Start Your Career in Recruitment
You might know you want a fast-paced career. You might want strong progression, the chance to earn commission or a role where your performance is recognised.
You just might not know exactly what job gives you that.
A career in recruitment could.
St Paul’s Talent Solutions helps graduates understand what a career in recruitment actually involves and connects them with recruitment businesses looking for ambitious entry-level talent.
You don't need a recruitment degree. You don't need previous recruitment experience. You need the right skills, attitude and willingness to learn.
Why Recruitment After University?
Your first job does not have to be directly related to your degree.
For many graduates, the priority is finding a career that gives them room to develop, build valuable commercial skills and take on more responsibility as their experience grows.
Recruitment combines elements of sales, relationship management, business development, negotiation and problem-solving.
It can suit graduates who want a career where they are constantly speaking with people, learning about businesses and working towards clear goals.
Rather than following one fixed graduate pathway, recruitment gives you the opportunity to build expertise in a market and develop your own professional network from the beginning of your career.
What Does a Recruitment Consultant Actually Do?
Recruitment is about bringing employers and candidates together.
As a Recruitment Consultant, you could work with organisations looking to grow their teams while supporting candidates through important career decisions.
Your day could include:
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Could Recruitment Suit You?
There is no single personality type that succeeds in recruitment.
Employers are usually looking for a combination of skills, behaviours and motivation rather than one particular degree.
Recruitment could suit you if you enjoy:
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Speaking With People
Much of recruitment involves conversations.
You need to be comfortable asking questions, listening properly and communicating with people at different stages of their careers.
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Working Towards Goals
Recruitment is performance-driven.
Targets can cover areas such as candidate activity, client development, interviews, placements and revenue.
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Building Relationships
Strong recruitment consultants build networks over time.
Candidates you help today could become clients later in their careers, while good client relationships can continue for years.
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Solving Problems
Hiring does not always go to plan. Candidates withdraw. Requirements change. Interviews get rearranged.
Being able to adapt and find solutions is an important part of the job.
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Learning
Recruiters become specialists in the markets they cover. That means learning about employers, roles, salaries, skills, industry developments and the wider employment market.
Your Degree Does Not Have to Match the Job
Graduate recruitment employers often focus more closely on the skills you have developed through university, work experience and extracurricular activities.
Your degree may have helped you develop skills such as:
Research
Critical thinking
Organisation
Working to deadlines
Teamwork
Independent working
Problem-solving
Analysing information
What Recruitment Employers Look For in Graduates
You are applying for an entry-level position.
Employers are not expecting you to already know everything about recruitment.
They are normally looking for indicators that you can learn and develop.
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Communication
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Resilience
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Commercial Awareness
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Motivation
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Organisation
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Confidence
Why Build a Career in Recruitment?
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Clear Career Development
Many recruitment businesses have defined progression structures.
The exact structure differs between employers, but recruitment can provide opportunities to take on greater commercial and leadership responsibility as your performance and experience develop.
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Performance-Related Earnings
Many recruitment positions combine a basic salary with commission or another performance-related incentive. Commission structures differ significantly between employers, so it is worth understanding exactly how each scheme works before accepting a position.
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Commercial Experience
Recruitment allows graduates to develop skills across several areas of business.
Market research
Networking
Candidate management
Commercial communication
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Market Expertise
Most consultants specialise in a particular sector or profession.
As your career progresses, you can become someone clients and candidates turn to for specialist market knowledge.
How We Support Graduates
Starting your career can involve a lot of unfamiliar decisions.
You might not know which recruitment agencies to approach, how different recruitment roles compare or what employers will expect from you at interview.
St Paul’s Talent Solutions helps you understand the market before you make those decisions.
We get to know what you are looking for, explain how the recruitment industry works and introduce opportunities that align with your skills and ambitions.
1. Understand What You Want From Your Career
You do not need a detailed five-year plan.
We start by understanding what matters to you.
That could include progression, earning potential, training, location, company culture or the type of environment you want to work in.
2. Explain Recruitment
360 recruitment? Candidate delivery? Permanent recruitment? Temporary recruitment? Rec2Rec?
You are not expected to understand recruitment terminology before entering the industry.
We help explain different types of recruitment roles and businesses so you can make informed decisions about where you apply.
3. Identify Your Transferable Skills
Your strongest examples might come from university, a part-time job, volunteering, sport or extracurricular activities.
We help you recognise which experiences demonstrate the skills recruitment employers are looking for.
4. Match You With Opportunities
Different graduates thrive in different environments.
We look at your skills, motivations and ambitions before discussing roles with you rather than sending you every graduate vacancy available.
5. Prepare You for Interviews
Recruitment interviews can focus heavily on motivation, resilience, communication and commercial awareness.
We help you understand what employers are assessing and identify examples from your own experience that demonstrate those qualities.
6. Support You Through Your Job Search
From your first application through to interviews and offers, we can support you throughout the process and help you understand what each opportunity could offer.
Start Your Recruitment Career
If you are graduating, recently graduated or exploring your first full-time career, St Paul’s Talent Solutions can help you understand whether recruitment could be the right option.
We work with employers looking for graduate and entry-level talent and can help you understand the opportunities available, prepare for recruitment interviews and take your first step into the industry.
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