It’s all about the cash. This isn’t entirely true, but there is no denying lucre’s lure. “You can make very good money,” says John Dickinson, a consultant at Morgan McKinley.

Sell sell sell. Well yes, sales is part of the job, says Holly Weston, a consultant at Champion Recruitment. “A lot of people think that it’s really pushy and more salesy than it is. It is predominantly a sales role but it’s more a service that you provide than cold calls.” She does, howevever, have to spend some of her time cold calling.

It’s the office grind. Not at all, says Dickinson. He spends a lot of time out of the office meeting potential candidates near their workplaces because they are frequently too busy to make it to his office.

I’m working 9 to 5 and then . . . Dickinson has to work around his candidates’ hours, which can mean taking and making phone calls in the evening or at the weekend, depending on their availability and the timing of any interviews that have been set up.

Candidates are just products. Not really true, Weston says. “Obviously when you interview someone you think about what you can put them forward for, but that’s our job . . . They are money for us but obviously it’s about finding the right job for the right people.” Dickinson adds: “We want someone to be happy with where they’re going and to progress their career.”

They forget their candidates. “A lot of people think that . . . and it’s not the case,” Weston says. “When we have hundreds of candidates it’s impossible to ring every one of them every week, but we are still working for them.”

You have to have experience working in a market before you can sell to it. Nah, says Dickinson. But he says: “You have to be interested in it and knowledgeable and enthusiastic in order to sell to it. People think it’s very much sales orientated and there is an aspect of that, but also you are a consultant . . . you have to be able to give people advice.” And that means knowing what you are talking about.

Everyone’s on placement commission. Not everyone gets paid simply according to bodies placed at desks, but many do. Roger Philby, the managing director of Chemistry Recruitment, which does not use this approach, says that this bears much of the blame for the industry’s problems. “(It) needs to change the way it’s working.”

Check it out. Philby suggests to people considering a move into recruitment: “Ask how (staff) are rewarded by clients and how as an individual you are rewarded. Think about how that could drive (the firm’s) behaviour and that of its clients. You have to be careful. It’s an industry that has a bad reputation and frankly it deserves it.” So take note: it’s your responsibility to ensure that you work for one of the industry’s reputable players.

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