All you Need to Know about Legal Recruitment Consultants

In legal recruitment consulting, the need for strong sales skills cannot be underestimated. It is true that the recruitment agency is in the business of matching the company and the candidate perfectly. But the keyword here is business-the focus is on turning a profit. So having mastery of the different careers in the legal profession will not mean much of one is unable to pursue clients and close sales. It is probably because of this that there are people that view a lawyer moving from working for a law firm to working in a legal recruitment consulting job as taking a step down. But this is not necessarily the case. The important thing is going for a position that makes the best use of your skill set. If you are good in it, a sales job can see you experiencing a higher self-actualization as well as making more money.

If you want to join the recruitment industry, the best way is to start by joining a reputable firm of legal recruitment consultants. Big recruitment firms are always looking for enterprising graduates to join their ranks. You may find that they offer you a very low basic salary for entry level positions but the goal is always to get you to compensate through the commissions you earn on your sales. As with any job, there will be a probation period (a minimum of 3 months but can go up to 6 months) during which you will be expected to achieve certain sales targets that you will have agreed to when signing the employment contract. This is a good time for one to get a feel of whether this is the job for them or if they should look for alternative employment.


One of the attributes you will require when in the legal recruitment consulting industry is patience. Legal recruitment consultants, just like other sales jobs, can experience high returns during periods of high turnover of jobs and lower returns in the not so good times. You must have good personal finance management to keep tabs on your personal spend in order to manage the fluctuating income. You must also be able to think outside the box and come up with creative ways in which you can connect with potential clients. Build contacts by attending forums where members of the legal profession are bound to meet in large numbers while making use of contacts you have developed in the past in the event that you joined legal recruitment consulting from a job in the mainstream legal industry.

Be prepared for flexible working hours. You have to work with you clients preferred meeting hours that might include lunch hours, early breakfast meetings or meetings that will take place past normal working hours. As a sales person, the buck starts and ends with you-like a self employed business person, you create the business through your own effort. If you join a legal recruitment consulting firm from the mainstream legal industry, you might think that you do not need any training. However, it would be great to attend a professional training in recruitment such as the Certificate of Recruitment Practice as this will help you get your hands on deck and hit the ground running as quickly as possible.

Many recruitment consultants on the lower end of the spectrum will receive a basic salary ranging from $40,000 - $45,000 per annum but this will increase depending on sales performance and industry experience. The recruitment agency will normally charge 15-20% of a successfully hired employee's annual salary as a one-off fee of which the recruitment consultant will get between 3% and 10% of the fee.