Graduates - Have You Considered Fashion & Retail Recruitment?

If you’re coming to the end of your degree you might be considering joining the world of fashion & retail recruitment, but what will your day-to-day tasks be and how you might progress over the first 12 months? 

Recruitment is a fast-paced business and during your career you will develop key skills such as time-management, problem-solving and most importantly communication. To succeed in recruitment it’s important to have passion, as well an interest in the sector you recruit for. 

The best Consultants are industry specialists. It’s not just about matching a CV to a role profile; it’s about investing time in getting to know your clients, their brands, their plans for the future and being able to provide a personalised and consultative service. Ultimately recruitment is a people business, and is all about finding out what people are looking for, and working out a way to get it for them; whether that be the perfect candidate for a picky client, or an amazing new opportunity for a top class candidate. So whilst you are working up to Consultant level, what sorts of responsibilities or duties can you expect to be tasked with… 

Month 1: In your first couple of weeks it’s all about getting to know your area and finding your feet in the office. It’s likely you will go through an internal induction process which will give you an in-depth background on the company you work for, their ethos, their approach and their values. You will then start training in areas such as interviewing (telephone and face-to-face), sourcing and matching candidates, writing job adverts and preparing candidate CVs. 

By month 3: By now the majority of your initial training will be completed and you’ll be getting some hands-on experience in your role. You will be sourcing candidates for live roles, interviewing them and potentially briefing them on suitable vacancies on behalf of Consultants/Account Managers. You will likely be given targets to reach, but these will be more KPI focused (candidates registered, phone time, CVs sent etc.) rather than strict financial targets, although you will have these to aim towards. Training will continue, however nothing can prepare you more for a Consultant role than hands-on experience. 

End of year 1: By the end of the first year you will be fully up-and-running in your role. In addition to resourcing, you will also be actively working on accounts; speaking with clients and developing new business through lead gathering, business development calls and attending client meetings. Your knowledge of the industry and your department will have grown hugely since month 1 and now is the time to put all you have learned to good use! Financial targets will have been set in accordance with your new skills and training and you are well on your way to becoming a fully-fledged Consultant. 

During the first 12 months there is a lot to learn and you will need to be hard-working, resilient and demonstrate a positive attitude in order to succeed. Don’t worry you won’t be on your own; you will most likely work with at least one other established Consultant who will be able to offer support and guidance to help you develop in your role. If you want to work in a people-focused industry, and have a genuine interest in fashion & retailing then Recruitment could be the perfect career for you. 

If you want to discuss this further please send your CV to claire@fsrl.co.uk