The best relationship advice ever……when you’re looking for a job!.

Good recruiters genuinely have your best interests at heart and will work hard to find you the most suitable opportunities to enhance your career. However like any good relationship it's a two way street, so both of you should be committed to making things work.

Here are our top tips for building a great relationship with your recruitment consultant:

1.Be Faithful 

To get the most out of your relationship, we recommend you focus on working with consultants who recruit in your specific field, ones with well-developed industry networks who will understand your skill set and your career aspirations.

2. Commit

Consultants need to know you are serious about a career move before they’re able to commit time and resource to supporting your job search. Let them know up front if you just want to find out about the current jobs market – they’ll understand that it never hurts to start nurturing these relationships early on! 

3. Communicate

A good level of communication really is the only way to ensure ongoing commitment from both sides. 

• Be clear upfront about what you want and also what you don’t. Consultants need the full story so they can match you with the most suitable companies and opportunities.
• Additionally, if personal circumstances or the focus of any aspect of your job search changes, then let your consultant know. If it looks like an interview or even a job offer could be on the cards which they have not supported you in, then it’s only fair to keep everyone in the loop.
• Be honest about your skills and experience, especially if you’re looking to make a move into a new area where there may be some gaps! Honesty ensures your consultant understands your transferable skills and can guide you in the best ways of bridging these, or even advise if it’s a gap too far.

4. Make time

If you really want to secure that next career step, make yourself available for regular catch-ups. Consultants will be happy to arrange something around you but ensure you allow sufficient time regularly to speak freely and keep them right up to date on your job search.

5. Listen

If your consultant offers advice on salary expectations, CV improvements or how best to impress at interview with a specific company then listen as it will be well worth taking on board. Ultimately they know your market, the interviewer and the organisation and want you to get the most suitable job for you, so listening to their advice really will give you the best chance of success.

6. Be flexible

It’s a good idea to be open to some flexibility as this gives your recruiter the opportunity to offer you a wider choice of roles and companies, perhaps ones you may not have considered before. 

Finally, look to the future!

If the relationship works well, why not commit to it for the long term? The longer you know each other, the better the relationship! So when it comes to suitable opportunities in the future, your consultant should be able to help you even more effectively, which means everybody wins!