Why is Recruitment a Great Career for Graduates?

Information Technology (IT), engineering, healthcare, and life sciences are all industries that are both stable – in terms of demand and the low likelihood of being impacted severely by political events – and well-invested.

For example, European biotech investments hit €9bn in 2021, a significant increase from the €4.5bn total of 2020, and this is just one sector within life sciences.

Similarly, software engineers are in high demand across 24 countries, and nurses in 18, according to a recent survey - not only are certain sectors and industries performing consistently, but there is also a continually high demand for talent.

This means that there is the potential for significant job security attached when selecting a specific industry to recruit in.

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With so many different specialisms across recruitment, if you’re looking to make an impact on a particular area, recruitment offers this opportunity.

The pharmaceutical and biotech sectors are prime examples of areas that are desirable for graduates looking to make a difference through their recruitment career, as it involves placing talent that will be involved in the development of new drugs and treatments that can have a positive impact worldwide.

The Team Leader of our Delivery Division, Merel Van Os, described how fulfilling it was to be able to work on a large Moderna project and place an entire team building the lab for Moderna – being able to work on such exciting projects and contribute to such meaningful efforts is one area of her job at Panda  that Merel enjoys the most.

Each candidate placed into a role offers the opportunity to contribute towards global efforts in a particular area, which can help considerably with job satisfaction in the long term.

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Many graduates land jobs that aren’t necessarily related to their degree or qualifications.

Recruitment offers the opportunity to use the soft skills that can frequently be overlooked – communication, problem-solving, teamwork, flexibility – and improve them as you work.

The industry or job role that may have aligned most with your degree/qualifications might not have as much of a people-facing focus, which is something that recruitment has in abundance.

Working with candidates can be particularly rewarding given that you could be matching them with companies that align with their values and goals (which can also tie in with making a difference!)

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When you’re starting in your career or when you’ve recently changed career, progressing to a senior role can seem like a far-away goal.

With recruitment, progression opportunities are abundant and much faster than most jobs, as this progression is based on performance rather than time spent in the job or until the senior role is available.

At Panda, for example, many of our employees have started as a Trainee Recruitment Consultant and made their way up to Consultant in as little as four months.

It can also provide great peace of mind to any graduates that recruitment roles will generally have a clearly defined career path to follow, so you should always be aware of which steps can be taken to progress in your role.

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No matter which industry you decide to recruit in, there will undoubtedly be variety in your day-to-day simply because of the nature of recruitment.

Whilst one day you may be interacting with clients and candidates, on another, you may be interviewing.

The best part about recruitment is that you will likely have a lot of flexibility within your role – remote working, flexible hours – so long as you’re hitting your targets.

Panda were proud to evolve our employer proposition recently and introduced a 4 day work week for all employees, without a reduction in pay.

Interacting with so many different clients and candidates will also contribute to the variety you’ll have in your work, as each role will require a different skillset to fill, and each individual spoken to is another addition to your network.

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You want to be able to put in a lot of effort and see the results of your contributions.

Recruitment often operates through commission structures, meaning that when a client or the recruitment agency benefits from your hard work, you do as well.

The high remuneration is a great incentive as it means that the more successful you are in hitting your targets, the more you’ll be rewarded.

This doesn’t just stop at monetary benefits, though.

Many recruitment agencies – Panda included – offer additional benefits such as free gym memberships and subscriptions to wellbeing services, making it easier to prioritise your mental health and wellbeing alongside your work.

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Recruitment is rarely a static working environment – recruitment agencies can have several different working locations, meaning that you could have the opportunity to work abroad in many cases.

Additionally, with hybrid or remote working roles available in so many roles, there is the huge benefit of a diverse and dynamic working environment.

You have the potential to develop your career in new places with new people, all whilst progressing continually in your recruitment career.

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We’re on the lookout for ambitious individuals to join our team here at Panda and make a positive impact on the life sciences industry at a time when the growth potential has never been higher.

You can benefit from a 4-day work week, free gym and headspace subscriptions, an industry-leading commission structure, equity options and a range of learning and development options.

Best of all, you can follow our clearly defined career path, starting as a Trainee Recruitment Consultant and working your way up.

Take a look at our vacancies to find out more or get in touch with the Panda team.