Dear Job Doctor,

How do I choose the right recruitment firm?

Whether you are looking for a new opportunity or need career advice, it is a good idea to enlist the help of a recruitment firm. However, with so many recruitment firms on the market, how do you choose the right one for you?

Firstly, identify whether the recruitment firms you are considering actually specialise in your area of work. Have a look at their websites to see which kinds of roles they are offering, and in which sectors. If they resonate with your ambitions, then it would be well worth meeting them.

Speak with your trusted network and ask them if they know and would recommend a good firm or consultant.

In order to evaluate the right firm and the right consultant, you’ll really need to meet them face-to-face. It is very rare for a firm outside of Luxembourg to recruit for organisations in Luxembourg where another local firm is not mandated also. It is likely that recruitment consultants who are living and working in Luxembourg have a better connections and understanding of the local market, companies and people.

If you are going to share confidential and sensitive details with a recruitment firm, consider choosing one that has an established presence and has a reputation for discretion and track record of success.

A good recruitment firm is well-connected, with strong links to quality employers. When you have your initial contact meeting, ask your recruitment consultant which organisations they work with, what level of hierarchy they regularly recruit at, and which sectors they have had most success in.

When you go for your initial contact meeting, you should also take notice of how open the recruitment consultant is to your ideas, and how good they are at understanding your ambitions. A good recruitment consultant wants to do the best for their candidates, and that involves listening to where they want to go in life, and helping them to achieve this. It requires several years of experience to become an expert in recruitment, so check for the length of experience and depth of understanding your consultant has in the recruitment process to be reassured of their expertise.

Once you have identified the right recruitment firm, consider exclusively registering with that one firm for an agreed period of time. If you have a profile that is “in-demand” a recruitment firm that has your exclusivity is likely to work much harder to find you the right opportunity in a proactive and confidential manner.

Darren Robinson is managing director of Badenoch & Clark Luxembourg, the largest staffing and recruitment firm in the Grand Duchy.

Have a question for the Job Doctor? Send an email to [email protected] with “Job Doctor” in the subject line. Your inquiry will be confidential: the Job Doctor will not be given your name, nor will it be published anywhere by Delano.