8.00 - Commute to the Office

The sun is shining and you have a coffee in hand. Maybe even a Greggs sausage roll if you're feeling peckish! Like most office jobs, the working day starts at 9am, meaning you can have an enjoyable commute to the HRS office.

In your bag you'll have everything you need to ace the day. A notebook or diary, highlighters and pens, earphones if you really need to be 'in-the-zone', and your phone charger - of course. You'll be making lots of calls today according to your schedule...

9.00 - Schedule, Email & Calendar Checks

You arrive to the office and greet your peers with a smile and have a little catch up about your evening before you buckle down for work at your desk. One of the best things about working in recruitment is how sociable it is - after all, to be a recruiter, you have to be comfortable with communicating and socialising!

Next thing to do is open up your email folder. Your job is to source, screen and inform prospective candidates, so you should always expect to have a handful of emails in your inbox at any given time. You take a look through your emails and note down any changes in your calendar to get your schedule ready for the day.

For a recruiter, your calendar is everything. From scheduled meetings, calls, zoom links, and job reference numbers, your calendar will become your best friend as it holds lots of important information that you'll need throughout the day. 

9.30 - Check-ins with Candidates

Once you've caught up with your emails and you have a good idea of what you need to prioritise for the day, it's time to check in with your prospective candidates. Some emails you can expect to find in your inbox include:

• Messages from candidates interested in a job position

• Questions from candidates about a certain job posting or requirements for the role

• CVs and cover letters from prospective candidates 

• Updates from employers about open job vacancies and ongoing interview processes

It's also important to note that a recruiter will usually specialise in a particular field or sector. It's especially helpful if it's a sector you're passionate about - and this is what we always encourage at HRS when you become a life-changer. This is so you get the most enjoyment out of your job, and so you can communicate efficiently with candidates. 

10.45 - Break

Once you've sent off your emails, it's time for a well-deserved break. Whether this be a toilet break, a quick drink, walk, or a snack, it's important to get away from your desk and stretch your legs wherever possible. 

Recruitment is busy and fast-paced, but it's integral that you take the time to relax when possible throughout the day. After all, if you're stressed, it could make your candidates stressed, too!

11.00 - Email Checks 

As you've just replied to the emails of a few eager candidates waiting for more information, you'll probably come back to your desk to more emails and replies waiting in your inbox. Here's where you'll take 20 minutes or so to arrange screening phone calls with a few potential candidates or answer any further queries. If you don't know the answer, you may need to get in touch with the employer so you can relay the correct information to the candidates.

Of course, these scheduled calls and arranged meetings will be noted down in your trusty calendar for future reference!

11.20 - CV and Candidate Screening

As a life science recruiter, you will most likely be in control of a number of job postings. A job recruiter works hard to screen candidates when applications inevitably come flooding through, so a big chunk of your day will be spent analysing and reading through the CVs and cover letters of candidates.

This could also include getting in touch with them for further information about their experience by asking them to send over qualification certificates or right-to-work documents.

At this point, you may also need to correspond with the employer to affirm what they're looking for, and for them to answer any queries you may have about the applicants and their individual interview processes.

13.00 - Lunch

The best part of every working day - right? We'd be lying if we said otherwise. Lunch is the time for you to detach from your job role and relax for an hour or so. 

This is the best time to catch up with your peers about their day, go for a walk, and grab something nice to eat. It's essential to have this break time so you come back to your desk feeling refreshed and ready for the next half of the day. 

14.00 - Employer Meeting

You've just returned from your lunch break, and your manager has let you know there's an employer that's interested in advertising their job opening through the agency. As the employer is hiring for a role within your specialist sector, it's your responsibility to set up a meeting with the employer to find out what characteristics and experience they'd like from an ideal candidate. 

This can either be done over the phone, over a video call, or in person - whatever works best for you and the employer. You'll probably need your notebook handy at this point to note down key points of your discussion.

Once you've got all the details you need, it's time to source your candidates.

15.30 - Candidate Sourcing

Recruiters are experts in networking. You'll quickly become a whizz at networking on LinkedIn, Indeed and Glassdoor when searching for your ideal candidate. After all, you want to find the perfect candidate as much as the employer does! What's so rewarding about recruitment is that it's your job to make the match.

You begin your networking process, which usually involves outreaching through messages and emails, passing on key bits of information about the job posting to the candidate. This will usually include the location, starting salary and any primary job responsibilities. It's also important to add why you think the candidate would be a good fit for the job role if you want to increase your chances of a keen response. 

Once you've reached out to all potential candidates on these sites, you can also take a look through your agency's internal database and referrals to find any additional candidates that may suit the position.

16.30 - Email Checks

After that big task, you can definitely expect to find quite a few more emails in your inbox. The last half an hour of the day is usually spent catching up, checking in, and scheduling meetings or calls to get the ball rolling for the candidates (whether this be the next working day or within the week).

Throughout the day, you may have also received a few emails or calls from employers about successful candidates that you helped through the interview process. This is definitely one of the most rewarding parts of the job!

17.00 - Home!

And another day as a recruiter draws to a close. After a day of laughs, discussions, meetings, and hard work, you can go home knowing you've made a difference to someone's life today. 

It may sound dramatic to say that, but it's true. Why else would we call our recruiters life-changers?

How happy were you when you were approached about a new and exciting job? How ecstatic did you feel when you found out that you'd bagged yourself an interview? This is what it's all about for us at HRS, and you could be a part of it too.