I applied for this position on LinkedIn and had a screening phone call with the recruiter who posted the job listing.
After the initial phone screening, I was invited to an in-person interview with the same person. This interview lasted about 45 minutes and we just went through my work experience, what I know about recruitment as a career and a roleplay scenario where I had to call a client (a business) and try to convince them to go with me as a recruiter. I wasn't prepared for this and didn't do very well, but luckily I was told I wasn't expected to do very well in this part.
I was invited then to an assessment centre stage, which had 6 candidates in it, myself included. During this assessment centre, we were all given a random statement and we had to argue for or against it in one minute. After presenting our arguments, we were given another roleplay scenario on a sheet of paper. We had creative license to go around and sort of remedy the problem on the piece of paper. For example, I had to call a business that hired 2 temporary workers from us last year and discuss their open positions. Unfortunately, I once again thought I did not do so well. My feedback, however, was very informative. In the second roleplay scenario - picking one CV out of three to present to a client and sell the candidate, essentially - I took the previous feedback on board. Ask lots of open-ended questions! Fortunately, I got a call the next day and they said they were impressed with how I took on the feedback from the first roleplay and applied it in my second, and that this is what they're looking for for Trainee positions - someone who can learn quickly.
I was then invited to another in-person interview to once again go over my experience, ask any questions about the role, the company and the people I was meeting - seniors in the business, directors etc. My feedback was once again glowing, saying I seemed well-prepared, personable and impressive.
I was then invited to yet ANOTHER interview to meet other seniors in the business. Here, I was asked why I wanted to switch from my current career to recruitment and how my previous experience will allow me to thrive in this environment. It is CRUCIAL you show you are committed to recruitment and articulate here.
Unfortunately, after such a lengthy interview process, I was not offered the job.
However, I did learn a lot of things about myself and about recruitment. I am confident that I can go into my next interview well prepared and sure of my dedication to this career.