Recruitment consultant Review

My internship at Hays overall was very enjoyable. When I first started I didn't enjoy it as much but as I proved myself and was given more responsibilities (given my own desk to run) it became a lot more fun as well as challenging. I loved the aspect of constantly talking to people because I'm a people person. I also found it very motivating having KPI's to hit each month which would allow me to get bonuses.

At the start of my placement it was challenging as with any new job, it takes time to settle into a new environment. However it wasn't long until I felt like a valued member of the team. As I was in charge of my own desk I could also contribute towards the team fee targets. I even won consultant of the month twice (received the most nominations by my colleagues). We also recieved invites to all out of offices activities and the christmas party which was a 3 course meal, party and over night stay in a hotel.

I received constant guidance and support throughout the whole of my placement. My manager and I would have regular monthly performance 1 to 1's which would give me the opportunity to ask questions and let them know where I was struggling/needed help with and to gain feedback. I was also given a mentor who would check that I'm ok and would help when needed.

On a day to day basis I was incredibly busy because I ran my own desk so I constantly needed to be attracting candidates and developing business with clients. To manage my time I would use a day plan which would allow me to prioritise what I needed to get done that day. I would also have KPI's and targets to reach each month.

At the start of my placement I didn't have a lot of responsibility because I was just resourcing candidates for other colleagues, but after a couple of months I proved to be capable enough of running a desk by myself (mechanical and electrical), I would be responsible for finding candidates, developing business with clients and setting candidates up for the job. I also was chosen to be 'Talent Scout' because of my hard work, which meant that part of my job was to find next years interns.

We recieved constant training, online and classroom- even had a 3 day training course in London. The skills I have learnt whilst at Hays have made me mature and open my eyes to the real world of work. I have learnt to manage my time efficiently, developed my communication skills, customer service skills,negotiation/selling skills , computer skills. It has also introduced me to a whole new industry which I have never had an interest in or known anything about (construction) and I now hope to have a career within or linked to construction. All of these skills will help me to manage myself when completing my final year of university and I hope to use my experience at Hays within my dissertation.

The general atmosphere in the office was very friendly and welcoming. We often had to work as a team because candidates and clients may engage with multiple consultants. Its a very sociable environment and we would often have to all work as a team to achieve office targets, which if we hit would receive office night outs/meals etc

The organisation of the placement was amazing. We were given a 12 week plan on day 1 of our placement which listed all of the online courses we needed to complete and when they needed to be done by. It also listed training days scheduled and received constant on the job training. We also had regular reviews with our managers to check we were keeping up to date with the programme.

We received industry leading training, 3 day training course in London right at the start of our placement and throughout was given the opportunity for more training days if we needed them. We also had 10 online modules to complete which involved training on how to use the in house system and compliance

After I finish university I have the opportunity to go back to Hays to join as a graduate- I will also receive a bonus for returning. I am very keen to go back after uni to do this. There's also lots of opportunity for progression within the company if you hit your targets you can get promoted. I've been asked by my manager to come back after uni and was even allowed to have my contract extended another 2 months over the summer.

There was another intern in my office and surrounding offices who I was friendly with. We would have intern training days together and were encouraged to interact with eachother. After the intern training days we would all go out for lunch/drinks. As we had training together it was easy to make friends and socialise with other interns. There was also an intern conference in London where we got to meet interns from all over the country.

My work was located in the city where I live so I lived at home it was fairly cheap for me to live there. There was lots of shops and restaurants that we could go to at lunch, with many different options. I often went out for lunch with other colleagues and drinks after work on a friday.

The area where I worked had a an OK nightlife, there were bars and a few clubs however not quite as good as London. I do think more nights out could have been arranged with the whole office although its difficult to arrange a time when everyone if available. The drinks in the local bars are fairly priced.

There were activities arranged outside of work for example charity fun runs, meals out, outdoor cinemas, nights out, Christmas parties. I do think they could have arranged more of these events because I felt it was really beneficial especially in regards to team building, plus it was fun and good to socialise with colleagues outside of the work place.