A different kind of recruitment career
If you have worked in recruitment before, you know what a high-volume contingency environment feels like. The pressure to move fast, to juggle too many roles at once, and to place before someone else does.
At 11 Recruitment, the model is different. We work on a retained basis, which changes the nature of the work entirely. You get fewer roles on your desk, more time on each one, a structured process to follow, and systems that genuinely support the way you work.
If that sounds like the environment you have been looking for, this page will give you a clear picture of what working here looks like in practice, what you will learn, and where a role at 11 Recruitment can take you.
What the day-to-day looks like
You will start each day with a manageable number of active assignments. Each one is supported by a structured process that covers briefing, market research, candidate identification, outreach, assessment and shortlist preparation. The process is the same across every role.
You will use Al workflows and internal platforms to handle the administrative side of the work, which means your time is spent on the parts of recruitment that require judgment and relationship skills, not on tasks that can be automated reliably. Every team member is trained on these systems. They are part of how the business operates.
You will have access to coaching and training on an ongoing basis, not just in your first weeks, but throughout your time here. The business invests in developing people because the quality of the work depends on it.
What the retained model means for you
At 11 Recruitment, clients pay a retainer to engage us. That retainer represents a genuine commitment to the process. We are the only agency working on the role. The client has agreed to a structured search, a timeline, and a process. That changes every element of how you do the work.
You have time to map the market. You can approach candidates who are not actively looking and have a substantive conversation with them. You can take a thorough brief from the client, build a genuine understanding of what they need and why, and translate that into a search that produces a considered shortlist rather than a stack of CVs. The client relationship is built on exclusivity and trust, which means the conversations you have are deeper and more useful.
For your development as a consultant, the retained model creates conditions in which the skills that actually matter in recruitment, judgment, market knowledge, candidate relationship management, and client advisory work can be built and refined over time.
What this means for your working day
How we structure the working environment
We offer flexible hours, hybrid and remote working options depending on the position. Because our processes are documented and our systems are accessible from anywhere, team members often carry out the work effectively without being tied to a fixed location or a set timetable. What we ask for in return is ownership of the outcome.
We promote from within. When a senior or leadership role becomes available at 11 Recruitment, internal candidates are considered first. We invest in developing people over time precisely because we want to grow leadership from within the business rather than recruiting it externally.
The people who tend to perform well here are self-directed. They manage their own workload, hold themselves accountable for the quality of their output, and do not require close supervision to stay on track. They value the autonomy on offer and understand that it comes with genuine responsibility. If that is a fair description of how you prefer to work, the environment here is suited to it.
Your journey at 11 Recruitment
From your first week through to senior progression, here is what you can typically expect at each stage of your journey:
WEEK
1
Structured onboarding
You learn how the business operates, the process we follow, the systems you will use, and the reasoning behind how we work.
MONTH
1
First assignments with coaching
You begin working live roles under close coaching. You follow the structured process with guidance at each stage, building your understanding of the search methodology, the candidate engagement approach, and how to manage the client relationship within the retained model.
MONTH
3
Growing autonomy
You begin managing full search cycles with greater independence. Coaching continues, but you are taking more ownership of decisions. You are building market knowledge in your sector, developing your candidate network, and refining the way you work within the process.
MONTH
6
Full ownership
You are managing client relationships and assignments with full accountability. You have a clear understanding of the business, the process, and the systems. You are contributing to the quality of the team's output, not just your own desk.
MONTH
Senior track and progression
Internal candidates are the first consideration when senior or leadership roles become available. Progression is based on your performance, the way you work, and the capability you have demonstrated. There is no fixed timeline, but the pathway exists, and we invest in preparing the right people for it.
Who we hire
At 11 Recruitment, we are more interested in how someone works than in a specific sequence of job titles. For recruitment roles, we look for people who can follow a structured process, manage relationships over a longer timeline than is typical in volume recruitment, and think carefully about the candidates they present rather than working on the assumption that quantity compensates for quality. If you have worked in contingency recruitment and found the model limiting, the experience you have built is transferable here.
We also hire people earlier in their careers who demonstrate the right approach. If you understand what retained recruitment means, you value structured process over reactive activity, and you are prepared to invest time in developing a skill set that builds over years rather than quarters, we would like to hear from you regardless of how long you have been working.
Register your interest
If you are considering a career move and the way we work suits your approach, we would like to hear from you. Submit your details below, and we will be in touch when a relevant opportunity becomes available.