Is anyone a Recruitment Consultant NOT working in London??

[Needtoearn]

Hi,

Following on from my thread yesterday about needing to earn 40K I have been scouring websites all night.

There have been a few vacancies I have seen for Graduate/ Trainee recruitment consultants that I am considering applying for. They rae advertised at 17-20k basic with OTE 35-40K. I was wondering how realistic the OTE were and if it was actually the reality of the job? If anyone can also tell me a bit more about the industry, working hours, conditions, prospects etc I would be extremely greatful.

[loolabelle80]

Hi

Unless you are really good and pushy at sales then I wouldnt recommend a career in Recruitment! I did it for 4 years in Edinburgh and hated every minute. If we weren't cold calling businesses, we were turning up unannounced at their offices. Anything to get that appointment. It was awful, pushy and the most stressful time of my life. The hours were erratic, we had meetings at all hours, clients to entertain at weekends etc. I dont know anyone who was making anything like 30k on a trainee scheme.
It may have been the company I worked for, but it was an awful environment.

[peanutbear]

I was many years ago a recruitment consultant in Birmingham I enjoyed it but...you earn next to nothing unless you are good at it you have to build your own clients you have to know a fair amount about the area you want to place people in other wise HR can be a pain i the neck

I never called at people offices unannounced though but I can see how this would make you money

OTE in your frst year unless you were shit hot probably not at all likely

[BeMyLilBaby]

hey im a recruitment consultant its a hard slog as peanutbear says OTE unlikely in your first year its a difficult job but sdepends what type of recruitment it wld be?

[HappyNewMum2Be]

I actually did quite well in the industry and worked in general industrial (arms and legs), commercial (office staff), HR, Finance, Branch Manager etc etc.

In my first year I earnt a basic of around £16k, with bonuses it went up to just over £32kish - which wasn't bad, but to put it in perspective, I had a storming year and grew my business unit to the 2nd largest in the company.

In finance, with experience and working in a very long hours culture, I earnt £50k overall in first year, with around £23k of this in bonus. Very Very hard work and usually a 50 hour week with a long commute to a hellish place, that I both loved and hated.

You need to find a niche that suits, a level of candidate that you can relate to (ie I wouldn;t recommend that a young graduate out of uni goes straight into recruitment at director level), a company where you like the culture and a working environment that is suitable.

Otherwise, if you are hungry, a bit ruthless if you need to be, savvy and business minded it can be a very enjoyable job.

But blumin hard work!

Hope this helps