From Detecive to Recruitment Consultant?

tall_DC_Paul

Hello forum ppl!

I’m a newbie and this is my first post, but I've been reading the forum with interest.

I’m currently employed in the police service as a Detective with Scotland Yard in London however I’m looking for a career change. (For any recruiters out there, there are dozens of very experienced officers leaving for a multitude of reasons, taking with them invaluable skills!!) The role of recruitment consultant interests me greatly for a number of reasons - the opportunity for significant financial gain, personal development, business development and of course a dynamic, fun and challenging working environment!

I’ve a few questions if any of you kind folk could answer:

1) Recruitment is a notoriously stressful industry. Exactly why is this? Is it caused by extreme management pressure, high KPI levels, almost un-attainable targets, colleagues, clients/candidates, frustration? Pressure is good and I thrive on it, but outright stress is bad!

2) Any guidance on which type of firm I should look to apply to, and why? I’d personally prefer to work for a smaller firm where I at least retain a sense of identity (Morgan Hunt / JPA Recruitment for example) but there must be many benefits to working for a bigger firm?

3) A significant level of training is provided throughout the career. Anyone willing to provide an overview of initial training on joining the industry?

4) Money - what is a likely/possible basic rate of pay in London, and first year earnings? A friend of mine who worked for Boston Rose for 18 months in 2008 stated at the end of her tenure she was earning circa £60,000!? :beer::D

5) Hours - What is the average hourly working week? I’m very used to working long hours with average shift length of 9hrs which easily and frequently spirals to 12hrs or more. My longest single shift to date was 17hrs :-(

6) Career Progression - working in a meritocratic environment is a huge positive for me; hard work is duly recognised and rewarded. All firms seem to promise rapid career development but how likely is progression to senior position? :money:

7) Many people seem to work in recruitment before leaving to work in other roles. What do these tend to be?

8) Anyone want my CV!? :T

Thanks so much!

mikecc

I think I can offer you some good tips here... 8 years in the recruitment industry here, currently working internationally (in Qatar). Will jot something up shortly

tall_DC_Paul

Wowsers! Awesome!:T

PlutoinCapricorn

This is an unusual post. In your place, I think I would look for the sort of positions where your background would be an advantage: security checks for example, to see if a candidate has a criminal record. And recruiting security guards... you might be good at head-hunting too.

It is worth doing a lot of research before taking the plunge.

tall_DC_Paul

Thank you. Indeed it is an unusual post. I've previous experience working in the City and for an Advertising firm in a B2B sales role both of which I enjoyed.

I've actually thought about developing a business model to recruit ex-officers as there so many leaving - 27 in the borough in which I work this year already!

tall_DC_Paul

P.S I'm only 32 :-)

PlutoinCapricorn

If you enjoyed working in the City and in advertising, then recruitment may be suitable for you. Perhaps you really should start your own agency.

I wonder why so many are leaving?

mikecc

Right, firstly it sounds like you have your own reasons for wanting to move on, so I won't get into the why. Nor will I suggest other alternatives, or how I would suggest laying out your career transition strategy. Instead, the below will be purely descriptive and direct answers to your queries, as well as some supplementary comments. I'm happy to answer anything further.

1) Recruitment is a notoriously stressful industry. Exactly why is this? Is it caused by extreme management pressure, high KPI levels, almost un-attainable targets, colleagues, clients/candidates, frustration? Pressure is good and I thrive on it, but outright stress is bad!

It's stressful because it's numbers driven. You are essentially the manager of your own business (desk) and you're responsible for finding the leads, generating the business (clients, jobs), finding the solution (candidates) and closing everything. And everything in between of course, including negotiations, administration etc. It sounds easy, but you're dealing with humans on both sides and we are prone to change our minds or be difficult. Things do, and will, fall apart when you've done all the work, at no fault of your own, and you'll look no different to the guy next to you who did no work and also made no money. KPIs, management styles and general company culture vary hugely from company to company, but as a rule you're going to be managed to numbers, and that's what you'll be measured on and rewarded against. The stress comes from a few months of not hitting your targets... why would they keep you when they can fill your seat with someone who can bring in the business?

2) Any guidance on which type of firm I should look to apply to, and why? I’d personally prefer to work for a smaller firm where I at least retain a sense of identity (Morgan Hunt / JPA Recruitment for example) but there must be many benefits to working for a bigger firm?

Look for a firm that is open to trainees, has a reputation (been going more than 5 years, has people who work there in senior consultant or management positions who started as trainees. Many of the trainees will be graduates, but lots of firms are open to career switch professionals too, and often align them to their speciality, it's a bit trickier with public sector as there are often procurement frameworks you need to be on to sell to the council/institution, but maybe there's related areas of your sector you could credibly network with and sell to, given your experience. Go to a medium sized firm, ideally independently owned or at least with very defined management, otherwise you'll be lost in the numbers of other new starters. You'll want to do LOTS of research on firms in your area, there are TONS everywhere, and you'll also want to be very clear with the questions you take to interview.

3) A significant level of training is provided throughout the career. Anyone willing to provide an overview of initial training on joining the industry?

Typically you'll recieve basic sales skills, an introduction to recruitment (as a process, some legal bits, terminology and systems training) and possibly buddy with a more senior consultant to coach you through some of your initial calls. You'll also be shown how to handle client meetings, screen candidates and basically manage each aspect of the recruitment life-cycle. Most of this comes on the job though, don't expect to be sitting in a classroom for more than a few days - time is money! You'll often be expected to do most of the industry research yourself as part of becoming a sector/vertical expert.

4) Money - what is a likely/possible basic rate of pay in London, and first year earnings? A friend of mine who worked for Boston Rose for 18 months in 2008 stated at the end of her tenure she was earning circa £60,000!? :beer::D

You'll probably start at a basic salary of between 18-25k in London, based on what other graduates are earning. You might find a firm paying more, or one that prefers you because of your experience, but remember, and i'll be brutally honest here, your current experience doesn't exactly qualify you to be a sales star - it's a different type of confidence. Expect to be matched with new graduates 21-25 years old in your training schemes. You can often double this in your first year however, if you do well with commission (make sure you find somewhere that pays commission on EVERY placement above a certain value, not a threshold per month/quarter).

5) Hours - What is the average hourly working week? I’m very used to working long hours with average shift length of 9hrs which easily and frequently spirals to 12hrs or more. My longest single shift to date was 17hrs :-(

You're running your own business, you stop when you've done enough. 12 hour days are common at the beginning when you're doing a lot of sales calls, trying to get your head around the complexities, do your research, and impress the boss (more than the other new starters). The first 3 months are the hardest, you'll feel like you're running into a brick wall. You'll make 25-100 sales calls a day, and all of these should be well researched, rehearsed and informed. Work doesn't stop in the office if you REALLY want to do well. You'll often spend your evenings researching your industry, looking for news that might bring leads, scouring job boards for CVs, searching LinkedIn, doing your admin/reports etc. That is, if you're not on the lash with the office, especially on fridays!

6) Career Progression - working in a meritocratic environment is a huge positive for me; hard work is duly recognised and rewarded. All firms seem to promise rapid career development but how likely is progression to senior position? :money:

Here's the thing. Hard work isn't recognised, results are. It doesn't matter if you work the most hours, make the most calls, have the most accurate reports and database entries. It doesn't matter if you're well liked in the office or if you're 'trying really hard'. If you're not making money and getting solid, consistent and 'above target' results, you're going to stay where you are. That said, there's no reason you couldn't have your own team in 2-4 years if you did exceptionally well from day 1, had the right support, a good company, and good connections. Typically you want a promotion every 2 years. Remember your target is a minimum, not the end of the race. top earners will be doing 2-5x their target, sometimes within a few months.

7) Many people seem to work in recruitment before leaving to work in other roles. What do these tend to be?

Recruitment has a bad rep, and to some extent it's deserved. There's no real barrier to entry, and one crappy call or experience can really upset someone and make them dislike the industry as a whole. Some people get fed up of being judged, some simply can't hack the pressure - you'll see these as the folks who do 4 months here, 6 months there, between different agencies before eventually leaving the game. It's often these guys and gals that disgruntled candidates moan about when they slate the industry and those who work in it. Despite what you may be led to believe, integrity, consistency and an eye for detail go a long way in this game.

Those who do well often progress to management roles, go in-house (client side, non sales) or move into different areas of HR. Sales is a grind after a while. I know some good consultants who have been at it fo 20 years and love it, but I was out of the sales game after about 3 years, and focussed on more strategic, in-house recruitment/HR project management.

:money:

Hope this helps! Happy to answer any follow-up queries.

tall_DC_Paul

Cheers. What a great post! Sounds demanding, but fun and potentially rewarding bost financially and personally. :-) Decisions, decisions.

In regards as to why so many experienced officers are leaving the MPS its quite simple;
*very long hours
* extraordinary case-loads
* atrocious working environment - vermin infested buildings, broken computing systems, poor resources
* significant pension changes
* maddening and ever increasing bureaucracy
* unforgiving, out-of-touch, unappreciative management
* awful training
* staggeringly incompetent colleagues
* poor career progression due to significant cuts in management numbers
....oh, and then the day-to-day job of actually investigaing crime!

Don't get me wrong. I do enjoy the role and responsibility but there are now far, far too many negative aspects to the job which are driving people away in droves

PlutoinCapricorn

I have picked up some information from this forum that suggests that dubious ethical practices are the norm in recruitment, especially at the lower levels. Advertising jobs that do not exist just to get CVs is one example.

"You will have to keep chasing up the role with them regularly and be prepared for the unreturned phone calls,no replies to emails and when you do get through they all appear to be in meetings.

Just to emphasise, never ever tell them of any ongoing applications you have with other companies. They do not need to know this. Their candidates can easily become your competitors as they would probably contact the company concerned and ask if they will consider their candidates also for the role."
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3490755

Transformers

Having experience from both sides of the fence, you will encounter common issues... long hours, colleagues of varying degrees of competency, peaks and troughs in workflow etc. That's just life in general.

You need to really understand why you are going - it is better to want to run towards something than to be running from something else.

I've seen too many good Officers leave because of conditions only to find that the 'outside' is just as messy and frustrating.

Have you considered another force area? TVP, for instance, always leaks staff to the Met - it might be worth seeing if they are open to transferees inwards.

Finally, if the 'outside' is your goal then look here for contacts:

http://www.epic-uk.com/