Can anyone give me an insight to recruitment consultancy culture?

[CobOnTheCorn]

I'm interested in a job (HR role) within a recruitment consultancy and I wondered if anyone could tell me what it's like on the inside. What is the culture like and what type of people does this sector tend to attract? Of course I already have some preconceptions but I could be completely wrong so can you tell me how it really is?

Depends on your morals really. In HR at a recruitment agency you will spend a lot of time advising on how to put consultants on work plans for not performing, then dealing with complaints from said consultants.

I know this as I was a manager for one of the biggest for 5 years. It is extremely cut throat, especially in the current economic climate, and HR are left to pick up the pieces and make pay outs.

Thanks Scarlett, that's really helpful. I struggle to find a company with values similar to my own but needs must. I'm feeling cautious and I think I should listen to that...

It obviously depends on the agency, but anywhere as target driven is likely to be like this. Also, most recruiters I worked with are hot headed, which led to lots of arguments etc, so therefore more hassle for HR.

however, the agency I worked for, an american finance and accounting agency, did treat their top performers very well, and had some decent employee benefits.