Put simply, if you don’t know your ratios, you don’t know your business.

If it’s been a while since you checked what they are, why not use your figures from the first half of the year and give yourself some targets for Q3 and beyond.

Analysing your own, your team’s or even your entire business ratios will help you / them work more efficiently.

Below are four ratios every consultant should know.

CVs Sent : Interviews Arranged

It is important for contingent recruiters to know what their CVs sent to interview ratio is so that they know, on average, how many CVs they need to resource for a vacancy to secure multiple interviews.

In the current market, many clients are looking for quality not volume, therefore having a low CVs sent to interview ratio should be your aim.

If your CVs sent to interviews ratio is high, look at the following;

  • are you taking a detailed enough job specification?
  • Are you thoroughly qualifying your candidates?

Interviews : Jobs

Regardless of the market you are in, securing multiple interviews on a vacancy will give you a higher chance of making the placement.

Your ideal ratio of interviews to jobs will depend on your market and if you are a Perm or Contract consultant.

If your interviews to jobs ratio is low, have you justified why a client should give you interview slots to fill? Are you promoting your candidates in the right way? Does your client know how specifically your candidates will benefit then?

Remember, it’s not always the perfect candidate who gets the job and sometimes your client might need reminding of this! Don’t forget, that extra interview you secure may open up another vacancy which could mean two placements instead of one!

Jobs : Deals

To a certain extent your market will dictate how many jobs you work in a month. However, it doesn’t matter whether you pull 5 or 15 jobs. If your job to deal ratio isn’t what it should be, then you need to look at how ‘fillable’ the job is.  You may need to look at your job specification taking and candidate qualification.

Fillability and interviews aside, make sure the job is a real job before working on it:

  • Has the budget signed off?
  • Does the client have approval to hire?
  • Are you dealing with the MAN?

Interviews : Deals

Providing your client with good calibre candidates will ensure your interview to deal ratio is healthy. Not only will this show that you are in control of your jobs but also build trust with your clients as you do not waste their time.