What does striving for best mean for recruiters?

It’s said that recruitment agencies were born from the need to fill gaps in employment during World War II – predominantly appealing to women to fulfil roles that had been left open by men heading into the army. Integrity and trust was good, with the recruitment industry held in high esteem. Fast forward 70-80 years, and the view and opinions of the recruitment industry have steadily decreased over time, with reputation being a key focus for negativity. So much so, that recent research showed that over half of people that used recruitment agencies in 2018, didn’t feel like they were dealt with honestly. Not only that, but 90% of people did not trust recruitment agencies to ‘make sure the job was right for them’.

‘They don’t know anything about the jobs they’re recruiting for’

‘They never call me back’

‘It doesn’t matter who they place, so long as they get their fee’

‘They just fire irrelevant CVs over’

A general feeling from respondents from the research, was that recruitment agencies rarely put the needs of the individual above the profits of the business, as well as recruitment consultants having little industry experience or advertising roles that didn’t exist to gain applications. So, with all of that in mind, what does striving for best mean within the recruitment industry?

There’s no denying that placements are needed to keep recruitment agencies afloat, although here at MET this isn’t mutually exclusive from our key values. We strive to be the best by championing progression. Progressing both people and business. There’s no quick fixes or bad placements when it comes to true progression. It means helping candidates and clients reach their potential, help them do the right thing and caring about the wellbeing of everyone in the process.

There are lots of preconceptions that we contend with on a day to day basis. To do our little bit and to help show the positive side of recruitment; over the coming weeks we’ll be sharing a few of our top candidate stories – showing life post placement.