How to advance in your recruitment career

For many, a career in recruitment presents the perfect blend of interpersonal communications, sales and problem-solving. It’s a job that can be demanding and challenging at times, but also incredibly rewarding. With a growth of 9% from 2015 to 2016, the recruitment industry employs more than 100,000 people in the UK and helped nearly 1 million people find a new permanent job in 2016/17. And at Quanta, we continue to grow our team and develop our recruitment offering, experiencing year-on-year growth and supporting clients in over 20 countries worldwide.

Such significant growth presents numerous opportunities for personal and professional progression, and it’s no wonder more and more people are looking to get into – and advance in – recruitment. Whether you’re just starting out or are looking to make the step up into a more senior position, here’s what you can do to get ahead:

Take any training opportunity offered to you

One-third of employees are disappointed with their career progression, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. While there are many factors that can contribute towards this, research shows that there is a strong correlation between people who say they are concerned about their skills becoming outdated and those who say they don’t have the time to participate in training and development. This suggests that not everyone in recruitment is taking advantage of the opportunities to develop their skills – both inside and outside the workplace.

A good recruitment agency should provide tailored, ongoing training and development to staff. On top of this, as a professional you should always be looking for new opportunities to learn and train, whether that’s by asking your manager for more development in particular areas or embarking on self-led education, such as learning a new language or reading additional material on your industry.

At Quanta, we have structured Fast Track training programmes to not only ensure our team members are fully equipped to perform their current roles, but also to give them the skills and knowledge to progress throughout the company.

Every team member has a dedicated training and development plan, with clearly defined induction programmes, weekly and monthly review meetings, SMART objectives and feedback sessions to help our team fulfil their potential. With French, German and Spanish tutors, we also provide language tuition to anyone who feels it will benefit them in their role.

Find your niche

For some, it might be helping entry-level graduates find their feet in their chosen career. For others, a rewarding day might involve nailing down a detailed brief for a client’s next high-profile hire. Whatever recruitment sector you end up working in, a specialist knowledge of your industry, clients and candidates will help you stand out from generalist recruiters and help you form long-lasting, trusting relationships within the industry. Sourcing talented candidates from both an active and a passive pool might be your area of expertise, or it might be working with consultancy firms to help identify and provide the right resources for specialist projects. If you can identify your niche and hone your industry knowledge and experience within this area, you maybe find yourself with more options to progress.

Ask the experts

While a good manager will provide you with a tailored development programme and plenty of support, there may be times when you become interested in new avenues or would like additional training. This is a prime opportunity to ask your manager, mentor, team mates or HR department for advice and guidance on how you can progress. While it sounds obvious, nearly 45% of UK workers feel uncomfortable discussing their career progression with their manager, with young people particularly reserved when it comes to asking about development. If you’re not sure where you can go next in your recruitment career – or indeed, how to get there – a simple conversation with your manager can get the ball rolling.

Take your next step with Quanta

We’re always looking for talented and driven team members to join our friendly environment. For more on what it’s like to work at Quanta, click here, or contact us to start a conversation.