# IT Recruitment Company



## jonny121 (28 Sep 2005)

Hi all, 

i am currently considering a couple of business ideas, 1 of which is an IT recuitment company. I was wondering does anyone have any experience in the recruitment game and if so then what do i need to know. Is there a license i am required to apply for or anything like that or is it just a case of contacting companies to see if they have anything?


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## efm (28 Sep 2005)

The recruitment game is a tough one to make any money on - as far as I know there are no restrictions on opening a business and calling yourself a recruitment firm - as a result the market is very well serviced at the moment. If there is any sort of downturn in the employment market I think you will see a lot of the smaller recruiters fall by the wayside - look what happened in the Dublin recruitment market in 2002/3 - after the dot com bust quite a few IT Recruitment specialists went bust.

What is your USP for IT recruitment in particular? Do you have excellent contacts in a large number of the big IT employers in Ireland who know your track record and will be willing to let you recommend staff to them? is your service offering going to be different than what is there already? Have you done the market research to verify that there is space in the market for another recruiter? - Just have a look on www.myjobs.ie for the number of agencies listed.

I wish you all the best in your new business venture if you choose to do it, but make sure you go in with your eyes open!

efm


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## RainyDay (28 Sep 2005)

I'm pretty sure there is a licence required to operate as a recruitment agent - you see small ads in the papers from agencies publishing notice of their intention to request renewal. But I doubt if that's your biggest concern - I'd agree with efm's concern as to how you could differentiate against your competitors? What will get you in the door to client companies?


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## Humpback (28 Sep 2005)

You don't need a licence to operate as either a recruitment consultant, or to operate a recruitment company. It's essentially a sales company and it has no regulation or oversight.

With regards to setting up yet another IT recruitment agency in this country, there is a fantastic opportunity to do so as it is very very easy to provide a differentiation between the new company and any of the multitude that are out there.

Simply stated, if you say you're going to provide a service to recruiters and candidates, and if you actually do what you say you're going to do, you're immediately differentiating yourself from the rest.

I have now worked worked on all sides of this triangle - the candidate, the recruitment company, and now as a recruiter in a large organisation.

I've experienced the rubbish service that such companies dole out to candidates - fair enough, the candidates don't pay any more to the recruitment company.

But now, I'm amazed to experience exactly the same kind of shoddy service being handed out to my company by these same people - and we are paying them money. It's hard to believe that so many of these companys all operate in the same shoddy and unprofessional manner.

As an example, we had an issue with a recruitment company, and called in their MD to discuss - basically, do you actually want our business or not. We got all the platitudes in the world and were assured that we'd get their best people working for us. He took away a listing of 15 jobs that needed to be filled, and for a month, we received no CVs. We contacted them again, asked what was going on, and the MD was busy, but someone would be over to see us. A spotty kid showed up (nothing wrong with that) to start to give us the same story we'd received already. This kid had no idea what was going on, and when asked, freeily admitted to only have been working in the company for 2 weeks. So much for the "best people".

So, differentiation in this market should be extremely easy. A proper service focused IT recruitment company, who fulfill all promises, and keep their word. It sounds so simple. Well, then why doesn't anyone else do it?


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## jonny121 (28 Sep 2005)

well basically I have been in the IT or more specifically the java industry for the last 6 years and am seeing what i hope is a market for a serious IT consultancy company working in that java/services industry and is able to differentiate between all these contractors out there and only offer on the contractors worth their salt.


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## efm (28 Sep 2005)

So is it a consultancy firm or a recruitment firm you are thinking of starting?

If it's a recruitment firm and you limit yourself to just those with Java experience you're limiting your potential supply of business surely?

Are you thinking of doing what a lot of IT recruiters do and not only find the candidate but also sub contract the candidate to the employer? - if so you need to look at the margins usually available for that service - my understanding is that it is quite low.

I'm not having a go, in case you think I am; it's better to be able to answer these questions now before you sink any time or money into the venture

efm


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## RainyDay (28 Sep 2005)

ronan_d_john said:
			
		

> You don't need a licence to operate as either a recruitment consultant, or to operate a recruitment company.



Not true - From ;



> Under the Employment Agency Act 1971 an employment agency must hold a licence if it is to carry on its business. This licence is renewed on a yearly basis at an annual fee of €500.



Isn't it a bit worrying that someone who has operated both in a recruitment agency and as an in-house recruiter using agencies wouldn't be aware of the basic licensing requirements?


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## Humpback (28 Sep 2005)

RainyDay said:
			
		

> Isn't it a bit worrying that someone who has operated both in a recruitment agency and as an in-house recruiter using agencies wouldn't be aware of the basic licensing requirements?


 
I stand corrected!

And I therefore become case in point in how the recruitment industry in this country works.


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## jonny121 (28 Sep 2005)

basically I am thinking of a specialist type of recuitment whereby i will only put forward developers that i believe would be capable of doing a job for a specific company. For example as a developer i have been on both sides of this equation and it can be frustrating on both sides especially if a recruiter puts forward someone whos cv looks good but after interviewing them you realise they have "slightly" over exaggerated their skill set etc etc


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## ClubMan (28 Sep 2005)

Do you have any experience working as a recruitment consultant already? If not why not get some to see how it goes before launching out on your own?


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## RainyDay (28 Sep 2005)

Hi Jonny - I think you're focusing on the wrong issue. Forget the candidates for a minute - Where are you going to get the clients? How are you going to get in the door to meet the hiring companies? Why will they talk to you when they have established recruiters hammering down the doors to meet them? 

Your clients (the hiring companies) are the ones who will pay you - they are your first priority.


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## Humpback (28 Sep 2005)

RainyDay said:
			
		

> Your clients (the hiring companies) are the ones who will pay you - they are your first priority.


 
Do you think that if you were to define your service proposition to the candidates, and charge on the basis that you'll do what you say you will, that you then change the whole recruitment company model?

You sign up your candidates - they pay for your services, you give them the service, and get THEIR exclusivity to you.

You'll then have the companies banging on your door. Particularly if you're focusing on a niche market such as Java developers etc (though I don't see a need to limit it).


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## RainyDay (28 Sep 2005)

ronan_d_john said:
			
		

> Do you think that if you were to define your service proposition to the candidates, and charge on the basis that you'll do what you say you will, that you then change the whole recruitment company model?
> 
> You sign up your candidates - they pay for your services, you give them the service, and get THEIR exclusivity to you.
> 
> You'll then have the companies banging on your door. Particularly if you're focusing on a niche market such as Java developers etc (though I don't see a need to limit it).


You couldn't certainly try this - but I guess it would be a very high risk approach. I'm not so sure that you'd have queues of developers handing over money to you, when they can get an alternative (though possibly inferior) service elsewhere for free. 

I'd also wonder about how Jonny plans to vet the developers. Many companies already do technical interviews, and these are not always successful in weeding out poor employees. Would this business model be scalable, i.e. if Jonny has 500 candidates queing up to join his service, who is going to do the vetting of candidates?


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## jonny121 (28 Sep 2005)

yea unfortunately i do see all your points on this but i feel if i can offer a specialist niche like in the java developer section then i have a chance. the problem for any recruitment company starting out is always going to be getting clients that will take a look at ur contractors which of course will be the first thing i try and hurdle once i take the step. I obviously have worked in a no of companies and will have access to few project managers but in general i am going to have to come up with some "attack" plan in getting myself in with the mountain of others, any suggestions from any of you?


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## jonny121 (28 Sep 2005)

rainyday the whole vetting is obviously going to be a massive issue to deal with and if at any stage i have 500 contractors wanting to join my service then obviously i will hurdle that when i get to it 

initially i am looking to keeping it a tight niche where i can control the quality .... to be honest i am not necessarily looking for mass quantity cause as you say, mass quantity like that is much more difficult to assess


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## RainyDay (28 Sep 2005)

jonny121 said:
			
		

> initially i am looking to keeping it a tight niche where i can control the quality .... to be honest i am not necessarily looking for mass quantity cause as you say, mass quantity like that is much more difficult to assess



I can understand this, but just make sure the numbers stack up. If you're going for niche, will your revenue be enough for you to draw an income?


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## ubiquitous (28 Sep 2005)

A business studies lecturer in college used to remind us that "niche" rhymes with "hitch"...


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## RainyDay (28 Sep 2005)

ubiquitous said:
			
		

> A business studies lecturer in college used to remind us that "niche" rhymes with "hitch"...


I thought it was just the yanks that pronounced niche as 'nitch' - Is that pronounciation commonplace on this side of the pond as well?


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## ClubMan (28 Sep 2005)

My pronunciation of "niche" rhymes with "sheesh"...


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## Capaill (29 Sep 2005)

Remember to find a niche in the market but make sure there is a market in the niche


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## ClubMan (29 Sep 2005)

Very _Zen_...


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## jonny121 (29 Sep 2005)

thanks for all the help guys. will keep you posted if i decide to go through with it.


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