Trainee Recruitment Consultant

Trainee Recruitment Consultant | Education Recruitment

Launch your recruitment career. Build a profession, not just a job.

Principal Education is looking for our next Trainee Recruitment Consultant to join our growing team.

This is an opportunity to join one of the UK's fastest-growing independent education recruitment agencies. From day one, you'll receive structured training, work alongside experienced consultants and learn the skills needed to build a successful career in recruitment.

If you're interested, make sure you read all the way to the bottom.

About Principal

Principal Education was founded to bring genuine innovation to the education recruitment sector.

Whilst most recruitment agencies still operate much the same way they have for years, we've invested heavily in technology, structured processes and operational excellence that allow our consultants to perform at a higher level.

Just as Uber connects drivers and passengers through technology, our own platform creates a direct connection between schools and education professionals 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

The result is a faster, fairer and more efficient recruitment experience for both our candidates and our schools.

We're now entering our fifth year of trading and have grown into one of the UK's fastest-growing independent education recruitment agencies. We've won national industry awards, hold over 700 five-star reviews, recently achieved APSCo Compliance+ Accreditation with an outstanding 99.38% score, and continue to invest heavily in both our people and our technology.

Technology alone doesn't build great recruitment businesses.

Great people do.

That's where you come in.

Your Training

Recruitment isn't something you learn overnight.

From your first day, you'll work alongside one of our experienced Lead Consultants, learning the role through real experience rather than sitting in a classroom.

During your first six months you'll receive structured coaching, daily support and regular feedback as you build your own desk and develop the skills needed to become a successful Recruitment Consultant.

By the end of your probation you'll have a solid understanding of:

• Candidate sourcing and interviewing
• Business development
• Client relationship management
• Sales and negotiation
• Recruitment legislation and compliance
• Market analysis
• Time management
• Organisation
• Commercial awareness

We're not looking for finished recruiters.

We're looking for people with the potential to become exceptional ones.

What You'll Be Doing

Your responsibilities will include:

• Interviewing and registering education professionals
• Supporting candidates through our safeguarding and compliance process
• Speaking with schools to understand their recruitment needs
• Business development and introducing Principal to prospective clients
• Attending school visits and client meetings
• Creating professional candidate profiles and polished CVs
• Matching candidates to vacancies
• Keeping candidates informed throughout their assignments
• Chasing timesheets ready for payroll
• Working closely with your Lead Consultant to learn every aspect of the recruitment industry

Recruitment is simple to explain.

We help great people find great jobs.

Doing it exceptionally well requires resilience, organisation, communication skills, commercial awareness and determination.

One thing we want to be completely transparent about is the amount of time you'll spend on the phone.

Our consultants typically make 200+ outbound calls every day and spend several hours speaking to candidates and clients. Recruitment is a people business, and the telephone remains one of the most important tools we have.

If you genuinely enjoy speaking to people, building relationships and solving problems, you'll love this career.

If the thought of spending most of your day communicating with people sounds exhausting, this probably isn't the role for you.

The rewards, however, can be exceptional.

Working Hours

This is a full-time office-based position.

Working hours are:

Monday to Friday
7:30am - 5:30pm

Salary & Commission

Starting Salary

£22,600 - £26,500

Your starting salary will depend on your experience and the skills you bring to the role.

During your six-month probation, you'll focus on learning the business, developing your desk and building the foundations of a successful recruitment career.

Following the successful completion of your probation, you'll become eligible to earn commission in addition to your salary.

From that point onwards, your earnings are entirely driven by your performance.

Career Progression

At Principal, promotions are earned through achievement, not time served.

Everyone follows the same clearly defined career pathway.

As your knowledge, performance and responsibilities increase, so do your earnings.

Typical On Target Earnings:

Trainee Recruitment Consultant £28,000

Junior Consultant £36,000

Associate Consultant £51,000

Senior Consultant £76,000

Executive Consultant £100,000

Managing Consultant £125,000

Principal Consultant £150,000

Partner£240,000+

There is no ceiling on what you can achieve.

What Makes Someone Successful?

Recruitment isn't easy.

If it was, everyone would do it.

The people who succeed here generally possess:

• Resilience and mental toughness
• Excellent organisation
• Outstanding communication skills
• Confidence speaking to people from all backgrounds
• A competitive mindset
• Self-discipline
• Curiosity
• A willingness to learn
• High personal standards
• Ambition to build a successful career

You don't need recruitment experience.

You do need the right attitude.

What It's Like to Work Here

We're ambitious, professional and genuinely enjoy what we do.

The office has a real buzz. You'll hear consultants celebrating placements, collaborating with one another and yes, there's usually a DJ set playing quietly in the background.

Success deserves celebrating.

Recent team events have included:

• Michelin-starred lunches
• Rooftop summer parties
• Christmas celebrations
• Team socials
• Networking events
• Performance incentives

We work incredibly hard.

We just don't believe work has to be boring.

Location

Our office is based at St Katharine Docks, London, just a short walk from:

• Tower Hill
• Tower Gateway
• Fenchurch Street
• Tower Bridge

The Recruitment Process

We're looking for people with the potential to build exceptional careers, not simply fill a vacancy. As a result, our recruitment process is more thorough than most.

The first stage is a telephone screening interview.

Candidates who impress at this stage will be invited to one of our Assessment Days, taking place during late August.

Our Assessment Day is a full-day, competitive selection process designed to assess communication, resilience, problem-solving, teamwork and your potential to succeed in recruitment.

It isn't for the faint-hearted, but neither is a career in recruitment.

We believe it's important that both you and Principal are completely confident we're the right fit for one another.

Assessment Day places are strictly limited and offered by invitation only following a successful telephone screening.

Successful candidates will join Principal in mid-September.

Interested?

You could simply submit your CV...

Or you could do what great recruiters do.

Pick up the phone.

Introduce yourself.

Make a great first impression.

We receive a high number of applications each year, and the candidates who demonstrate confidence, initiative and professionalism from the very beginning naturally stand out.

We look forward to hearing from you.