Recruitment FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions in Recruitment Services

What is the Definition of Recruitment?

Recruitment is the process of finding and hiring candidates for specific job vacancies. A company requiring hiring services is defined as a ‘client’ and an individual looking for a new job is defined as a ‘candidate’.

The purpose of recruiting is not only filling an individual job opportunity, but providing a rewarding career for the candidate and helping the client business to achieve long-term success.

Client businesses use various methods for selecting candidates, and candidates use various methods for job hunting. While some businesses use in-house HR teams, hiring managers or talent acquisition teams, others will choose to employ recruiting agencies to help them source, meet and hire the best candidates.

Candidates will often use job boards where new vacancies and career opportunities are advertised, apply directly to advertisements from companies or join internships or training programmes.

Both clients and candidates can find more success with the help of a quality staffing agency.

How Does the Recruitment Process Work?

The sourcing and selection process consists of several stages:

Briefing – The client business will define their company goals, project specifications and requirements of the role. Our recruitment consultants will then draft a brief that will inform our sourcing and selection strategy to match the right candidate with the business needs.
Resourcing – We will advertise the relevant job opportunities (such as Software Developers, Solution Architects, DevOps Specialists), create tailored campaigns to promote the client company across channels, and utilise our existing networks to identify skilled candidates who match the brief.
Initial Call – We will build a shortlist of the candidates we have found who match the brief, and contact each one to understand their current job situation and hear more about their skills and professional experience.
Interview – We will formally assess each candidate to understand their level of skill, experience and culture fit for the client company.
Client Interview – The best candidates from the interview process will have a formal interview with the client company, meeting either virtually or at the client company offices.
Offer – We will communicate between the chosen candidate and the client company, to agree on an offer that works for each party, and determine a date for the candidate to start in their new job.
Onboarding – We will support the successful candidate all the way through the process, communicating regularly until they begin in their new role and in the weeks following their start date. We will check that the candidate has everything they need, and that they’re settling in well, and will collaborate on any issues or challenges to ensure the client company and candidate are both happy with the placement.

How Long Does the Recruitment Process Take?

The length of the whole process can depend on a variety of factors, including whether the role is permanent or contract, the seniority of candidate needed, the type and level of skills required, the location of both the client and the candidate, and the notice period of the candidate.

For senior permanent roles, a process of several months may better suit the candidate and client business and provide enough time to fully onboard and prepare for the new hire. For more urgent projects, contractors and long-term staff can be recruited in a small number of weeks or even days.

Why is Recruitment Important for Businesses?

The business benefits include:

Higher Quality Candidates – Specialist recruiters talk with hundreds of candidates every week and have many years of experience in their niche field, enabling them to find the best candidates and assess them against the client’s requirements.
Faster Hiring Process – The knowledge and experience of recruitment agencies mean that they will almost always identify skilled candidates faster than in-house HR teams, and will manage the process efficiently to limit any delays to hiring.
Delivering Savings – The high quality and faster services reduce the burden on in-house HR departments and senior executives, saving time and resource costs.
Improve Your Employer Brand – Recruiters know exactly how to promote your company’s brand in the market to attract the best candidates. Even after the hiring process has finished, your brand will have reached thousands more potential candidates who could be a great fit for other current and future roles.

How Much Do Recruitment Services Cost?

Rates will vary depending on each requirement, but are usually priced as a percentage of the candidate’s annual salary (or rates for temporary workers). These rates cover the entire sourcing and interview process, all administration, and time and resource costs.

Hiring one wrong candidate can cost companies up to £30,000 – the speed, accuracy and quality of professional staffing agencies can save companies from large time and resource costs.

Find out how your company can reduce recruitment costs.

Do Recruitment Agencies Charge Candidates?

No – candidates should never be asked for a fee at any stage throughout the process. We will not charge you for a job application, a chance to interview for a job, for a job offer or for the services we provide on your behalf.

Where Can I Find My Next Tech Job?

We list most of our available job opportunities online. Browse our latest tech vacancies.

How Can I Apply for an IT Job?

Apply to an individual job opening, send your CV to mail@templeton-recruitment.com or register with us to stay informed of all the latest job opportunities.

What Interview Questions Will I Be Asked?

Every interview is different: depending on the role and the candidate, some questions will focus more on establishing exact levels of specific experience, and others will focus on potential career progression and softer skills like communication.

The most popular interview questions include:

Tell me about yourself (describe your career so far and what you’re looking for in your next job)
Why do you want to work in this role/for this company?
Why do you want to leave your current job?
What can you bring to the role/company?
What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?
Tell me about a time when you… (solved a problem/dealt with a difficult situation/demonstrated a particular skill)
Where do you see yourself in five years?
Why should we hire you?

How Do I Become a Contractor?

Contractors enjoy many benefits not afforded to permanent employees – flexibility, complete control over your own schedule, and a huge variety of experiences and changes to brush up on your skills – but transitioning to temporary work is a big change. Ensure you do your research to work out your own personal brand and how to present yourself within your market, and understand legal regulations like IR35 to work out how much you’ll earn and what you’ll be legally responsible for.

Our staffing consultants have helped thousands of freelancers, sole traders, interim managers and contract specialists with questions on finances, tax, legal compliance, employer relationships and admin.

Find out more about how we can help you get into a contracting career.

Why is Recruitment a Good Career Path?

Variety – No day is ever the same in tech recruitment. Unlike other vocations, recruitment is all about people: most of your day is spent speaking with clients and tech professionals, assessing candidate skill sets, collaborating with colleagues internally and often travelling to meet clients at their work sites around the world.
Autonomy – Working in recruitment means that you can treat your desk as your own business, with the added benefits of a long-established brand behind you and the support of experienced colleagues. The more time you spend building relationships with candidates and clients, the more you develop your own knowledge, skills and personal brand in your sector or specialist area.
Social – We work hard and we celebrate and reward success. Our offices are social, energetic and collaborative environments where everyone is supported and encouraged to achieve their best.
Unlimited Earning Potential – The average recruiter can, with hard work and skill, earn 60% more than the general population. It takes a lot of grafting to get to the top, but unlike other career paths, your pay packet isn’t restricted by grades, seniority or promotion levels – you’re as successful as you want to be.

Find out more about recruitment careers at Templeton.