Identifying the right new opportunity for you is not simply a case of 'getting lucky' with CVs and job descriptions - many other factors come into play. Changing jobs has a significant impact on the direction of your career and recruitment consultants want to ensure that it is taking your desired direction.

A recruitment consultant is involved in helping people find jobs every day of the week and will have seen the career paths of many professionals before you, creating an exceptional pool of information at your disposal.

Where a Recruitment Consultant may start

Many professionals have issues with editing their CV to illustrate the key aspects of their career and experience. A Recruitment Consultant will therefore work with you at the first meeting to produce an edited and effective CV. You will need to consider their advice and ensure that you have thought of everything that may be relevant even if it seems unimportant at the time.

The process involves assessing your skills and personality, as well as identifying your career aspirations. Since a Recruitment Consultant’s first objective is to get you an interview with the firms you wish to meet, it is in his or her interests to produce the most effective CV in any given market condition.

The primary consideration will be to forward your details to current vacancies in which you’re interested. The consultant will discuss with you the opportunities presented by each vacancy and provide you with an insight into the culture of the recruiting organisation. This is how an agency should work.

Should you be successful in securing an interview, the consultant will ensure you have all the available information about the organisation beforehand. This doesn’t just include corporate literature but also our own insight into the organisation, gained from regular visits and briefings, as well as from candidates and temporaries who’ve worked there previously.

If you have not recieved this data you must ask because it is you that may look foolish at interveiw if you do not have it. It is in the Recruitment Consultant's interest to ensure that you are well prepared before you attend an interview, don't forget if they get it right they will be paid a fee as well as you obtaining the most perfect job for yourself.

What can you do to help.

It’s imperative that you provide the Consultant with feedback as soon as possible after an interview at a client. If your feedback is positive and you’re interested in the position, your consultants will ensure that your enthusiasm is professionally relayed back.

Many clients call the Recruitment Company within an hour of conducting a first interview - and can be disappointed to discover that the Consultant has not yet received feedback from the candidate. Also, there may of course be questions arising from the interview, or even a misunderstanding or misinterpretation of statements at that meeting. It’s the consultant’s responsibility to resolve all these for you.

Following initial meetings or interviews, the consultant will contact you if there is any positive news from a client in respect of interviews or to seek more information. It is very important to remember that no Recruitment Company should send your CV out to a client without your permission, once the client has been given it you will need to know what is happening given this could be one of a number of job roles you may be interested in. this information can be imparted in the course of ongoing conversations. The consultant and you should agree on a suitable framework for ongoing contact relevant to your circumstances.

Keeping the heat on

If the first marketing exercise has been unsuccessful, the consultant may, after a suitable period of time, suggest a remarketing exercise. The second line of attack is often to use the list of firms that you are interested in and that may be interested in you, but where there are no current advised vacancies. These firms can be approached on a speculative basis; this approach can be made with full disclosure and a CV or on a no-names basis.

In addition to interviewing, preparing CVs and marketing exercises, consultants spend a lot of their time liaising with their clients to market the agency’s service. They’ll also be networking with other experienced professionals in your field to keep abreast of issues from the employees’ perspective - all to secure the right job for you.