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How to become a legal recruitment consultant

14.05.07 How to become a legal recruitment consultant
This article also applies to recruitment consultant jobs generally. Becoming a recruitment consultant is a little like joining the dark side in Star Wars - it often involves professionals giving up a well paid job with status to take on what is, in essence, a sales position, which very often is viewed by just about everyone to be a step down the ladder rather than up it.
What do you need to become a recruitment consultant? Qualification-wise - none, but I don't think anyone less than graduate level for legal recruitment will find it very easy, as it involves a high level of communication with solicitors and legal executives, and you need to be able to empathise with them, which can be very hard work indeed at times!
Skills wise? Patience (by the bucket load) - this is a career that offers good rewards if you are able to gloss over the bad times and remember only the good times. At present for example we are going through lean period, which is not so bad as we have been so busy in recent months. However unlike a professional post, you do look at work and sometimes wonder where you are going to get your next meal from! Ability to think outside the box - quite a few of our introductions are as a result of unusual introductions which have come solely from our insider knowledge of the legal profession and generating leads where others have not. Flexibility - need to be able to work on your own and with bucket loads of initiative - there is no structure to recruitment - you generate the work, you arrange how often you do this, and you need to keep tabs on everything yourself often.
How do you find work? Often the larger companies recruit former lawyers to the trade, and dangle shedloads of money in front of them to get them through the doors. You dont need any training as such, but it sure helps! The REC is the main recognised trade body, and their website is www.rec.uk.com - I did the Certificate of Recruitment Practice after being in the business for a number of years, and it would have been very helpful to have done it prior to joining the trade, with hindsight!
I have written this article due to the number of queries we are currently getting from crime solicitors (cant think why).

Jonathan Fagan, MD of Ten-Percent Legal Recruitment - no.1 online UK legal recruitment agency - save time, skip the legal job boards and let us do the work - register online for our recruitment services - http://www.ten-percent.co.uk/register.html

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