A Day in the Life of a Talent Consultant
Growing up I don’t think anyone ever has a dream of becoming a recruiter. You can’t get a degree to be a recruiter or study for it. It just happens and when it does you realize you are in one of the most rewarding jobs there can be. You are helping someone start or find their next step in their career. No one day as a recruiter is the same, which is part of all the fun.
As an RPO Talent Consultant, I have the unique role of working with one dedicated client as part of their own internal team, creating a true partnership in the hiring process. I’m able to focus all of my time on this one client’s hiring needs, rather than working on multiple projects and different searches at a time. (Not sure what RPO is? Aubrey & Jen gave a great rundown of just what the heck Recruitment Process Outsourcing here). Recruiters in this role ensure that our candidates are happy whether they have been offered the position or not, which protects and enhances our client organization’s employer brand and the candidate experience.
Taking on the day
To be honest, your day starts the evening before by prioritizing your tasks? What can wait? What is urgent? What should be priority #1? Then, in the morning, while I am still laying in bed I typically look at my Juno email and client email quickly to see if anything urgent came in overnight and reprioritize if it is needed. After I do that, I typically get ready or decide what shirt I want to wear with leggings that day (a lovely benefit of working remotely). My days begin around 8:30am where I thoroughly go back through my emails and respond. I’ll start working on my client spreadsheet if any updates are needed (a handy resource I use to track candidates’ names, emails, phone numbers, roles they are in process for, and where they are at in the process).
Once that task is completed, it is time to hit the Applicant Tracking System (ATS). I look through all new applications that have come in for the current roles I’m working on and if the candidates qualify, I reach out to them directly or send them over to the hiring manager and disposition them accordingly. Of course, in the process of doing that, I am always updating the spreadsheet to reflect the most recent activity. Once that task is completed I move over to LinkedIn. I check my messages to see if I have any responses from sourcing the day before and respond to them accordingly. A typical message with a candidate starts by introducing yourself, the company, and some benefits to try and get them interested in hearing more about the company. Adding the job description in that first message can be a huge help as well. Typically, your second message will mention having the candidate send their resume over to you along with some availability for some time to discuss the role and background of the candidate.
Around 9:00am is when my day really ramps up with screenings, sourcing, hiring manager meetings, client meetings, and following up on hiring manager interviews. When screening a candidate you want to make sure that they have the hard and soft skills that the client is looking for along with having the required skills for the role. Multiple screens a day are what we aim for to be able to fill the role in ample time. Following up on hiring manager interviews is very important because sometimes things can fall through the cracks and then you have a candidate sitting for a few days without hearing anything from the hiring managers. Keeping up on market trends and consulting hiring managers is also part of the duties as a recruiter. You want to make sure that their roles are competitive in terms of comp and benefits.
Lunch time!
Before you know it, lunch time is upon you and you have felt like you have accomplished so much or nothing at all. We all have those days that you end up in an email thread for hours and still don’t have an offer in front of you. If at this point, I was unable to get sourcing done I jump onto LinkedIn to source for awhile. You want to make sure you have some time to do that in order to potentially have responses later that afternoon or in the morning the next day.
Wrapping up
During the afternoon is typically when my hiring managers get in touch with me regarding offers. Sending out the offers is one of the best parts of our job! The hiring managers extend the verbal offer with my client and I send the written offer out shortly after. Once they accept, I move the candidate into onboarding and start the onboarding process.
If I am not doing any of the above mentioned, I am scheduling interviews with hiring managers, sending a request to Marketing on the Juno side to create a post (shoutout to Jac and Carly for all their hard work!), debriefing with hiring managers, building relationships with both candidates and hiring managers, posting jobs, declining candidates that hiring managers didn’t decide to move forward with, and so much more.
Putting in the work
Recruiting is not always a 9-5 job. There are times you will have to send an email while eating dinner, at a kid’s sporting event, or even make a late call to a candidate to extend an offer. There are days that you prepare but something urgent comes up and you don’t get half of that list done and that is ok too. Remember your client always comes first.
All that said, recruiting is a very exciting and rewarding career path!
Meet the Author
Jordan Brusco
Talent Consultant, Talent Solutions
Meet #TeamJuno
We’re born recruiters, master networkers, and we know how to get it done. We asked our clients why they work with us, and while trusting in our fast delivery of top talent is the core need, it’s the friendships they feel they have in the Juno team that keep them coming back.