1
Recruitment agencies connect candidates with relevant job opportunities
2
We help candidates improve their job prospects & negotiate better salaries
3
Being open, polite & well-prepared increases your chances of success
One of the things to expect from a recruitment agency is that they can help you climb the career ladder faster

Recruitment is an industry that outsiders have very little understanding of and, therefore, minimal trust. There are many false myths around recruitment, so we wrote this article just those who aren’t certain about the benefits of working with recruitment consultants, what to expect from a recruitment agency, and how having the support of a reliable recruitment agency can help your career.

What Do Recruitment Agencies Do?

Recruitment agencies act as middlemen between companies with vacancies to fill and job seekers looking for new jobs. The next question people usually ask at this point is, “Why does there need to be a middle man? Why can’t companies just fill their jobs with candidates who have applied to them directly?” And that is an excellent question!

Female recruiter being the middleman introducing a quality candidate to an employer
Recruiters act as a middleman or woman between candidates and their prospective employers.

The answer simply comes down to time and money. Most companies don’t have massive advertising budgets to help them fill their vacancies but need them filling urgently.

From publishing a job advert to finding a suitable candidate can take a business several months, sometimes even years. The less well known the employer, the longer it can take.

For example, if Google published a job advert for a Software Engineer, it’s likely applicants would flood their inbox to bursting within an hour. If Stan’s Spectacular Software Company issued the same job advert, it’s unlikely they would receive the same kind of response. For Stan to compete with the likes of Google, he would need to spend a fortune on advertising.

For as long as Stan’s vacancy remains unfilled, he might lose vast sums of money in lost revenue. What’s more, he may miss project deadlines, which can negatively impact his reputation with clients and lenders.

Recruitment agencies have access to vast databases of candidates, not to mention those active on LinkedIn. This gives them access to a far greater number of suitable matches than Stan could ever have. Therefore, by placing his job advert with a recruitment agency that provides a full 360° recruitment service, Stan can reduce his time to hire substantially.

What Can They Do For Candidates?

Before you speak to them, it helps to understand what to expect from a recruitment agency including what they can and can’t do for you. They can match you with jobs that will fulfil your ambitions and satisfy your financial and work-life balance needs. But only if they have the positions available that will allow them to do so. What they won’t do is go out and find you a job that’s not currently on their books.

It probably helps at this point to understand how recruiters make money. They are paid by their client – aka your potential new employer. Meanwhile, you benefit from their services absolutely free! However, even though you don’t pay them a penny for their services, what you can get from them can be invaluable.

One of the things  to expect from a recruitment agency is that they can help you climb the career ladder faster
Candidates who apply for jobs through recruitment agencies usually climb the career ladder faster than those who go it alone.

Accelerate Your Job Search

For a start, they get to work matching you to the best available jobs they have. Quality recruiters aren’t just about getting bums in seats. It makes sense for them to pair their candidates with job roles that will fulfil their ambitions and provide career longevity. Why should they care? Because the recruitment industry thrives on reputation and the agencies with the happiest candidates are the ones that achieve the greatest success.

They Can Get You a Substantial Payrise

Many job seekers don’t fully appreciate what their skills and experience are worth. So if they were applying for jobs directly, they might be happy with a 5% increase on their previous salary. Upon speaking to a recruitment consultant, they might realise that they’re selling themselves short and actually, their next job could result in a 20% – 30% pay increase.

They Can Improve Your Chances of Getting Hired

Recruiters won’t help you lie to get a job, nor will they tell you what to say in a job interview. However, they will help you prepare as well as possible for any interviews they put you forward for. That might include anything from giving you background information on the company to providing a practice interview before your face to face meeting with their client.

A Few Common FAQs About Working With Recruitment Consultants

While some candidates have absolutely no idea what to expect from a recruitment agency, others have overinflated ideas about what they can and can’t do. Below are the answers to some popular recruitment FAQs that candidates are sometimes too scared to ask.

How to Approach a recruiter on LinkedIn For a Job

Recruiters spend their lives trawling LinkedIn looking for suitable candidates, and this is where they post details of their latest offerings. However, it is uncommon for candidates to contact a recruiter first. So if you do see them posting about a job you like the look of, don’t hesitate to get in touch. Here’s an insider secret – they love it when you do this!

Hover over a recruiter’s name on any of their posts, and a button will appear. The quickest way to contact them is to click this button.

Screenshot showing how to find a recruiters contact details on LinkedIn
Hover over a recruiter’s name on any of their posts, and a button will appear saying “Message”. The quickest way to contact anyone on LinkedIn is to click this button.

How to Answer an Email From a Recruiter

One word answer – POLITELY! So the job they’re contacting you about now may not be the best match for your skills. Or maybe you have the best job in the world, and you’re not looking for a new one at present? Either way, manners cost nothing, and while you may not need them now, you never know when you might find yourself out of a job. It’s easier to decline politely now than to have to go grovelling and beg them to help you in future.

Why Do Recruiters Ask Such Awkward Questions?

Before putting your CV forward for a vacancy, they will need to get to know you and your work history. As they speak to many candidates in one day, their time is quite precious, so they need to get to the point. Therefore, their questioning can sometimes seem very direct and maybe even a little intimidating. While they don’t mean to be, they just need to get the information they need from you to present you in the best possible light to their clients.

During your initial conversation with a recruitment consultant, they will ask personal questions about your skills, salary, ambitions and any other jobs you’ve applied for. Candidates often don’t feel comfortable giving out this kind of information. However, the more detail you give will improve your chances of getting your ideal job.

Can You Register With More Than One Recruitment Agency?

The short answer is yes. You are free to register with as many recruitment agencies as you like. However, it’s vital to bear in mind that there are pros and cons to this. In fact, it can have such an impact on your job search that we wrote an article dedicated to this one topic. You can find it here if you’re interested: The Pros and Cons of Using Multiple Recruitment Agencies.

A Few Final Thoughts on What to Expect From a Recruitment Agency

Recruitment agencies can vary wildly in quality. The above is a guide of what you should get from a quality consultant. Therefore, it pays to do your research and make sure you register with the best in your niche. Understanding what to expect from a recruitment agency before you engage them will help you get the most out of the working relationship.

However, the most well known are not necessarily the ‘best’; that will depend on the role you’re looking for. Google rankings are always a good indicator of quality. So a quick search for ‘x jobs’ ‘y city’ or ‘x recruitment’ ‘y city’ will likely give you a good idea of which agencies you should be speaking to.

If you found this article useful, please share it on social media where others can learn from its wisdom.

Adria Solutions

Adria Solutions

Adria Solutions is one of the UK’s leading IT, Digital and Marketing recruitment consultancy with a friendly, forward-thinking approach | Celebrating 20 years of success in 2024 | Featured on UK Recruiter, Tech Target, Computer World LinkedIn News UK, Tech Round, Recruiter and more industry publications.

Find the right fit for you

We provide friendly, forward-thinking, 360° recruitment solutions. With two decades of experience in the tech sector, we focus on happy hiring.

Get the latest news, talent insights and trends

  • Sales vs Marketing employees doing their jobs in very different ways

    Sales vs Marketing Jobs – What’s the Difference?

    The Role of Marketing The Marketing Team’s job is to raise awareness of a brand by communicating to consumers how a product satisfies their needs. In doing so, they convert…
  • telephone interview

    Useful Advice For Telephone Job Interviews

    Many employers use the telephone to conduct initial job interviews, as it’s a quick and cost effective way to screen candidates and narrow down the number of applicants who’ll be…
  • PHP developers starting their day with a coffee

    A Day In The Life of A PHP Developer

    Despite being around for almost three decades, PHP is still one of the most popular server-side development languages in the UK and throughout the world. According to W3Techs, PHP powers…

Send us an enquiry

About you

What are you?(Required)