The Difference Between 180 and 360 Recruitment Explained

If you're interested in a recruitment career, now is the perfect time to get started.

With the increased number of job vacancies in the UK, many companies are looking to recruitment agencies to find suitable candidates for employment now, more than ever.

If you want to work for a recruitment agency, you will hear terms like 180 and 360 recruitment thrown around. If you don't know what these terms mean, it can be tricky to decide which model is the best for you as a career option and that's something you'll want to find out from the start.

Here's our quick guide on the difference between 180 (AKA delivery recruitment) and 360 recruitment.

What is 360 Recruitment?

360 recruitment delivers a fully inclusive recruitment service to the client. It's a full circle, hence 360!

The 360 recruitment process includes:

Going outbound to find new clients
Building rapport and securing clients (getting terms signed)
Identifying client needs
Handling negotiations
Identifying and shortlisting potential candidates
Overseeing the interview process
Ensuring client satisfaction

Consultants who offer 360 recruitment handle the recruitment process from start to finish and are the main point of contact for both client and candidate within the deal. The 360 roles can be further split into permanent or contract 360 recruitment too, but that's a whole other post!

To give clients the very best service possible, consultants typically spend a lot of time trying to sell their recruitment services and establishing a good rapport. This may involve meeting with clients (probably on video calls these days) before they begin the process of discussing their needs and goals. Ultimately, this focus on relationship-building helps ensure clients feel comfortable working with the consultant, hopefully returning with repeat work further down the line.

Once the client is signed, it's time to find the perfect candidate for the role and make everyone happy.

What is 180 Recruitment?

The aim of the 180 recruitment process is the same as the 360, but it involves fewer steps, well, half in fact. Its alias of 'delivery recruitment' sums up the process well. The role essentially only focuses on the 'delivery' of the candidate rather than the securing of the client.

The 180 recruitment process involves:

Receiving job specifications from other 360 consultants or inbound work.
Identifying and shortlisting potential candidates
Overseeing the interview process
Ensuring client satisfaction

Notably, 180 recruitment and delivery recruitment are interchangeable, but they shouldn't be confused with 'resourcing' roles. For 180 / delivery recruitment consultants, there is still a significant element of identifying the client's needs and building rapport to ensure the process goes smoothly, unlike resourcing. However, the initial cold calling a 360 recruitment consultant will do is left out of the job requirements.

Pros and Cons of 360 Recruitment vs 180 Recruitment

This is really dependent on your personality!

If you are a sales-minded individual, you may thrive in the exciting and challenging process of finding new clients that you would get from a 360 recruitment role. It involves developing your skills by researching potential customers, determining their needs, and communicating with them to clearly convey your product or service offerings. It also includes making connections and building relationships, which can be extremely rewarding as you watch your client base grow over time. Ultimately, a passion for sales and a resilient attitude are vital qualities for a 360 recruitment position.

The other draw might be the percentage fee you earn as a 360 consultant. Paying out more significant percentages per deal compared to a delivery role the prospect can be attractive, but consider that the higher fee reflects the extra effort needed to drop in those deals!

Alternatively, if going outbound to find work makes you shudder, delivery recruitment jobs may be more for you.

With its emphasis on communication, networking, and research skills, this type of position allows you to spend your time connecting with people in a meaningful way rather than having to juggle multiple responsibilities at once. So if business development just isn't your thing but recruiting is, a 180 recruitment role might be the perfect option! Though the fees may also seem much lower than for a 360 recruitment role, there is generally more time and opportunity to close off more jobs and drop in more deals.

Choosing Between 180 Recruitment and 360 Recruitment

Both 180 and 360 recruitment are incredibly viable as high paying career paths. It is essential to consider which one will suit your personality best.

Suppose you love hunting down new business opportunities and persuading others to take action on those opportunities. In that case, you may find the chase of 360 recruitment to be just the thing for you. Or if you are more inclined to deliver results and nurture relationships, delivery recruitment is probably the better choice.

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