do and it is fundamentally an easy job, repetitive, dull and relentless but it can also be great fun, addictive and highly rewarding.

Make sure you recruit in the right sector though and with a young family be very careful about what type of recruitment company you join as some are extremely sales focussed and will not be interested in your childcare / family issues etc etc....

I think its a young persons games however I am nearly 50 and a 'career recruiter' having been doing this for more than 25 yrs......

I agree with the above, most people I know who have worked in this sector are pretty thick skinned, hard working, very long hours, pushy and excellent salespeople. Often coming from other sales roles. It certainly would be a total career change from social care.

I have been in Sales for many years and in have always avoided Recruitment as it’s too hard core for me.
It’s very target driven ad the turn over can be high - you perform you stay, you don’t you leave.
I dint think it’s especially family friendly either

OH works in recruitment (but support rather than sales) there is the constant stress in sales of having to meet targets and the targets go up and up the minute you hit one. It definitely takes a while (years) to be earning good money, getting on the trips etc and tends to be the same people every year, people who have built themselves up and are very good at what they do. It's definitely not an easy option and not something my OH would ever consider. The sales side seems very male dominated, pushy and aggressive to me - assholes often - that make a lot of money, drink a lot and think they are important. There is the opportunity to make an awful lot of money though if you are very good at it.

I worked for a “nice” recruitment company a few years ago & the whole ethos was to not be like the dog eat dog, sell me this pen type companies that you hear.

I think the secret is to go into an existing warm desk, rather than have to build your own client base.

I really enjoyed it. Probably worked 40-45 hour weeks, earned 35k salary and averaged about 25-30k commission each year. I did it for about 3 years and then moved into what I do now, which isn’t sales-based.

Hated it. People would get fired every single day with no warning. I made good money my first-year thanks to commission - the basic salary was 18k, I made around 33k in my first year. I left to become an unpaid intern! A handful of people made significant money, but it depends on what area you are working in. You can get lucky with an amazing niche, but they are usually reserved to longstanding employees. Not friendly for people with kids/childcare, tough sales environment, the salaries advertised online are a load of shit.

Should have namechanged before posting - I am not being bullied at work DC is at school

Hate idea of being frowned upon if child is off sick... like the idea of drinks after work as my work never goes out, ever (even at Christmas!)

Forgive my ignorance but what does the "sales role" mean? When I was temping (20 + years ago) you would go to the "temp agency" and they'd take your details and match you to a job. I thought that seemed really nice Is the sales part getting the contract with the NHS (or whoever) in the first place? Do you have to do a lot of cold calling.

Thank you so much for the responses.

There's a huge range of opportunities depending on the sector. The high volume, hard partying high-street culture is still around in some companies where everything is KPI sales driven and burn-out is high.

But you have a current background in Social Care and the Health and Social Care sector might be an option. Compared to areas like IT, Scientific, Trade and Labour, it's much more female dominated and flexible around family life. It's also highly regulated so much more quality driven- sales targets still exit but are much less cold calling and there are more opportunities to service existing accounts- such as the NHS or big care home groups for example.

The downside is that whilst basics are usually ok- commission structures are a lot less generous except for Perm desks. Also if you are working for example a Home Care recruiter- you might need to share an on call.

Good luck

When I worked in recruitment I didn’t see a lot of people working there with kids, one of the reasons I left was that it was not family friendly and I wanted to start a family. Working hours 8-6, you were expected to meet 5 clients and 5 candidates a week I think, as well as making 20+ calls a day. All very target driven, everything you do is recorded. You would be expected to call new clients to try and get them to work with you, call existing clients to check for any vacancies, sell one of your candidates to start with them. A temp desk is very fast paced, if a client calls with a vacancy you were expected to tell them all about your candidates and get them to agree for one to start then and there. If you go on holiday this has an impact on your earnings for the month. The base was around 22k and some months you could earn and extra 1k, the higher ups would obviously earn more. It’s very cut throat, people leaving suddenly, other agencies trying to take your roles, even other consultants at the same company claiming part of your fees.

It's super-target driven. I lasted a year and hated every minute.

Essentially working on a perm desk, I would only interview shit-hot candidates that either fitted a role I already had sourced or that I thought would be sellable. I would then ring round all the companies I had in my books whom I thought might like to hire this person. Now, the chances of me finding an exact role for the exact person on my books was slim, in reality what I was really doing was trying to drum up more vacancies, which the client would give to me because I'd just demonstrated that I had a really good 'fix' on the kind of people they liked. It was back breaking.

I did have a UK-wide contract with a particular firm who liked young people for sales roles and made a lot of money off them - essentially cherry picking the wide-eyed grads and funnelling them into that role whether they'd like it or not.

I'd like to hope that with today's focus on diversity this kind of recruiting is frowned upon, but I doubt it. The reality of recruitment (for me) was selling square pegs into round holes.

Yes, the sales aspects is trying to win new clients/companies. Once you've won the business it's a case of matching the best candidates and arranging interviews but you will be up against other agencies as very few companies will work with just one agency. Candidates can be very flaky and will let you down frequently.

People often mistakenly think that recruitment is about helping people, sadly this isn't true. It's all about sales, targets and how much someone is worth to you.

Agree with PP, the industry has a very high turnover and you will be let go of you don't hit your targets.

If you like the idea of the industry maybe get a job in an agency in a support role to start with so you can observe. The money won't be as good at all but you can suss it out. Alternatively try looking for an internal account manager role. These roles are still recruiting but you are based in a company purely resourcing to fill their vacancies.

The 'sales' part is securing new business with clients, which is hard, and then harassing people daily to try and get them to interview for jobs they don't really want. You will be monitored on how many calls you make a day, how long they last, how many emails you send, how many CVs you sent, if you've secured new business, have you got any interviews? If not, good luck! Most people I worked with were fired within 3 months.

The majority of the job is cold-calling all day long to people who will tell you to fuck off

You sound very naive about this kinda role. It's brutal and not for you if you haven't done sales. How about looking for other social services roles you will have a ton of transferable skills.

Sorry OP but you just don't 'sound' the type..,

Read what pp have said.

People often mistakenly think that recruitment is about helping people, sadly this isn't true. It's all about sales, targets and how much someone is worth to you - this was kind of what I was worried about... As I said it was always kind of a pipe dream of mine but definitely from a 'helping people' perspective not a sale perspective

@caketiger

You sound very naive about this kinda role. It's brutal and not for you if you haven't done sales. How about looking for other social services roles you will have a ton of transferable skills.

Fair enough! I wanted to make more money but maybe this isn't the right move for me 😕