Market flooded with sales/ recruitment roles?

by Mark on 31 August 2011 09:07

Seriously, is it just me, or does it seem like a good 80% of all entry-level graduate roles are either in sales or recruitment? :S

Most jobs I see around either seem to be sales or recruitment, or require relevant experience. Completely disregarding the fact that competition is tough now anyway, it's even harder when there are so many roles that you don't want. Maybe I'm just being too fussy, I don't know, but I really don't think sales/ recruitment is for me...

Is anyone else a bit bogged down by just how many of these roles there generally seem to be?

by Emma on 31 August 2011 15:42

I definately feel the same! I graduated a year ago and sales/recruitment jobs seem to be the only 'graduate' jobs out there. I've not got the pushy sort of personality to sell, but due to such high competition for the small amount of other graduate jobs, I don't stand a chance of gaining a contract. Although I have a 2:1 degree, I do not have over 300 UCAS points, which many companies also expect the applicant to possess now. Many of my friends whom which I graduated with are now doing an additional degree in something which they can specialise in, which equates to more debt and 3 more years studying.

by Adam Thompson on 01 September 2011 18:26

I think the recruitment mark is very high turnover, because of the pressure ! So graduates are going in and constantly going out because the pressure is too much. It's annoying to troll trough so many recruitment positions in order to get to the relevant job roles - in fact they begin to look like spam.

I would advice not to rush into a postgraduate just because you don't have a job - I made that mistake and I'm paying for it now :(

by Will on 02 September 2011 13:17

I've recently been getting a lot of calls from recruitment agencies asking if I want to work for them to which I turned down but decided to go for one interview just to see what it was like. It was a bit off, the first guy to interview me was really positive and I enjoyed talking with him, the second was very negative so I guess were testing me. I do think that you need to be able to handle the pressure, but then you also need to think money money money!

by Ed on 16 September 2011 18:04

YES YES YES. It is ridiculous. They are fishing the job pool but no one is biting it seems. I don't even know what career I want. But I just want to be useful to an ethical cause and not a middle man for a money machine. Too much to ask obviously. Very depressing.

by Mark on 18 September 2011 11:08

Just because there are lots of sales jobs around doesn't mean they are all bad surely? Some people might want to look for something in Sales and make it a career. I know there are lots of sales jobs around but there would be wouldnt there because the basis of business is to sell your products and services, everyone is at it regardless of being a company or charity. It's just the way it is. You might be looking for a higher calling and that's fine but I'd rather get a job in sales, get some experience and use it to work other career paths than sit around waiting for something to happen. I reckon it's easier to work the system from the inside with a job than it is without one.

Just sayin'.

by Suzie on 19 September 2011 11:34

I agree. It has been the most frustrating thing in the world for me to graduate with a First LLB and a Master's in Law and to only really be getting interest from 'trainee recruitment consultant' positions. It must be such an awful job if so few people want to do it. The graduate jobs market is in a truly dire and depressing state.

by Stuart on 19 September 2011 14:37

Don't take a recruitment job, even as a last resort. I did, thinking I would be able to do a job that I had no interest in if the money was good. If you're not interested, no amount of money will help you get through the day and in most cases, the OTEs are by no means achievable. The hours are long and a lot is expected from you, turnover is aprox 80%. I quit after three months and started doing unpaid internships - I've now just been offered a permanent position in finance, what I initially studied.

by Isabelle on 19 September 2011 14:43

Yes, there are so many sales/recruitment adverts out there and suprising most are targeted at Graduates who have not been able to secure their chosen jobs. The most frustrating thing is, one does not need to be a grauate to secure these roles and they keep putting up naes like 'Trainee Graduate Sales position' or 'entry level sales position'. I am a Law graduate with LLB and LLM degree and I dont see why they would be requiring a Law or Finance graduate according to their adverts.

by Steve on 20 September 2011 00:41

Very true. Having graduated from a respectable university with a 2.1 in Law, I now find that all paralegal/legal assistant type roles require experience before you can apply. Sort of a catch-22 as no-one wants to hire you because you lack the experience they won't give you.

I'm actually considering applying for a recruitment 'consultant' job - the basic wage seems to vary between 20-24k, with commission for top earners. Is it really that bad? I've read eye-opening stories, and most if not all people despise them, but I could really do with any sort of job until TC deadlines come around again..

by Suzie on 20 September 2011 11:10

There aren't a large amount of recruitment jobs because an industry has sprung up overnight, they are jobs with an extremely high staff turnover - that's why there are so many vacancies. You have to meet and beat targets or you will find yourself out because they can just drag another graduate in to do your job. And you have to think hard too - if most of the jobs out there are in recruitment, then how as a recruitment consultant are you going to find places to put people?

I'm holding out trying to get into a law firm as a trainee clerk or administrative assistant, and trying to make connections in the meantime. It's something to think about until TC applications open again. Try to get on a vacation scheme and contact your local law society junior lawyers division in the meantime. They can provide networking and career opportunities that might land you the sort of job you're after.

by Sally Evans on 21 September 2011 10:15

@Ed. I am the same; I want to work for an ethical company, so I have applied for the co op, so hoping for a reply back about my app soon. My friend works for them now and she is always going on about schemes like Fair Trade and BUAV.

by Andy on 22 September 2011 21:07

Living in Brighton there are a ton of Recruitment companies vying for young graduates. I also fell in the trap of going around for a month or two researching the Recruitment market as much as possible because I thought it was the best chance I had of getting a job, not because I was particularly keen, or even suited, to the work.

I have a good 2:1 in History and initially found some of the companies to not only be very positive but also different from what you would expect from a recruitment company. Having said that, after four or five interviews you do start to notice that this is not the job for you, or even most of the graduates out there.

My advice would be if you are suited for a role in Recruitment look into it. If you honestly do not think you are look elsewhere immediately and don't waste several months pursuing a position just because it's easy to get an initial interview. Thankfully I'm in a great non-recruitment role at the moment and would honestly not look at recruitment again if I had to start looking for graduate jobs.

Also, do watch out for the scammers claiming to be recruitment companies who actually turn out to be phone sales or worse, door to door. Nine times out of ten a poor website will give it away.

by Mark on 22 September 2011 21:56

@Sally I think that's what I was trying to say...but you said it much better than my attempt! Essentially, if you think you might be interested in recruitment give it a whirl and do your homework - you might like it and you might make a great career out of it!

I suppose what annoys me is some people just slagging it off, in a "too good for recruitment" way without doing anything else or having other avenues! Give it some consideration! If you feel you have no opportunities don't just write off an opportunity because you've heard someone say its not great. That's not just about recruitment but all roles!

Mark.

by Sarah on 14 October 2011 11:32

I enjoy working in recruitment. I enjoy the sales atmosphere and I enjoy talking to people. There is very much a work hard play harder atmosphere which is often very appealing to new grads. What you get from working in recruitment is money and you get to work with similiar young people. Also the Christmas parties are amazing! Obviously the role is a lot harder than people first think so the turnover is high, you have to be the right sort of person to suceed in a tough sales environment. I also rarely work after 6.

by Kimberley on 12 November 2011 17:40

I don't know much about recruitment but I know that sales jobs are difficult and they require a lot of effort on your part to reach your targets BUT if you work hard and can stick it out for 6 months or so it is:
a) a way to earn a good wage (where you can save up enough money to be able to afford to do an internship or unpaid work placement in your chosen career path)
b) will give you some experience of a corporate environment (looking better on your CV than a great big hole)
c) will demonstrate that you work well under pressure and can work to strict deadlines and targets
d) some schemes give you the opportunity to move departments after a year or so thus giving you an 'in' to a relevant company.

And I read the other day that some 80% of senior business managers started out their career in sales...

I guess it depends what kind of person you are but sometimes in life we have to do things we do necessarily want to do in order to get what we want in the end.

by Lily on 10 August 2012 20:16

I work in recruitment and I love my job. Yes, some months its more difficult than others to reach targets but there's a lot more to it that just sales. Filling a really difficult to source role with the perfect candidate and hearing the excitement in their voice when you tell them the good news, that the job is theirs, is actually quite rewarding. One of the reasons, it appears that there are so many recruitment roles out there is that because the job market is so saturated, with many people vying for the same positions, employers don't want the hassle of sifting through like-for-like unqualified candidates themselves. I'm in a niche digital marketing sector and get to work on some really interesting advertising & brand specifications for big names. I guess it all depends on which company you work for but it really frustrates me when people dismiss recruitment out of hand. It's by no means as soul-destroying and stressful as made out. Major plus point, I get to leave my work actually at work when I leave the office at 5.30pm

by Tim on 13 August 2012 09:46

I agree with Lilly.

Recruitment and Sales get a really bad wrap but in truth they are great starting jobs. You learn all the necessary skills that employers are looking for and can build yourself a great CV to then advance your career.

Yes, there are some crappy organisations but there are also some very genuine companies that will treat you well and pay you well!

by Graduate on 15 March 2013 01:08

I don't see what so bad if you can get a job in recruitment or a sales role. Sure its pressuring and all with all the targets and expectations but wasn't your graduate degree demanding anyway?

I've graduated and had no luck with any jobs and would be more than happy to take up a role in it. I can't be sure if I would like the job or dislike it or find it ok as I never done it before but be happy if you do get an opportunity to join it.

The job itself demanding is good to get the experience and to have worked in a difficult environment with plenty of exposure working with others and seeing people and all because most if not all jobs, the employer will love to hear the stories about it from a potential employee.

If you like recruitment once you get into it then its great and even if you dislike the job then stick with it for a few months to get the experience and it be the first step to get a job as to what you want. Whether you want to apply for example a finance job, IT jobs such as programming and all its good to show that you haven't been just sitting down doing nothing for months. It at least gives you the experience and who knows you might get an excellent reference too which helps further into securing a job you want. If you dislike it just stick with it so at least you aren't sitting around which will make finding a job even harder.

The role gives you plenty of the experience the employers will like to hear.

I think its true in comparison to other graduate jobs these have plenty more but its not a bad thing. Getting down into it to get some experience will help you get a job you want. everyone neds a stepping stone and this can be the first stepping stone.

To be honest every job have pressure its just some jobs such as recruitment and other sales jobs have more pressure than other jobs. If you go into recruitment and sales it may put you more at ease when you found the job you want that is less pressuring. It helps putting you at ease with others jobs.

by Tom on 24 June 2013 00:55

I've noticed this as well but I guess maybe it will be worth it to just get my foot in the door.

by Kechi on 08 July 2013 18:10

I went to a grad fair just before I graduated whilst I was writing my dissertation. I was offered a sales job off of the back of that fair. Bear in mind I didn't know it was a sales job at the beginning, it was sold to me as a completely different role. However I took the job and even though I hated it overall. It got me a "graduate level" job I could put on my CV and confidently apply to other graduate jobs.
It's all about experience and what things you have learnt which can be applied in other situations/roles. No job will come to you and to be honest, any experience is better than no experience. Don't think a degree is enough on its own.

Sometimes you have to do things you don't want to do to get to where you want to be. If I didn't do take that sales job, I probably wouldn't be in such a great role now.

by Jove Tyson on 26 November 2014 09:54

The wrap recruiters get is for a reason. It's not a made up fallacy that people made up to spite recruiters. My experience with recruiters has been both good & bad, the bad being more prominent. I was lied to dramatically and offered a really shit job that was made to be gold, I was fools gold.

I came from a very creative background during University and post graduation, however, money is hard to come by as a graduate, unless you're heavily supported or very connected. Sales is a fantastic place to start for any graduate looking to enter the business world. I began my sales life in publishing, selling advertising space and events, it was boring, un-challenging and very well paid. I moved on after near a year to a film sales job, this was possibly the worst job I have ever done. It required 250 dials a day to strangers asking them for investment interest. I was outta there in a month as it was a Wolf on Wall Street set-up. However, I learnt a great deal from this experience and moved quickly to my current job. I now work in business development for a digital agency that helps businesses understand how social insight can improve business outcomes. Its a small company going into a new area of growth. Its difficult, challenging and requires you to become an expert in social media and digital marketing. I LOVE y job and even though picking up the phone is sometimes hard, I relish growing relationships with the worlds biggest businesses.

SO...my final bit of advice is, if you want to grow your personality in more confidence, learn business skills, earn good money and become a master of your field. Sales is the most respected career you can go into. If you can master cold-calling and winning new business, it doesn't matter what company, you will be valued higher than anyone else, believe me that is the truth. You can hire tons of analysts, hundreds of marketers and loads of journalists, but the good sales people are bullet proof and earn the most.

by pete on 17 March 2015 17:23

Its very easy to have a bad manager/employer in these types of roles as well. As it take pushy, demand driven people to succeed which also happens to be the worst temperment for a manager to have.

I also wouldn't call it a career, as there is little chance of advancement, As promotion isn't really a thing for the majority in sales.
Sales people rarely stay at the same company for more that 3-5 years (because of targets).
If you take a break from sales for more than 6 months to a year a lot of places will consider you 'out of the game' as most of your contacts and business will have moved on, putting you back to square one.
The only reward of doing a good job will be a higher target the following year.
Say goodbye to your free time, whether it be ringing candidates outside of work when they're free or driving across the country it always eats into your free time (unpaid overtime basically).
Your low wage will mean no chance of mortgage for a house, will banks not taking commission into account)

oh, and if you're take a sales job straight out of uni and do that for the next few years it can actually make you less employable in the actual job you want to do!

Yes you can make a lot of money, and I've heard stories of exceptional individuals making millions! but its never as straight as just working hard, it can come down to luck most of the time.

My advice, get a role in a sales/recruiter company which specializes in the field you'd like to enter, get contacts, learn how the job market really works, tips and tricks how to get in touch with the managers of the businesses.
Once you're suitably clued up, quit your job (you'll need the free time, and working at a recruiting company whilst applying for their jobs is a bit dubious) and immediately start looking for jobs in the field you want. its not fool proof, but its an eye opener!



From an ex-recruiter

by Smiles on 26 September 2015 12:02

I know what you mean. I have just taken a job in recruitment. The people are lovely but I don't think sales is for me.
How do I tell them that this isn't for me when they have spent so much on my training. And will the agency help me find work still in what I want to do or turn their backs on me out of annoyance.
I need the money so can't quit without finding something else.
I feel maybe I should stay on and start looking for something after about 3 months!