What does a recruiter actually do?

It's time to clear a few things up
Image of employee in the office

Have you ever wondered what a recruiter actually does? We've written this article to help answer that question.

We're often asked “What do you actually do?” or “Do you just send CVs you have found online?”, this isn't the case. It takes a lot more than a quick internet search to find a qualified, dedicated and invested employee.

Being recruiters, we believe that to find the right person for a role you need to dedicate quite a lot of time and resources to the task. You also need to have a clear understanding of who you are and what you're looking for and be able to communicate and sell this to a prospective employee.

Looking for a job has changed, and so has the way recruiters source candidates. It is not about making 100 calls a day and it is certainly not just about looking for CVs online. So what exactly is the recruitment process?


1. It is all about you; the employer.

The first port of call is all about understanding you, the employer, and understanding exactly who / what you’re looking for in an employee. You know better than anyone else who would fit the business, and it is our job to get that information out of you (don’t worry; it’s not an interrogation, just a friendly chat).


2. Details, Details, Details!

Now we move onto the position itself; here we want to learn as much about the role as possible. The information gathered at this stage really varies depending on the complexity / level of the role, but we spare no detail.

Together we will build a job specification for the intended role, we can include as much (or as little) information as you like – but this is a very important stage. This job specification will be put out onto all of our available job boards and social platforms, the better the content, the better the reach and engagement of the advert.


3. The Company – Let’s do a little research …

Not only is it important we know you, the employer, but it is important that we know the company we’re working with. To properly understand if a candidate has the correct skill set for your role, we must know exactly what it is the business does.

We spend time getting to know the business. We do this through individual research and (with your permission) by speaking to your current employers who’re already working within a similar position at the company.


4. Let’s get Advertising!

As a recruiter, we have access to hundreds of job boards. But that doesn’t mean we’re going to post it on all of them. Your role is specific to a certain audience, so the job boards that we choose will be specific to your role also.

You might get more applications if we posted to all of them, but 90% of them will be irrelevant, we want to get the best applicants for your business, but we also want them to be relevant. So we choose the right job boards, for your role.


5. Phone Calls – Yep, we do still do this.

OK, OK… we do still make phone calls. But it’s not just someone ringing 100’s of people a day asking "if they’re looking for a job"!

Our calls are targeted only to job seekers whose profession matches your job specification. But hang on, this call is more than finding out about their interest in the role, it’s getting a feel for the person on the other end of the phone. I suppose you could look at it like a pre-interview, does this persons personality match their CV, we’re not only looking for someone with the right skills for your business, but someone who is going to fit in with your current employees.


6. We have a database, do you?

Are we flexing a little here? No, of course not! It’s just a fact. We have a database of thousands of professionals within the Logistics sector(s). Every candidate we have is vetted through our registration process and permission to hold their data in regulation with the GDPR act is held.

We already know a percentage of professionals who’re seeking for work and exactly when they’re available. Every candidate is kept ‘warm’, which means we’re in constant contact with them, following up with their job search.


7. That’s a lot of CVs

On average, an employer spends 5-7 seconds looking at a CV; this is due to the sheer amount of CVs that are received for a role. We have a team that dedicates time to looking through the CVs that are received for your roles, we cover every point in order to determine if this candidate could be suitable for your company or not.

Not only that, our team has access to a number of large CV databases where they can conduct searches for relevant job seekers that you normally wouldn’t have access too.

We don’t believe in sending you every CV we receive, we handpick a few candidates who, after our vetting process, we feel would be perfect for your business.


8. Time for some Preparation!

An interview has been booked! But our job isn’t finished yet. It’s time to prepare the candidate. We talk the candidate through the whole interview process and prepare them as best we can.

Interview preparation is important, so we’ll help the candidate as much as possible and talk them through step-by-step what to expect.


9. We’re not perfect …

Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, something can go wrong. An interview that goes terribly, a candidate not turning up to their interview, a placement falling through or potential candidates being sent over not being up to spec; it’s a tough business.

However, rest-assured, we will do our utmost to correct any failing that might occur and will work side-by-side with you to fix any issues that you might have. We’re human, just speak to us.