How to use a recruitment agency
At Moretolaw we are surprised by how many unhappy lawyers are not signed-up to a single recruitment consultant – we think this should probably change. We spoke to recruitment consultant Kate Ferguson (Hudson) about making the most out of recruitment consultants to explore your options and progress your career (by using them).
mtl: So, Kate, do you have big fat commissions coming in?
Kate: Hmmm. Sometimes. Probably not as often as I’d like! I should emphasise, though, that it’s not just about the cash - it’s about building long-term relationships, with clients and with candidates, and about finding the right fit for individuals and law firms or for in-house teams (which is what I specialise in).
mtl: Now, we are here today to talk about the way in which lawyers use (or don’t use) recruitment consultants to progress their careers and to open up a world of options. We tend to think that lawyers use recruitment consultants a bit half-heartedly and don’t get the most out of them. Kate, what’s your take?
Kate: I would probably agree. Lawyers are often cautious about making the first move away from the firm where they have trained. Once they start to get itchy feet, they might stare longingly at the back pages of the legal press, thinking, “That would be the perfect job for me – if I wanted to move, that is.” Finally, after months and months of worry and prevarication, they pick their mobile up, sidle out of their shared office and find a quiet spot on a noisy traffic-loaded street to make their first call.
mtl: But who should they call? How should they decide which recruitment consultant is best? Should they just keep an eye out for jobs in the legal press and then phone the relevant recruitment consultant?
Kate: Well, I am biased, obviously – I’d love them to call me. But from a more independent point of view, which I imagine might be more helpful, it is important to have a strategy. They should try to expose themselves to as many jobs as they can. There are risks attached to waiting for the perfect job to appear in the press – you may be missing out on jobs that consultants have on their books that never make it on the job pages because of all those other candidates who have already registered. To be sure you have got a chance of going for the best jobs, you have to get yourself signed up with recruitment consultants as soon as you are starting to consider the possibility of moving. Even if you are not sure about whether you want to leave your current job, there is no harm beginning to explore the market. A good consultant will be happy to have a preliminary chat, and talk you through the market, your likely salary and prospects for a move, without you starting a formal job search.
mtl: So should lawyers sign-up to every single recruitment consultant out there to make sure they get the coverage?
Kate: From the lawyer’s point of view that isn’t practical. The process is time-consuming. A decent recruiter will want to meet you and run through your CV with you, to make sure they’re getting it right. Frankly, you should want to meet the recruiter – you have to make sure he or she is someone you could see yourself working with, someone who really understands what you’re looking for. There will be many jobs in the market that aren’t exclusive to a particular recruitment consultant – you will get good market coverage by signing up with two or three, and then keeping your eyes peeled for other opportunities on the job pages, and particularly online. My advice would be to decide what it is you want, look at the recruitment consultants’ websites (and the Moretolaw reviews) and decide which ones sound as though they cover the areas in which you are interested – for example, some will only have expertise in the private practice market, rather than focusing on in-house. Then go and meet the individual recruitment consultants involved – the personal relationship will be the key.
mtl: But aren’t recruitment consultants all pretty much of a muchness?
Kate: No. And this is something that I hope Moretolaw will start to clarify by helping lawyers distinguish between the agencies. For example, Hudson’s in-house director, June Mesrie, has been recruiting for over 15 years, and has greater in-house recruitment experience than anyone else in the market. There are other agencies out there who might be competitive on the private practice side, but simply cannot offer coverage of the in-house market. Another distinguishing feature can be expertise in particular industry sectors (like banking & finance), or whether the recruiters are themselves legally trained. So you get a very different experience. Either way, you need to meet them and build up a rapport. If they are any good then they will go out of their way to get you what you want.
It’s also worth talking to your friends, provided you aren’t trying to keep it completely secret that you are looking around. If you have friends who are lawyers, chances are that some of them have been in touch with recruiters from time to time. Of course, the fact that someone you know had a good experience is no guarantee, but a recommendation is often a very good place to start. From our perspective, we love it if candidates come to us through personal recommendations – it shows that candidates are really serious about making a move, and about finding the right people to help them do so.
mtl: Presumably there is a possibility of missing out on jobs if you only sign up with one or two consultants?
Kate: Well, of course, you can sign up with as many as you want. We would obviously like our candidates to remain exclusive, because we are a big company and have a lot of coverage, but we know that is unrealistic, particularly in the diverse in-house market. The risk with signing up to too many is that you don’t build up a good relationship with any.
And starting out with one or two doesn’t restrict you from responding to particular adverts as and when they appear. And also don’t forget that you retain the right to tell an agency to stop acting for you – if you have a bad experience, you can take yourself off their books, and talk to someone else.
mtl: Kate Ferguson, thank you very much for your time.
If you have any comments about the issues raised in this article or you have comments on your experiences of Hudson or any other recruitment consultant then please get in touch.