Summer 2019: Gitte Peeraer graduates from KUL with a master's degree Applied Economics with option in Personnel & Organisation and starts her search for a first job. She soon ends up at Robert Walters, where she starts her career as a Recruitment Consultant in the Antwerp office.
5 years later, she is ready for a new challenge. And she found it quickly: from then on she would be focusing entirely on finding and helping to train new staff at Robert Walters, in the role of Senior Talent Acquisition & Learning Specialist.
After countless interviews and placements over the past 2 years, Gitte knows best how to tell us what is expected from a Recruitment Consultant and what a typical day looks like. In this article she explains exactly what the job entails, what we expect from you and of course what you can expect from us, what the application process looks like and you also get a glimpse of the growth path at Robert Walters.
Gitte: "As a Recruitment Consultant at Robert Walters you are responsible for managing and expanding your client portfolio. This means that you manage to bring in new clients for Robert Walters and find new staff for them. You mediate between these two parties and aim for a perfect match between client and candidate.
You publish client jobs and look for suitable candidates by actively approaching them via LinkedIn for example. You screen the reactions that come in and interview candidates, to get the best possible impression of them. Once you have found a good match, you link this person to a suitable company within your portfolio.
In the meantime, you have a lot of contact with your clients; they like to consult you about their recruitment needs. You listen carefully to the client's wishes and give appropriate advice, without losing sight of your own objectives. In the initial phase, you make sure that matters such as the salary for the position and the deadline by which you must deliver candidates are clearly agreed.
You will be part of a specialised recruitment team that focuses, for example, on Finance or Business Support vacancies. This will enable you to develop substantive knowledge of the field you are recruiting in and to properly advise employers and job seekers. The team consists of colleagues with various levels of experience, from whom you can learn.”
Gitte: "The above may seem a lot at first glance, but there is an entire team behind you. After all, teamwork is particularly important Robert Walters. Everyone, and especially school leavers who start with us, receive personal daily guidance from managing consultants and the team manager. But there is more: regular training sessions are organised in the other offices at Robert Walters. This allows you to get to know colleagues abroad and gain a broader understanding of the job. Because you learn the most from each other, right?
This team spirit is not only found in our work, but in everything we do. Hard work: yes, but we have just as much fun! Kicker tournament at the office, afterwork drinks to celebrate big and small successes, team lunch, team building days with all employees, and of course our legendary Christmas parties and international incentives."
As a recent graduate you will start at Robert Walters as a Recruitment Consultant. If you already have previous (recruitment) experience, you may be able to start in the next step of the growth path. But no matter where you start, a full training programme is designed for you.
In these training courses you will learn sales interview techniques, sales opportunity analysis, time management, recruitment systems, candidate and client management, pitching, negotiating, interviewing and writing vacancies. Did you know that all our Managers, Senior Managers and Associate Directors have also completed this growth path?
View our internal vacancies and apply today.
Come join our global team of creative thinkers, problem solvers and game changers. We offer accelerated career progression, a dynamic culture and expert training.