Making the transition from working within a recruitment agency to an in-house recruitment role isn’t as easy as some might think.
From my experience, and having spoken to other recruiters, it can at times be a difficult transition.

Consider the following:

• Employers tend to see recruitment consultants as sales people - often perceived as aggressive - and they aren’t after sales people, especially not aggressive ones who will upset the workforce.
• Employers also argue that external recruiters don’t have experience of managing ’internal’ recruitment campaigns, and that they lack the credibility to manage internal stakeholders - especially at the more senior levels.
• While I understand these points, and in some cases I would agree, generally speaking, these assessments are far too simplistic. I suggestthat employing organisations should consider the following points to counter their initial reservations:
• Not all recruitment consultants are aggressive sales people. Think about why they are looking to make the move. Perhaps sales isn’t for them but they enjoy the the process of recruiting people - and may actually be good at it.
• Most recruitment consultants don’t just recruit for one client, so while they might have limited knowledge of managing internal recruitment campaigns, they nevertheless have experience of managing various campaigns within different companies. Perhaps the person doing the hiring should consider the diversity of their experience as positive.
• While recruitment consultants may not have the background in managing relationships solely within one company, they do have experience of managing relationships within many different companies. If they can prove the ability to manage relationships then these skills should be transferable.

Then consider the other benefits of employing a recruitment consultant from within a recruitment agency:

• They will have gone through all the training and therefore understand the sales techniques of agencies.
• They understand the mindset, and can therefore understand the objectives and drivers, of an agency. From my own experience this is a massive plus in managing the relationships between agency and recruiting company.
• Because of this understanding it is easy to identify tweaks to the process to make the recruitment journey for both client and agency a more effective and (just as important) enjoyable experience.
• Recruitment consultants often have a wide network of contacts that could be a real benefit to your business - especially if they have been a specialist recruiter within the candidate pool from which your business is likely to recruit.

For me the key thing is this: the organisation looking for an internal recruiter - whether public, private or third sector - needs to look further than just ’Does this person have a background in internal recruitment?’

This approach is very blinkered and in all likelihood will mean them missing out on good people.

Consider why the recruitment consultant is looking to make the move and the potential benefits they could bring to you - ahead of whether they tick the internal recruitment experience box.

Alex Brock is a resourcing consultant.