The employment market is full of recruitment consultancies making all sorts of claims, and when it comes to selecting the best option for you, the choice can sometimes seem a little opaque.

Do you opt for the big agencies with numerous vacancies and risk your CV getting lost in the pile of many others, or do you choose a smaller business that might not have quite the same broad market reach?

When you’re trying to evaluate which is the best consultancy – and the best person within that consultancy – for you, there are a few key questions to consider:

1. How niche is the role you’re looking for?

Something like facilities management, for example, requires specialist knowledge from a recruiter such as Maxwell Stephens, as well as an established network of connections.

Opting for a large, generic recruiter that includes facilities management in its list of opportunities, rather than specialising in this area, could reduce the number of vacancies that come up, as well as your chances of being put forward for the right one.

2. What kind of employment search did you have in mind?

Many of the more prolific consultancies tend to take a scattergun approach which, for a candidate, can mean fielding endless emails and phone calls concerning roles that may not be all that appropriate.

It’s important to know that the agent you’re going to be working with has a similar approach to you in terms of how you want to conduct your search – whether that’s narrow and focused or keeping all options open and considering all possibilities.

3. What type of relationship are you looking for?

You can get quite a good idea of what it might be like to work with a particular consultancy and agent from looking at the way they approach their work and by reading their mission statement.

Consultancies that are focused on finding a ‘match’ rather than simply filling roles tend to result in more successful long term employer-employee relationships, and those that are committed to industry performance standards and ethics are better placed to ensure a more satisfying recruitment experience, resulting in better offers.

4. What kind of employers do they work with?

This will be crucial in ensuring that you’re being put forward for roles at the kinds of companies you want to work for.

If you’re looking to work for large, national or international businesses and the recruiter only handles small employers then it’s going to be a waste of your time working with them.

Conversely, if you’re in the market for a position with a small or medium sized business but the consultancy only handles large contracts you’re unlikely to find the right role for you.

5. Do you like them?

This is probably the key question, as if you have a good personal connection then the relationship is bound to be more fruitful. Speak to the agent, or representative from the consultancy before making a decision, try to get a feel for how they are regarded by the rest of the industry and understand the commitment they are offering to the candidates that they work with.

It’s also worth looking at those working for the consultancy – do they practice what they preach when it comes to employing qualified, experienced professionals who are familiar with legal and ethical business issues and have been well trained?

Finding the best agent and consultancy for your employment search is a simple matter of narrowing down the options based on your own personal requirements. Avoiding simply choosing the most obvious companies and spending some time tracking down that golden relationship can result in a far more effective search and a considerable boost to your employment potential.