How To Get A Graduate Job In Recruitment

The recruitment industry represents all sorts of exciting opportunities for graduates, giving you the chance to climb the career ladder quickly, meet lots of interesting people from all walks of life and develop in both your personal and professional life. 

It’s hardly surprising that it’s proving a particularly attractive option for graduate jobseekers at the moment, given how challenging the employment landscape currently is. 

With recruitment, you can really make your mark, start earning good money right off the bat and – with the right attitude – find yourself in a prominent position within your company in as little as 18 months.

However, as with all jobs, recruitment is highly competitive so you’ve got to really stand out from the crowd. Here, we take a look at how you can do just that.

As ever, if you have any further questions or need any further help and advice, get in touch with the Edmund & Evans team today.

What does a recruiter do?

Recruiters (or recruitment consultants) work to match qualified people with specific jobs and positions within any given organisation, making sure that the right person is paired with the right job. 

It might sound simple on paper but it’s a very intricate role with many contributing factors involved – and it’s important to get it right, as hiring the wrong candidate can prove very costly for companies, both in terms of time and money.

As well as finding potential candidates, working closely with employers and networking, tasks will also involve staying on top of job trends, monitoring industry insights and developing an in-depth understanding of the qualities and skills companies prioritise when looking to bring on new members of staff.

How to start a career in recruitment

Firstly, you need to make sure that you have all the necessary skills in place to pursue a career as a recruiter. Excellent communication, unparalleled people skills, determination, resilience, flexibility, professionalism and positivity are but a few of the attributes that you’ll need to have in abundance in order to excel in this industry.

You’ll also need to make sure that you have as much relevant experience as possible before you apply. This doesn’t necessarily mean previous work as a recruiter and if you can demonstrate that you have transferable hard and soft skills that are relevant to your new career path from a previous unrelated role, you’ll gain a foot in the door.

Remember that with recruitment, you’re essentially guaranteed to be working with people and working to targets, so if you can prove that you have strong interpersonal skills and thrive when working to targets and deadlines, you’ll put yourself ahead of the curve.

Note, as well, that many recruitment agencies offer apprenticeships and on-the-job training, so don’t be deterred from your chosen path if you’re worried that you’re lacking in actual recruiter experience.

Be prepared

Before you even start applying for jobs, familiarising yourself with what’s going on in the sector now, future challenges it will likely face and all the technology, tools and resources you’ll likely be using is also advisable. 

If and when you get an interview, this means you’ll have a depth of knowledge you can fall back on and won’t be caught out by any tricky questions.

When you finally feel ready to apply, go for entry-level positions. These will give you all the foundational experience you need to get ahead quickly and these jobs are open to the vast majority of people, regardless of background or relevant experience.

Career development

Once you’re in, you can start thinking about how you want to build your career and what direction you want to take it. Building up a strong network of talented people across a diverse range of industries will give you a brilliant little black book of contacts you can tap into at the drop of a hat.

Of course, the internet is the obvious place to begin and setting up a LinkedIn profile should be your first port of call, but don’t neglect the real world in favour of the digital and you can make very valuable contacts by attending networking events, career fairs and so on, as well.

Qualifications

Our final tip to help you progress your career is to consider gaining extra certifications over the years. 

On-the-job experience is invaluable, of course, and no doubt your degree will really come in handy – particularly during the application phase, helping you to stand out – but to really develop as a recruiter, gaining additional qualifications can boost your profile even further.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development has a range of different options that are widely recognised in the industry, all of which demonstrate that you’re serious and committed to your job, as well as helping you to develop your skills and gain valuable new insights to truly help you excel.

5 quick steps to get a graduate job in recruitment

Step 1: Build the right CV

  • One page max
  • Include customer-facing experience (retail, hospitality, events etc)
  • Highlight achievements and people skills

Step 2: Create a LinkedIn profile that gets noticed

  • Clear profile photo
  • Headline that shows intent: “Graduate seeking recruitment role | Strong communicator”
  • Add education, part-time jobs, skills

Step 3: Show the right traits

  • Curiosity
  • Motivation
  • Coachability

Step 4: Avoid common mistakes

  • Copy-pasting your CV
  • Not knowing what recruitment is
  • Poor grammar

Step 5: Let a Rec2Rec help

Here at London recruitment agency Edmund & Evans, we can help with CVs, prep and introductions, at no charge to you.

Next step: Upload your CV now or connect with our team on LinkedIn. Let’s help you secure your first recruitment role.