A Grad’s Guide To The Recruitment Industry

Upon finishing uni, I would agree with anyone that said I had a lot to learn.

I was a fresh grad, completely new to the professional working world – and I found myself in a Talent Finder role with Consult!

It has been a steep learning curve – that’s for sure! But the decision to work in recruitment so early on in my career has provided me with so much value. I have been exposed to a wide network of people and businesses that I wouldn’t usually come across, and have learned how interconnected everything in the market is.

HERE ARE SOME THINGS I HAVE LEARNT ABOUT BUSINESS IN MY TRANSITION FROM UNIVERSITY GRADUATE TO TALENT FINDER:

THE AUCKLAND MARKET

You get to know businesses inside and out! I didn’t realise how much I knew about the current market until I was speaking with a friend recently. They said they were working at ‘ABC Company’ and I happened to know what a great company it was to work for, whereas a few years ago I probably wouldn’t have heard of it! Working in the recruitment industry, you get to know businesses’ culture pretty well because you’re chatting to employees so often.

YOUR NETWORK IS YOUR BIGGEST ASSET

Expanding your network to build your personal brand is so important. We always hear of candidates getting new roles through friends or old colleagues. One of the biggest pieces of advice I give professionally (and to friends) is to focus on building your personal brand – trust me, you’ll thank yourself for it later!

SOFT SKILLS VS. TECHNICAL SKILLS?

They are just as important as each other! I have learnt from interviewing candidates almost every day just how important being personable and having good communication skills is, as well having the key technical skills for a role.

BACK TO BASICS FOR YOUR JOB SEARCH

Having a straightforward and simple CV is key. So is building rapport in interviews and being able to effectively communicate your skills, strengths and weaknesses. There doesn’t need to be any fancy tricks to finding the perfect job – just start with these simple things!

INTERVIEWS MATTER, BIG TIME!

One of the best pieces of advice I can give is that a great CV will get you an interview, but that’s where the hard work begins. Prepare some great questions to ask at your interview. The interview is the make-or-break to you getting that dream job offer, the CV is just your ticket in.

LINKEDIN IS A THING (YUP, YOU BETTER GET USED TO IT!) AND YOU SHOULD HAVE ONE.

A lot of people may still struggle to see the value in social media for your career. I have well and truly learnt the benefits of it over the last year! It’s great for expanding your network and building your personal brand, but also to make sure you are keeping your eye out for interesting opportunities. Sometimes, these opportunities might even find you if you’re on LinkedIn. How good would that be? A new job coming straight to you without even looking!

CULTURE IS KING

There are a lot of different things that people look for in their job search, but the number one thing I hear people looking for is good people to work with. From my own personal experience, I can say that it really is all about who you work with that separates the good from the not-so-good workplaces. There are of course other important things like what the role entails and salary, but a good culture seems to be the number one attraction for top candidates.

The biggest thing I have learnt is that whether you work in the recruitment industry or not, you should be continually learning and developing skills (even if you aren’t a student anymore!). Think to yourself every day, “What learning opportunity do I have today?” It could be to develop yourself personally or professionally; or it could be developing your network, your soft skills or your technical skills.

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