Posted April 15 2018
By Mary Palmer
Meeting with a recruitment agency for the first time can be a fairly daunting prospect. If you tend to get the interview ‘fear’ you may feel the same way when you take the first step towards finding employment.
All we can say is … Relax. It’s not an actual job interview.
But, at the same time, it is an interview of sorts. You should still be on time, smartly dressed and pro-active about the process of securing a job. It will be a lot less formal than an interview but impressing a recruitment agency will go a long way to impressing a prospective employer. A positive attitude is a good place to start.
There is no need to be nervous, but every need to be up front and communicative. You should also take it as seriously as you would an interview. Do some homework on the agency before your appointment and be prepared to ask questions.
When you arrive at your candidate registration, be willing to sell yourself and your skills – include all relevant and experience and training on your CV. You should be able to discuss any particular role or achievement in some depth. Recruiters really want to get to know you as a person; what type of environment you like working in; what kind of workload you can manage. All of this is essential in placing you in a job where you will flourish.
Another thing to bear in mind is that this is as much as about finding an agency that is the right fit for you as it is the recruiter helping to place you. It is very much a two-way process. Recruiters understand that you will, no doubt, have applied to sign up with more than one agency at a time.
However, just because you have signed on with an agency doesn’t mean that your job hunt becomes passive. You have to be willing to put in the work to help your recruiter land that dream job for you. Following your chosen recruitment agency on social media and keeping an eye on the jobs advertised on their website is a good idea.
Think of this meeting as a strategic investment in your career. You should always be networking in your working life and a recruiter has so many contacts within your chosen industry that they already have an ‘in’ where you might not. Their carefully honed working relationships may give you access to roles that aren’t even being advertised yet.
They may also be able to help take your career in a different direction – one that you may not have thought of or pursued had you chosen to spend hours searching aimlessly online. They also won’t waste your time putting you forward for jobs that are unsuitable or irrelevant to you.
It doesn’t end after your meeting. Liaising with a recruiter is a chance to potentially establish a long-term relationship: one that you can rely on at any stage of your future career.
There is no harm in checking in with them at any time to see what is on the market. Sometimes the best employment opportunities come along at a time when you aren’t looking.
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