Trainee Recruitment Consultant
Salary: £26,436.80 – £28,000 per year
OTE: £50,000 in Year One
Location: In person, with hybrid working available once established
Think recruitment is just cold calling and CVs?
Think again.
Recruitment is one of the few careers where you can start without previous experience, learn a highly valuable sales skillset and build your earnings based on your own performance.
At Cento, we’re looking for a Trainee Recruitment Consultant who is ambitious, competitive and ready to build a career — not just find another job.
You don’t need recruitment experience.
You do need drive, resilience and the willingness to work for your results.
What could you earn?
We believe your earning potential shouldn’t be capped by your basic salary.
- £26,436.80–£28,000 basic salary
- £50,000 OTE in Year One
- Uncapped commission
- Senior Consultants at Cento currently earn £70,000–£90,000+
- Clear progression linked to your performance and development
If you're motivated by money, progression and being rewarded for your own success, recruitment can be an incredibly lucrative career.
What will you actually be doing?
You’ll learn recruitment from the ground up, working alongside experienced consultants and following a structured training programme.
Your role will include:
- Sourcing and interviewing candidates within specialist markets
- Building new business through calls, LinkedIn and proactive outreach
- Developing strong relationships with clients and candidates
- Managing vacancies from initial brief through to successful placement
- Negotiating offers and closing deals
- Working towards clear KPIs and personal targets
- Building your own network, reputation and client base
As your confidence and results grow, so will your responsibility, earnings and progression opportunities.
Who are we looking for?
Experience isn't the deciding factor. Attitude is.
You might be a graduate looking for your first career, leaving retail or hospitality, coming from a sales environment, or simply looking for a career where your effort has a direct impact on your earnings.
We're looking for someone who is:
- Competitive – you want to win and you want to be rewarded for it
- Driven – you don't need someone constantly pushing you
- Resilient – rejection doesn't knock you off course
- Ambitious – you're thinking about where you want to be in 2–5 years
- Coachable – you're confident but always willing to learn
- Commercially minded – you understand that conversations create opportunities
- A strong communicator – comfortable speaking to people and building relationships
Previous experience in sales, recruitment, sport, hospitality, retail or another target-driven environment is a bonus, but it's not essential.
Your career path
We don't want you sitting on the same desk doing the same job for years.
Our progression structure is:
Trainee → Consultant → Senior Consultant → Principal Consultant → Management
We'll give you the training, tools and support. Your job is to put them into action.
Why Cento?
Cento isn't a generic recruitment agency.
We're specialists across Fire & Security, M&E, HVAC and BMS, with operations in the UK and US through our SCW Consulting brand, alongside our delivery hub in Cape Town.
You'll work in a specialist market, build genuine industry knowledge and have the opportunity to develop relationships that can become extremely valuable throughout your career.
You'll also have direct access to experienced consultants and leadership rather than feeling like another number in a huge recruitment business.
What you can expect from us
- Structured training programme from day one
- Dedicated mentoring and ongoing development
- Uncapped commission
- Clear and achievable promotion structure
- Hybrid working once established
- Performance-based incentives
- Team events and lunch clubs
- Early Friday finishes
- Company pension
- Free parking
- Exposure to an international business as we continue to grow
One thing we should make clear...
This isn't a role for someone looking for an easy 9–5.
Recruitment can be challenging. You'll hear "no". You'll have difficult conversations. Some days you'll have to pick yourself up and go again.
But if you're competitive, ambitious and prepared to put the work in, the rewards can be significant.
We'll invest in your development. We expect you to invest in yourself.
If you're looking for a career where your effort, performance and ambition can directly influence your earnings and progression, we'd love to hear from you.
Ready to back yourself?
Send your CV to Brett Ennals, Founder & CEO, at [email protected] or apply directly through this listing.
No cover letter required.
Just tell us in a few lines why you think you'd be good at recruitment and what you're looking to achieve.
Job Type: Full-time
Work Location: In person
Pay: £26,436.80-£28,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Company events
- Company pension
- Free parking
Work Location: In person
