Recruitment Consultants
Interview applicants to determine their job requirements and suitability for particular jobs, and assist employers to find suitable staff.
Placing the right person
You are a recruitment consultant, matching candidates with employers while your monthly targets sit in the back of your mind. It is Tuesday morning. You have two jobs to fill by Friday, a stack of candidates to call and a client who needs an answer. Every call you make affects a real person's week.
Choose what you would do. Then see what happens. There are often good reasons for each choice.
I need a receptionist by Monday. I'd prefer someone young and good looking for the front desk, it's the first thing customers see. Can you only send me those kinds of people?
Agree and quietly filter out older or less polished applicants to keep the client happy and make the placement quickly
You have taken part in unfair treatment of candidates, and the agency is at risk if it comes out. Keeping a client happy does not make a discriminatory request acceptable.
Say you cannot select on looks or age, then ask what a great receptionist actually does and send those skills
Helen hesitates, then lists the real duties: warmth, organisation, handling difficult callers. You send candidates who suit them. The shortlist is stronger and fairer.
Say nothing about it and just send a mixed group of candidates
You avoid the argument, but Helen still believes you will filter for her. She is annoyed when you send someone she did not expect. A clear conversation at the start would have saved time.
I'm so sorry, but I hate the job. It's nothing like the description, and I don't think I can last a month. I know you worked hard to place me. What should I do?
Tell her to push through the first month, because leaving early would reflect badly on you and on the agency's numbers
You have put your target ahead of her wellbeing. She leaves in a month feeling used, and tells friends not to use your agency. A placement that makes someone unhappy is not a success.
Listen to what is different from the description, then speak to the employer about it and talk through her options
It turns out the role has changed since the brief. The employer admits it and offers to adjust. Zoe stays, and you update how you check job descriptions.
Say you are sorry and tell her to speak to the employer herself
She does, nervously, and it does not go well. She wanted you on her side. You placed her, so you share some responsibility for what the job turned out to be.
I'm very interested in the role you called me about, but please don't mention it to my current boss or contact them as a referee. They don't know I'm looking. Is that alright?
Promise full confidentiality, and explain what you can do until he gives you permission to contact referees
Ravi relaxes. You keep his details private, use other referees and explain the process to the employer. Candidates trust agencies that keep their secrets.
Tell him you will do your best, though the employer might want to call his boss anyway
He is nervous and withdraws from the process. It is honest, but he needed a clear picture of what would stay private and what would not.
Say yes, then call his boss anyway to check his work history before submitting him
His boss learns he is looking, and Ravi's position at work is damaged. You broke a promise you made, and word of it will spread. Trust is the main thing you have in this job.
How it went
By Friday the role is filled by someone chosen for what they can do, a candidate has a plan and another trusts you with a secret. Recruitment is about people on both sides of a deal, and about being fair when it would be easier not to be. Could you enjoy being the link between them?
This is a simplified, fictional situation to help you explore. It is not professional instruction or a test of your ability.
Case study: The brief that said 'young and energetic'
A fictional case set in a fictional recruitment agency that places people in office, warehouse and trades jobs.
The situation
Arjun was a recruitment consultant at Pathfinder Staffing. A warehouse client wanted a new coordinator and described the ideal person as 'young and energetic'. Arjun had already met a candidate, Maureen, who had years of experience in running a busy dispatch team and was ready to start straight away. The client was an important one, and Arjun's monthly target depended on filling this role quickly. He also knew that choosing people on their age was not right, and he did not want to send a good candidate into a decision already made.
What they did
Arjun rang the client and asked what the job really needed. They talked about long shifts, hard deadlines and handling staff who were short tempered. He explained that those were skills and not an age, and that he could not screen people by age. He sent Maureen's profile with a plain summary of how she matched each part of the role. He also suggested a short practical task for all shortlisted candidates, so the client could judge them fairly.
How it turned out
The client interviewed three candidates and chose Maureen after the practical task. The client later told Arjun it was the best hire they had made in years. The next role they sent him came with a better description, with the skills written down.
What would you do?
- Why do you think Arjun rang the client instead of just sending profiles?
- How did the practical task help the decision?
- How would you feel if you were the candidate in this story?