These two words seem to follow most job adverts, but why? Outdated misconceptions, particularly in the corporate world, are putting hurdles in the way of today’s proactive recruitment consultants.

“Recruiters have such a bad reputation!” exclaims Sara Duncan, founder of both Crew & Concierge (crew recruitment) and Shoreside, which was launched in February 2023 to recruit personnel for shore-based positions across the superyacht industry. “There’s a lot of negative feeling towards recruiters, and it’s not justified, not anymore,” continues Sara. “And it’s not just the superyacht industry, it’s a general thing.”

“Anyone who’d been on board and established a bit of a network seemed to think recruitment was their answer to a career on shore…..”

So where does it stem from? The late 90s and early noughties saw a recruitment boom, with head-hunters, recruitment agencies and job sites alike benefitting from advances in technology that made database management more efficient, streamlined processes, and essentially, allowed anyone to set themselves up to offer such services. “The recruitment sector became saturated with people who were out to make a quick buck. They weren’t following correct procedures and/or lacked the knowledge to serve specific industry sectors,” explains Sara. And that saturation spread into yachting, “Particularly with regard to crew recruitment,” adds Sara. “Anyone who’d been on board and established a bit of a network seemed to think recruitment was their answer to a career on shore, and that they could get their mates a job.”

With this saturated marketplace came inflated fees, complicated contracts and a race to place candidates, which meant that due diligence wasn’t always at the level it should be.

“Whether for crew roles on board or industry positions ashore, we are meticulous in our assessment of a candidate’s skills and suitability for the role. From qualifications and verifying references to an assessment of how good a fit they’ll be for the existing dynamic of the team, it all gets looked at in detail,” explains Sara.

“They aren’t trained recruiters, or even have any recruitment experience – they’re just using their network to cash in.”

In the crew recruitment sector, Sara is keen to highlight how recruitment seems to be a bolt-on service for companies whose main business offering is something else. “There are companies whose main focus is something different -perhaps project management, more technically focussed, or a service provider- and suddenly they’re promoting recruitment services. They aren’t trained recruiters, or even have any recruitment experience – they’re just using their network to cash in.” And it’s not always a good idea. When things go wrong and a placement doesn’t work out, it can have a negative impact on the client relationship and other services they may be providing.

Social media has also played its part in changing the recruitment landscape. “Everybody has a network and yes, there may well be someone within your network that’s a good candidate for the job, but that doesn’t make you a recruiter,” Sara continues, “Job posts on social media -particularly in quite general yacht groups- will result in you being inundated and overwhelmed with messages and then the usual recruitment processes like vetting CVs and checking references start to go out the window.”

It seems that the saturated recruitment market has given people the impression that recruitment is easy, so it’s not worth paying for. “Honestly, it’s hard,” says Sara. “We save people a huge amount of time by working through the CVs. We have an in-depth knowledge and understanding which means we can manage both the expectations of the client and the candidate. We can approach people employed by competitors and all of that work is free until a client chooses to hire someone we’ve presented.”

Sara has made significant investments in advanced software that enables her team to shortlist prospective candidates with lightning speed, and their own database is the primary go-to before job roles are posted online. “Our fees are in line with industry standards, and recruitment is certainly not easy to do right! We have an incredibly lengthy, personalised and professional process that we go through; we review a CV, talk to the candidate on the phone, they come in for an interview with one of the team, sometimes two different team members, we check references, etc,” explains Sara.

“…the client wants reliability, skill, and professionalism from the person they hire and if they don’t get that, then it’s the reputation of the recruiter at stake.”

The competitive marketplace also means that time is of the essence. “One of the hardest things is when a client puts a job out to more than one recruitment company – it’s then a race against the clock. You’ve got to work fast and that’s when companies cut corners. I’m not prepared to do that. I want to help people understand the value in the service we, and other reputable recruiters, provide. This isn’t somewhere to be trying to make a saving. It goes both ways – the client wants reliability, skill, and professionalism from the person they hire and if they don’t get that, then it’s the reputation of the recruiter at stake.”

“I think we all ought to be doing more to attract new talent to the industry – there’s an enormous amount of cross-sector expertise out there.”

For shoreside positions, the role of the recruiter is just as important but for slightly different reasons, “It’s about getting beyond your own network. If you’re a yacht design studio in need of a new naval architect, of course, you’re going to post that job on your own LinkedIn account, but it’s only reaching your existing connections,” comments Sara. “I think we all ought to be doing more to attract new talent to the industry – there’s an enormous amount of cross-sector expertise out there.”

As a recruitment consultant, Sara highlights how she can more appropriately headhunt for specific roles within the superyacht industry, “There’s nothing to gain by upsetting your peers and contemporaries by trying to poach their staff! I can, however, make quiet enquiries on your behalf without damaging working relationships.”

So how do we get people to think differently about their recruitment needs and use the services of a recruitment consultant or agency? “My team and I are working really hard to dispel the negative stereotypes, and you can’t do recruitment with software alone – it needs a personal touch,” says Sara. “We fill an advisory role, too – the specifics of job roles, the appropriate salary level, candidate expectations; it all takes the meticulous, dedicated skill of a recruitment professional to get the right result for everyone. When we place a candidate with someone and then issue our invoice, that’s what you’re paying for; that time, that dedication, that commitment.”

Roxanne@roxannehughes.com