15 years ago I got a call from a young guy who had spent 4 years with the Big 4, and had then moved to be the Head of Finance for a mid-sized business. He was honest at the start of the call that he wanted to meet me for a coffee to build a relationship with myself, to get career advice as he had lost a lot of his networks and didn’t have someone to bounce off when it came to his career, especially as he had really only known two organisations.

Naturally, I was chuffed that he had selected me, and apart from becoming a good mate over the past few years, I look back on that one call and how smart a decision it was on his part (not that he specifically called me), but that he chose to develop a relationship with a recruiter. Since then we have formed a professional relationship where we know each other incredibly well and converse regularly. I can give him proactive advice as to career steps, let him know about great roles in the market, put him in touch with mentors that he could align with, and when he has needed to, help build his team becuase I know the cultural fit of the person that he needs. Plus, I know where he wants to take his role and team so I can be proactive in sending him talent that isn’t active on the market.

Regardless of if you are a candidate looking for your next role, or a client looking to hire new talent, the value of a great recruiter can really make a difference. Now, yes, I am a recruiter, and I may be biased, but in this blog post, I'm keen to shed some light on why building a trusted partnership beyond just the transaction of recruiting a role is so valuable throughout your entire career.

In my 25 years of recruitment, I can assure you I have seen things that have both impressed me, and downright horrified me about certain businesses and individuals whether they were a candidate or a client! Recruiters have a very unique position in the market, particularly those who are specialist recruiters in a specific discipline or industry as they are quite literally the eyes and ears of a huge range of organisations. They are privy to information that job seekers and hiring managers simply aren't aware of. Market knowledge comes in all forms - first hand, second hand, or even third hand - and a great recruiter should be able to sift through this information and provide you with the most relevant, accurate, and up-to-date insights specific to your situation. They get to understand what businesses are doing in terms of transformation and change, in the way of growth, technology, advancements (or lack thereof), and most importantly culture.

When I look back on many of the placements I have made over the years, and in particular where they may not have happened - I can safely say it's down to my market knowledge that I was able to paint a genuine picture, address any concerns and work with both sides to ensure the fit is right and explain why.

From early on in your career, you should align yourself with a recruiter who you feel you can trust, and importantly who is in it for the long haul. They can understand your skills and experience as you develop them; they will understand where you have come from and where you want to go and match those to the needs of their clients. Some of my best relationships were formed many years ago and have cemented over time and over multiple interactions. Many of my business relationships started with candidates looking for their next move, who have now progressed their careers and are now senior leaders themselves looking to hire. It goes full circle and invested recruiters will understand, and value that concept.

First, my advice is to shop around - not all recruiters are made even, sometimes you might need to meet with a few to try on for size and assess if they are someone you can really gel with and be candid and upfront with. It's a two-way street, the best recruiter-candidate and recruiter-client relationships are built on trust, so make sure you do your homework and ask around for referrals from people you respect.

Secondly, be clear about what you're looking for but if you're not quite sure yet, that's fine too! A great recruiter can help guide you and give you insights into opportunities, or if you are hiring, they can present candidates that you may not have considered or looked at on paper. I'm a big one for saying that well networked and trusted recruiters can intuitively know if you might be a great fit for a particular client because of the relationship. They may well present your profile to a potential client who may not actively be recruiting but due to a prior conversation knows there could be interest if a recommended profile was introduced.

In a nutshell, finding the right job or hiring the appropriate candidate may be made much easier by an outstanding experienced recruiter. They have their finger on the pulse of what's going on in businesses, and are the lens through which you can garner such a huge amount of information to aid your decision, in both taking a role or hiring someone new.

Dedicated recruiters who have been in the industry for a long time will have built up an incredible amount of market knowledge which the value cannot be underestimated and, to be fair to newer recruiters, it's their job to get across and understand the market so they will still be of value to you and will be able to provide information you wouldn't have otherwise had access to. For any market you operate in, adding quality recruitment partners to your professional network is a must, even if you don't have an immediate need to look for an opportunity or to hire.

How do you see your recruiter? Have you got a recruitment network that is valuable to you?

I hope this post has given you some insights into how best to work with recruiters, how they can help you in both finding a new role or hiring for your business, and why building strong relationships with quality recruitment firms can be of value to you.

If you would like to join my professional network, I would welcome the opportunity to introduce myself and have a coffee!

#network #marketknowledge #recruitmentpartnerships #workingwithwest