Recruitment consultant — Matt Alderson

Matt graduated with a BA Sports Business and Coaching from the University Campus of Football Business (UCFB). Discover how he secured a job as a recruitment consultant with James Andrews Recruitment Solutions

How did you get your job?

I applied for the recruitment consultant role on LinkedIn and then a week later I got a call and email from the talent acquisition team at James Andrews. After that, I attended an interview and also a sample day to get a feel for the role and the company, and the rest is history.

What's a typical day like as a recruitment consultant?

We start the day at 8.30am and call any candidates who have interviews that day or are starting a new role to wish them luck. Then we have our morning jobs meeting to discuss what action points need to be done for the day. Following this, we get ourselves set up for a morning of either working on jobs we already have on and need to source candidates for or will be focusing on marketing/business development and sourcing new vacancies to work on. At lunch, we'd have another quick meeting to discuss what has been done/still needs doing and then continue marketing or working on jobs depending on the need at the time. After 5pm, we'd have our final meeting of the day, organise all the final bits of work/admin and then log out and finish.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

My colleagues and the general culture of the company. We're a fun and friendly bunch who love to go out and socialise and everyone is always willing to lend a helping hand if needed.

What are the challenges?

You'll have to get used to rejection and being able to deal with unexpected difficulties. Sometimes, you'll have to deal with a tough client/candidate call or you'll have a candidate let you down and pull out of a role. These moments are tough but being able to overcome them and still make the placements makes it all worthwhile.

Is your degree relevant?

I studied sports business and coaching and the business aspect of the degree definitely helped prepare me for what it's like working in a business-to-business (B2B) role. On the other hand, the sports coaching part of my degree helped me learn transferable skills that are useful in a recruitment environment, such as resilience, adaptability and being able to think on my feet.

How has your role developed and what are your ambitions?

I'm now on the path to senior consultant, so I'm doing my additional training now and should hopefully be promoted in a few months. My ambitions are to continue learning, bill as much money as possible and hopefully get promoted and become a manager and director one day.

How do I get into recruitment?

• Apply for roles - as silly as it may sound, just make sure you're applying for any recruitment roles that take your interest on LinkedIn, company websites, and job boards etc. and get your CV out there.
• Do your research - find out what it is about recruitment that you like and dislike as all agencies are slightly different and will offer different forms of recruitment. Then, when it comes to the interview stage, make sure you research the organisation and get an understanding of how they work - being proactive and doing your preparation can never be a bad thing.
• Be confident during interviews - so much about recruitment is focused on how you can communicate with candidates and clients and build relationships. Make sure that during interviews you're confident and able to get your personality across.

Find out more

• Learn more about the role of a recruitment consultant.
• Read our 5 tips for a successful recruitment career.
• Discover what opportunities are on offer at James Andrews.