What's It Like To Be A Recruitment Resourcer?

You may have seen our advert for a new full-time Recruitment Resourcer to join our award-winning recruitment team and had a few questions about the role.

We sat down with some of our past and present Recruitment Resourcers to talk about everything you could ever want to know about the role.

So, What is a Resourcer at Contract Scotland?

Andrea: At Contract Scotland, the permanent or temporary recruitment teams (building, civil engineering or professional) each have a dedicated Resourcer. It's a fast-paced role, and our day to day activities are different depending on the team. The primary responsibility of a Resourcer involves sourcing candidates for recruitment opportunities. The role will involve:

• Researching the expansive in-house recruitment database we have.
• We find potential candidates for vacancies.
• We develop relationships with passive candidates.
• Conducting pre-screening checks and obtaining references.
• We meet and pre-selecting suitable candidates for job vacancies.
• We write adverts for our website and job boards.
• We liaise with hiring managers to update them on our progress.
• We utilise social media and sourcing tools to create brand awareness.
• We discuss market trends with candidates and clients.

This list goes on, but what's clear is there's a lot of variety!

Each Resourcer works alongside one or two consultants. Before my promotion to Consultant, I worked in the freelance building team and resourced for two Consultants.

Resourcers are a vital part of any recruitment team. We work together with our Recruitment Consultants to find candidates, fill jobs and generate new ideas to improve the recruitment service that Contract Scotland provides.

So, what made you want to get into recruitment?

Laura: My path into Recruitment wasn't straight-forward. I imagine this is the case for most in recruitment though. I mean, I've yet to meet a school pupil who wanted to become a Recruitment Resourcer or Consultant. I followed the path that many professionals working for recruitment agencies do though. After studying for four years, I asked myself; what now?

After University, I felt travelling was the way to go. I arrived in Auckland in Feb 2012 and lived in a campervan for a few months before settling in Christchurch. The city was recovering from the earthquakes of 2011, and the economy was growing at an alarming rate. Recruitment was busy beyond belief! I joined a team that took talent acquisition seriously and held customer satisfaction above all else. Once I returned to the UK, I decided to develop my career in recruitment.

What skills do you find yourself using the most a Resourcer?

Savanna:

• Listening & communicating - You need to make sure that you are listening to candidates and understand their motivations. Then you try and match these motivations with exciting opportunities in the job market.
• Honesty & integrity – being open and honest with candidates throughout the recruitment process ensures that everything will go to plan.
• Resilience – I used to think that anyone could do this job, but it wasn’t until I was in the seat that this view changed. In recruitment, you must regularly deal with change and curveballs. The best thing to do is to readjust and continue forward! 

At Contract Scotland, we are not targeted or incentivised to place people in jobs.

• We LISTEN to what the candidates are saying.
• We're HONEST with candidates throughout the recruitment process.
• We ultimately put them in jobs which BENEFIT not only them but their work-life balance and their careers.

Wow! In all that work, what do you enjoy most about your job?

Gillian: Without sounding like someone who tells you their job is the best (unless they are an ice cream taster), there are so many things.

No two days are the same. There are always exciting things happening. Speaking with new people every day and helping them as much as I can. Placing people into a new role is something the whole Resourcer team would say is great!

Sometimes things don’t always go our way. A candidate may not get that new job, or I get no responses to an advert. When you work with people, it can both rewarding and challenging at the same time.

During the challenging times, it’s good to have the support of our team to get advice or the pickup I need!

Sounds like a bit of a rollercoaster! What's one thing only a Resourcer can describe? 

Gillian: As we're not too involved in client relations or making a final placement, from the outside, it can be hard to determine what Resourcers would call a “win”.

I'm not a football fan really, but bear with me while I “tackle” (sorry...) this analogy;

The striker is crucial as they put the ball in the back of the net. But, even the most novice of spectators can appreciate that the goal would not have happened if their teammates weren’t there to help set up the goal. It's like our recruitment team – it’s a team effort. Everyone contributes, and everyone shares the successes.

Do you have any advice for people who want to work in Recruitment?  

Savanna: My advice would be:

• Put yourself in the candidate’s shoes, always put their motivations at the centre of your actions. We'll tell candidates if they need to adjust expectations or if they're not making a good career move!
• Treat people as you'd want them to treat you!
• Pay attention to the details. This job is all about the details.

Well, there it is! If you think you have what it takes or know someone who does, get in touch!