The number of professionals with a technical background continues to increase as globalisation becomes entrenched as our economic standard. Universities in Europe and Asia are training hundreds of thousands of graduates with engineering, computer science and drafting skills needed to compete in the 21st century world. University graduates face the problem of competition with similarly qualified graduates in other parts of the world as well as experienced professionals. Many young professionals gravitate toward technical recruitment firms in the hope of gaining guidance and a path toward employment. Every professional who uses a technical recruitment firm needs to set expectations from day one to get the most out of their experience.

An applicant to a technical recruitment firm should expect accessibility to trainers, recruiters and resources without fail. The purpose of a recruiting firm is to connect qualified applicants with the right employers. Applicants who want to show their qualifications need to be able to go over their credentials with a recruiter, speak with a trainer about ways to improve in the workplace and be able to speak with prospective employers before an interview. There are plenty of ways to ensure accessibility including a request for contact information and a weekly check of information access points to keep recruiters on their toes.

Every professional who walks through the doors of a technical recruitment firm should expect to be vetted properly. The mark of excellence in recruiting is a stable of highly qualified recruits. Professionals need to build confidence in their recruiter by knowing that only the best and brightest make it through the front door. These professionals should also expect client companies to be investigated properly to ensure a good working environment. These two expectations come hand in hand since a recruitment firm needs quality employers and employees to build their reputation.

The competition for work in 21st century Europe is high and many professionals do not look beyond the above expectations from a recruitment firm. There are compelling reasons to expect an evolution in a recruitment firm’s mission throughout the recruiting process. Technical recruiters who stick only to pharmaceutical jobs or oil jobs without seeing the bigger picture may not be responsive to new challenges. Recruitment firms with outdated technology and an insistence that a decades-old method still works may not appreciate the needs of professionals in the Internet age. It is critical to test the limits of a recruitment firm to find out what they can really do for your career.