before accepting that job offer read this!

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Before Accepting That Job Offer – Read This!

There are literally thousands of recruitment companies in the UK that you could potentially work for,

so it can be difficult to know where to start when selecting the best company for you. There is a

great deal of information any candidate should know before accepting a job offer, much of which

cannot always be ascertained from a company website.

Any good recruitment company will want to hear that you are taking your job search seriously and

will be looking therefore to make an informed and confident decision as to who you work for. The

best employers do not need to rush candidates into making a decision to accept a job offer and it’s

mutually beneficial for both you and your employer to take the time to consider your options.

There will always be numerous great recruitment companies in the market looking to hire

candidates with the required motivations, personality traits and determination to succeed, so there

is no need to accept a job offer you are not completely happy with regardless of how tough some

people might tell you the job market is.

1. How Do I Earn My Money?

In addition to the basic salary, you’ll want to know what you need to do to get financially rewarded

for your efforts. Upon joining some recruitment companies you may not immediately qualify for a

formal commission structure, at least not until you have passed your initial training. This is quite

common with companies that you join as a Researcher initially. If this is the case, make sure you

establish what you need to do specifically to earn your bonus or commission. Good companies will

want to tell you how their commission structure works and you could understandably be concerned

if they don’t!

Commission structures often work on a sliding scale meaning you may for example earn 10%

commission for £10,000 of revenue you generate in a month and 15% for £10,000-£15000 and 20%

for £15,000-£20,000 and so on. Another point to consider is whether or not the commission

structure is banded. Using the previous example, if you generate £16,000 of revenue, whether you

get 20% of everything you’ve generated or 20% for anything between the £15,000-£20,000 mark and




10% for the first £10,000 will depend on whether it is a banded commission structure. The latter

example is banded. There are differences between how you earn commission on a permanent or

contract recruitment role too so ask for clarification if in doubt.

i.e.

Unbanded – £16k revenue at 20% = £3,200 commission

Banded – £16k revenue at 20% = £1,700 comission (10% of 1st £15k = £1,500 + 20% of 1k = £200)

Consider what is the expected value and frequency of the deals that you will typically be closing and

how these factors will impact your earning potential over time. Does the commission scheme

include a threshold? For example, do you need to generate a certain amount, say £5,000, before

qualifying for any commission? This can also be known as a “desk charge”.

Suggested questions

How does the commission structure work?

How quickly can I expect to start earning commission?

How does the bonus scheme work for Researchers?

What is the average deal value?

What is the record annual earnings in the first year for someone who joined the company with no

prior recruitment experience?

2. Career Progression?

As an ambitious graduate the last thing you will want is to be stuck in the same position for the rest

of your career. In recognition of your success, you should be given the opportunity to be rewarded

with promotion as soon as your abilities allow. Here are some questions you can ask to discover how

attractive the long term career prospects are within the company you are interviewing with.

The interviewer should be able to give you several examples of employees who have started with

the company as trainees and have progressed into a position of seniority. If they shy away from

talking about examples you have every right to be concerned. If they are a young company however,

they might have fewer examples but you can still ask what experience the Managers/Directors have

in terms of training and developing trainees at their former companies and what level of success

these people have achieved.

Suggested Questions




What are the plans for expansion across the business?

What is the quickest Promotion someone has made from Trainee / Researcher to Consultant?

What is the quickest promotion from a trainee to a Team Leader role?

Why was that person so successful?

What did they do differently?

How many of your Team Leaders started with the company with no prior recruitment experience?

3. Training and Development?

All the ambition, motivation, drive and necessary personality traits required for the recruitment role

will not be put to the best use if you join a company that lacks the proper training and development

to allow you to achieve your full potential. Therefore, during the interview process you can assess

the quality of training and the employer’s attitude to the importance of ongoing training and

development by asking some of the following questions.

Suggested Questions

How many of your employees started with you with no prior recruitment experience?

What's the biggest mistake people typically make when starting out in recruitment?

What do you do if a new employee doesn’t hit their targets in their first month?

What expectations do you have of me in my first 6 months of employment?

12 months?

How is the training structured?

Who will be responsible for my training?

before accepting that job offer read this!

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