The job market has been nothing short of a rollercoaster over the past several years. Post-Covid, we’ve seen a mixture of demand for talent across industries. Amongst the most in-demand professions is that of the engineering sector, which in recent years has experienced an increasing talent shortage. Helping to support businesses who have been feeling the strain of this talent shortage is the specialist engineering recruitment consultant.

Recruitment is a vital profession needed to help place the right people into the right job. In times of high stress when crucial industries lack the talent needed to deliver on operations, the job of the recruitment consultant is to find solutions.

In this blog from BMR Solutions, a recruitment agency specialising in engineering and manufacturing recruitment, we explore the role of a recruitment consultant in detail, looking at key responsibilities, necessary skills, salary, and required experience.

What is a Recruitment Consultant?

In a nutshell, the job of a recruiting consultant is to help employers find suitable staff for organisations big and small, matching people to permanent and temporary jobs. They serve as a liaison between a company looking to hire (the client) and a person looking for a temporary job or career change (the candidate).

In today’s competitive job landscape, many businesses across industries are under increasing pressure to find and hire top talent. Yet many do not have the time or expertise to do so. That’s when a recruitment consultant can truly benefit them. Recruitment consultants have all the specialist skills to understand a client’s requirements and source candidates that match this.

Recruitment Consultant Duties and Responsibilities

The job of a recruitment consultant does vary depending on the company you work for, what industry you specialise in, and whether it’s an in-house or agency role. Even so, a large portion of the job will remain the same wherever you work. As part of their regular duties, recruitment consultants frequently perform the following tasks:

  • Creating a recruitment strategy
  • Outreach to clients
  • Calls with clients to discuss the job and candidate requirements
  • Sourcing candidates
  • Screening CVs
  • Performing first-stage interviews with candidates
  • Coordinating secondary interviews between hiring managers and candidates
  • Conducting company assessments
  • Negotiating contract and salary agreements between client and candidate
  • Managing background and reference checks
  • Sharing CV, interview, and general career advice

Recruitment Consultant Desirable Skills

Some of the desirable skills needed to be a recruitment consultant include:

Communication: The recruiter is the vital link between a company and a candidate. And so the ability to communicate successfully between parties is paramount and can often be the make-or-break difference between a candidate applying or not.

Adaptability: The recruitment landscape is pretty unpredictable. One minute you could be informing your client that their chosen candidate has accepted an offer, and the next you could be telling them the unfortunate news that they’ve now changed their minds. With this role, you must be willing to adapt, think on your feet, and overcome any obstacles thrown your way.

Negotiation: The role of a recruitment consultant requires a lot of negotiation, from navigating terms with your client to discussing salaries with the candidate. Your ability to work out solutions that satisfy all parties will be a key skill you’ll need to master.

Marketing: Today’s best recruiters are also excellent marketers. Finding top talent in today’s competitive market is not easy, so recruiters are increasingly having to think of creative ways to attract applicants and raise awareness of job vacancies.

Relationship building: Good recruitment is all about building good relationships. This skill will help you to build rapport with candidates and provide a positive candidate experience. Keeping your clients happy with your service will also ensure they come back with future vacancies.

 Listening: The ability to listen and pay attention to detail is paramount to the job of a recruitment consultant. Besides listening to the client’s requirements, recruiters must pay close attention to the applicants. This is particularly important as their input is essential to matching them with jobs that benefit both the business and the applicant.

Recruitment Consultant Salary

The basic pay for a trainee recruitment consultant ranges from £16,000 to £40,000 annually, depending on experience and specialisation, while senior and management jobs can pay as much as £60,000. In addition to paying basic salaries, some recruitment agencies also pay commission and offer incentive-based compensation, allowing top achievers to earn much more money after taxes.

Many companies offer extensive and varied benefits on top of basic pay packages and incentive/bonus programmes, such as all-expenses-paid team trips, free gym memberships, gift cards, private dental and health care, and concert/sports tickets for top performers.

Recruitment Consultant Qualifications and Experience

There are many routes into the recruitment consultant career. It’s a particularly popular role amongst university graduates and school leavers who are often attracted to the fast-paced and financially rewarding aspects of recruitment.

For graduates, typically most degrees are acceptable for entry, though if it’s for a specialist recruitment agency, experience in a subject relevant to the role would be most advantageous. Experience appropriate to the recruitment area may be necessary for some fields such as law, accountancy, and engineering. But this typically varies!

It is also possible to become a recruitment consultant without a degree. For example, some recruitment agencies and organisations offer trainee programmes for school leavers.

Recruitment Consultant Employers

  • Global and regional recruitment agencies
  • Local independent agencies
  • Specialist agencies that recruit in specific areas such as Engineering and Manufacturing
  • Larger organisations that employ in-house recruitment consultants

BMR Solutions: Engineering and Manufacturing Recruitment Specialists

Founded in 2003 and based in Bristol, BMR Solutions are proud to be the go-to recruitment partner for both SMEs and Blue Chip organisations. We specialise in providing technical and professional staff for employment within the Engineering and Manufacturing field, over a wide range of skill sets ranging from the shop floor, up to senior management level. We’re a small, close-knit team of ambitious recruitment consultants. With over 30+ years of experience in recruitment for technical sectors, we have the expert knowledge and diverse database needed to match you with the best talent available.

Are you an Engineering or Manufacturing company that is in need of a specialised recruitment partner? Please feel free to reach out to our team today, we’d love to help!