Should You Use a Recruitment Agency for Higher Ed Jobs?
Evaluating the pros and cons of working with a recruiter
If you’re looking to move up in higher education, you’ve probably wondered whether it’s worth working with a recruitment agency, or whether you’re better off going it alone. The honest answer? It depends. But for many candidates in professional services roles, the right agency can make a meaningful difference. Here’s how to think about it.
The case for using a recruitment agency
Higher education is a relatively small, interconnected sector. The same institutions come up again and again, and roles, particularly senior ones, don’t always make it to public job boards. Specialist agencies with strong university relationships often know about vacancies before they’re advertised, which means you’re not competing against the full market from day one.
There’s also the preparation angle. A good recruiter who genuinely knows the sector won’t just send your CV off and hope for the best. They’ll brief you on the institution’s culture, flag what the hiring panel is likely to prioritise, and give you feedback that helps you perform better, not just in this application, but in the next one too.
For candidates moving into more senior roles, that institutional knowledge can be the difference between a confident interview and a costly misstep.
Where agencies add less value
Not every agency is built equal. General recruitment firms without deep higher ed expertise may have limited university relationships and won’t be able to give you the sector-specific guidance that actually moves the needle. If your recruiter doesn’t know the difference between a Pro-Vice-Chancellor and a Registrar, that’s a signal.
There’s also a pace consideration. Higher ed hiring is notoriously slow, and some candidates find that working through an agency adds an extra layer to an already lengthy process. It’s worth asking upfront how an agency communicates and how they’ll keep you updated, silence at either end is frustrating.
What to look for in a higher ed recruiter
If you do decide to work with an agency, sector specialism is non-negotiable. Look for one that places candidates specifically into universities and higher education institutions, not one that covers higher ed as a small slice of a broader portfolio.
It’s also worth checking whether they work across the roles you’re targeting. The best specialist agencies cover the breadth of professional services: marketing and communications, IT, digital transformation, HR, finance, student systems and more. That breadth means they understand how those functions fit together inside an institution, and can position you accordingly.
Working with Burman
Burman Recruitment works exclusively within higher and further education, placing contract and permanent candidates across the full range of professional services and specialist roles, from IT operations and digital transformation to HR, finance, and academic services. With deep relationships across UK universities, Burman offers candidates access to roles and insights that aren’t always visible from the outside.
