Employment agent to recruitment consultant
An employment agent already meets 63% of what the recruitment consultant role asks for. The move turns on 5 required skills not yet in the profile.
43.6/ 100
1 How much of what a recruitment consultant is expected to do is already part of an employment agent’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the recruitment consultant role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A recruitment consultant role treats 18 of its required skills as things an employment agent already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- communicate by telephone
- develop professional network
- document interviews
- employment law
- ensure gender equality in the workplace
- fix meetings
What stands in the way is 5 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 21 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A recruitment consultant role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an employment agent background worth leading with.
- already held prepare for job interview communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held facilitate job market access communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held ensure gender equality in the workplace assisting and caring
- already held profile people management skills
- already held support employability of people with disabilities management skills
- already held job market offers business, administration and law
All 21 carried skills, including the 18 the recruitment consultant role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 22 missing skills fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn identify customer's needs required
- still to learn maintain relationship with customers required
- still to learn use communication techniques required
- optional, not held implement customer follow-up optional
- optional, not held mentor individual employees optional
- optional, not held negotiate employment agreements optional
- optional, not held apply social media marketing optional
- optional, not held liaise with colleagues optional
- optional, not held write work-related reports optional
- still to learn company policies required
- optional, not held advertising techniques optional
- optional, not held market analysis optional
- still to learn video conferencing tool required
- optional, not held develop employee retention programs optional
- optional, not held administer appointments optional
- optional, not held determine salaries optional
- optional, not held maintain professional administration optional
- optional, not held manage tests optional
- optional, not held measure customer feedback optional
- optional, not held give advice on personal matters optional
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a recruitment consultant role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 company policies study this
- 02 identify customer's needs practise this
- 03 maintain relationship with customers practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 21 skills that carry over
- already held communicate by telephone skill
- already held develop professional network skill
- already held document interviews skill
- already held employment law knowledge
- already held ensure gender equality in the workplace skill
- already held fix meetings skill
- already held hire human resources skill
- already held human resource management knowledge
- already held interview people skill
- already held job market offers knowledge
- already held labour legislation knowledge
- already held listen actively skill
- already held maintain privacy of service users skill
- already held observe confidentiality skill
- already held prepare for job interview skill
- already held profile people skill
- already held recruit employees skill
- already held support employability of people with disabilities skill
- already held apply knowledge of human behaviour skill
- already held assess character skill
- already held facilitate job market access skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held business communication optional
- optional, not held personal reflection techniques based on feedback optional
17 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held develop employee retention programs optional
- optional, not held give advice on personal matters optional
- optional, not held implement customer follow-up optional
- optional, not held mentor individual employees optional
- optional, not held negotiate employment agreements optional
- optional, not held administer appointments optional
- optional, not held advertising techniques optional
- optional, not held apply social media marketing optional
- optional, not held business communication optional
- optional, not held determine salaries optional
- optional, not held liaise with colleagues optional
- optional, not held maintain professional administration optional
- optional, not held manage tests optional
- optional, not held market analysis optional
- optional, not held measure customer feedback optional
- optional, not held personal reflection techniques based on feedback optional
- optional, not held write work-related reports optional
10 held skills the recruitment consultant role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise on career skill
- not needed by the target role analyse unemployment rates skill
- not needed by the target role assist clients with personal development skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with local authorities skill
- not needed by the target role mentor individuals skill
- not needed by the target role promote employment policy skill
- not needed by the target role promote gender equality in business contexts skill
- not needed by the target role promote inclusion skill
- not needed by the target role provide information on study programmes skill
- not needed by the target role search databases skill
6 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn company policies required
- still to learn video conferencing tool required
- optional, not held advertising techniques optional
- optional, not held business communication optional
- optional, not held market analysis optional
- optional, not held personal reflection techniques based on feedback optional
Common questions about this move
Can an employment agent become a recruitment consultant?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. An employment agent already covers 63% of what a recruitment consultant is expected to do: 21 skills carry over, 18 of which the recruitment consultant role treats as required.
What skills does an employment agent need to become a recruitment consultant?
5 required skills are missing, plus 17 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is company policies.
How hard is the move from employment agent to recruitment consultant?
Its learning distance is 43.6 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.