Recruitment consultants again

[Andy008]

I make no apologies for the endless fascination I hold about these people. Searching only a few of the many web-based job sites (Workthing etc), I've noticed that vacancies for recruitment consultants outnumber all other executive jobs by about 10 to 1.

Looking at vacancies in the "Graduates" division of a well-known national recruitment group, 34 vacancies are listed, 3 of which are for sales position in the FMCG sector, 1 is for a customer services officer, and the remaining 30 are for recruitment consultants �mainly internal vacancies?

If this role is so well-paid, rewarding and fast-moving as seems, why are so many vacancies advertised? Surely there would be a deficit rather than a surplus of openings?

(This question isn't rhetorical or any way sarcastic, I genuinely am interested to know the reality of the situation.)

[gammaray]

Recruitment agencies suffer high staff turnover because it's a target driven environment. They only exist if they manage to place people, thereby gaining their commissions. The success of the agency will stand or fall on the ability of it's "consultants" to sell their commodity (in this case human!) to companies in their market. Staff leave because they burn out, because they don't meet the targets or get jobs in other agencies paying better commission rates to it's consultants.

[Becca83]

Hi Andy

I graduated in 2004 and joined a recruitment 'grad trainee scheme' as the basic was ok and they paid our rent for the first 6 months. Now, i realise it was a big mistake! I don't find it stimualting and people think all you want is money, even candidates, and that we want to screw them over with high largins and lie. I work in IT which means the commission can be good but since training ended, ive been put on a cold calling desk and it is likely you will have to endure hours of misery and having people put the phone down on you.

I'm handing in my notice after payday as i am FED UP with this job and go home frustrated and feeling unfulfilled every night. I want to help people - social care or something like that - as I am that type of person. If you are tough, will do anything to get what you want and don't have many morals, go for a sales job but that is not me!!

For a statistic, 19 of us were recruited onto the grad scheme for this recruitment role in March 2005 and now there are only 10 of us left, 3 of us are planning to leave ASAP and my other friends are only sticking it to get some money temporarily.

There are much better jobs out there, believe me. Do you think employers will pigeon hole me though? That worries me.