Don’t settle for mediocrity - elevate your recruitment experience.

Having worked in recruitment for almost 25 years, I’ve experienced the best and worst of the industry. There are some phenomenal recruiters out there who know their market, work as genuine recruitment partners and are proactive in their approach. I’ve also experienced the worst; where recruiters are too transactional, don’t place any value on building long term relationships and have limited knowledge of the market they’re operating in. As a candidate, I can imagine it can be an extremely mixed and underwhelming experience!

So how do you get the best from your recruiter in order to build the relationship with you?

There are 4 simple questions that you can ask when being headhunted for an opportunity.

1. ”What is it about my specific experience that makes you think I might be a good fit for this role?” Benefit: You’re establishing that you’ve been targeted as opposed to randomly approached as ”one of many”.
2. ”What differentiates this team from other direct competitors in the market?” Benefit: This question creates dialogue to allow recruiters to leverage their knowledge and insights, providing valuable guidance to you as a candidate.
3. ”How could this specific role enhance my career as a next development step?” Benefit: This is all about a recruiter providing visibility on how this could advance your technical and leadership skills compared to your current role. Additionally, it could present the possibility of an international move that could also be personally enriching.
4. ”Is my CV relevant for any other positions outside of this one? If so, can you let me know the options and I can approve this list before you action?” Benefit: This question is about creating full transparency with your recruiter on your personal data. No recruiter should ever send your CV to a client without your express permission. It’s worrying that I’m speaking to Partners and Directors where this is happening as a regular occurance. This is beyond poor.

2024 is already feeling similar to the recruitment market of 2022. It’s fast-paced, highly competitive and processes can move at lightspeed. This is why a personalised recruitment experience tailored to your skills can be game changing.

At TPI Search, many tax professionals choose to work with us exclusively in order to have a clear and bespoke career strategy. If you’re at the start of your thought process of considering a new career move, please reach out to one of the team here (Liz Tookey at [email protected], Aaron Leslie at [email protected] or Rebecca Nash at [email protected]). We’ll always show interest, take the time to listen and provide insights if you need them!