Any recruitment consultants out there? Fill me full of hope!!!

[Dottydot]

ooh - I'm horribly excited - have had an e-mail from a recruitment consultant about a job I sent my CV off to a couple of weeks ago. It's a fairly big cheese job and the e-mail says:

"I confirm that i am interested in your application.

I attach my Assignment Brief for your perusal.

When you are ready, please ring me on xxxxx to discuss the way forward"

What do you think? The assignment brief is really just a bit of background info and the job desription.

So will he give me a mini interview on the phone (and do I therefore need to sound sane/knowledgeable/not giddy?), and how many people do they normally contact? Thought I'd phone him tomorrow lunchtime - got the e-mail when I got home this tea time.

Need to c.a.l.m. down.....!

Awww - there must be some out there - tell me if you're all very scary or great big softies underneath???

Thanks - I'm glad I got 1 response! I phoned him yesterday and we had a chat and I've got an 'interview' with him next week..!!!

It's a bit strange 'cos it's at a hotel, and I'm used to being interview in 'proper' places by a panel and doing a presentation and all that.

He's told me he's seeing 12 people over the next couple of weeks and then he'll recommend 3 to go to the organisation for a final interview.

GULP. Dilemmas include:

How will I know who he is when I walk in to the hotel?

Do I order a coffee if he is?

If I have a drink WHO PAYS????!

Any help much appreciated!

When you get there loook around. If there are several possible candidates ring his mobile. He is tha one whose ophone starts ringing.

Order a water or a coffee or whatever...

He has invited you so he pays.

Good luck!

That's a brilliant idea re: phoning him - I never would have thought of that (which is possibly why I won't get the job... ).

Thanks!!!

As a pimp, I would say that he wouldn't have asked you to call if unless he thought there was a decent chance of placing you and getting his fee, certainly a meeting means this still more.
Paying for coffee is an interesting bit of gamesmanship. He can claim it on expenses, but it looks better if you offer (but not too pushy).

We are so often that the Royal Exchange that we refer to it internally as "head office", so the thing about it being a hotel is actually a good sign. The more senior the job, the less likely your HH will set up a meeting at his office.

An important issue here is to understand his game. He can only put forward a small number of people, and is judged by the quality of the people he puts forward. You need to help him sell you. He doesn't work for you, but you need to get him to work with you.

Forgive but I don't know how experienced you are in the job market, but my firm does a guide to people getting their first job in banking.
Most is probably not that useful, but we have tips on interviewing that may be of value.

I'm Dominic at PaulDominic dot com.

ooh that's fantastic - I'll e-mail you if that's OK. I'm not in the least experienced in this type of recruitment. I've worked in the NHS for 13 years where you fill in a good old fashioned application form, get seen by a few people (usually including a doctor who's asleep), do a 10 minute presentation on whatever and then either get the job or don't.

The job I've applied for has links with the NHS but is outside of it. It's the first job I've ever applied for that has been CV only, and then this bizarre recruitment consultant, hotel stage!

Thanks Dominic - will e-mail you over the weekend!

I'm on holiday from Monday, so the weekend is fine.