Our Recruitment Process

Encore Recruitment finds and recommends people for fashion and lifestyle businesses and opportunities for professionals working across the sector.

The process can start with a client looking for someone, a candidate applying or contacting us about their career, or an opportunity identified through our existing relationships and work.

Our 5-stage recruitment process is Discovery, Talent Finding, Assessment, Interview Management and Onboarding. A recommendation sits between Assessment and Interview Management.

Key Takeaways

• The process can start with a client, a candidate or an opportunity identified through our work.
• Finding someone is not the same as recommending them. Information helps us find; conversation helps us understand.
• A recommendation is made only where we see potential. The opportunity is recommended to the candidate first, and their agreement obtained before they are recommended to the client.

Finding People and Assessing Potential

The Discovery Stage

Discovery is how we understand what has brought a client or candidate to Encore Recruitment.

For clients, that means their business, the role, why they are recruiting and what they are looking for. For candidates, it means what has brought them to us and what they are looking for next.

The Talent Finding Stage

Talent finding is how we identify people and opportunities that could lead to a conversation.

Applications, targeted searches, existing relationships and ongoing conversations help us find people and opportunities across fashion, accessories, footwear, beauty and homeware.

Not every application or person identified leads to a conversation. Candidates are contacted where there is a reason to discuss an opportunity with them.

Explore our primary Fashion and Lifestyle sectors.

The Assessment Stage

Assessment brings together the information available with what we learn through conversation.

Relevant experience and skills form part of that assessment, alongside the candidate's circumstances, what they are looking for and what matters to them about an opportunity.

The question is whether there is potential for the client and candidate to work together.

Assessment does not always lead to a recommendation. If we do not see potential, we do not recommend.

For an instructed search, if there is no one to recommend, we discuss what we have found with the client and agree what happens next.

Making a Recommendation

The opportunity is recommended to the candidate first. It may be the role they applied for or another opportunity identified through the process.

If the candidate wants to be represented, their agreement is obtained before they are identified or submitted to the client. The candidate can then be recommended to the client.

Where there is no identified role and there is reason for a proactive client approach, that approach is agreed with the candidate before they are represented.

Our formal Recommendation Standard sets out what must be true before we recommend an opportunity to a candidate and a candidate to a client.

We make a recommendation. Clients and candidates decide what happens next.

What Happens After a Recommendation

The Interview Management Stage

Interview management is how we support communication between clients and candidates through interviews, preparation and feedback.

Not every recommendation leads to an interview. Not every interview leads to an offer. Not every offer leads to a start date.

Either the client or candidate can say no at any stage. When that happens, the decision is communicated and, where relevant, we agree what happens next. That could mean continuing the search, considering another opportunity or ending that particular process.

The Onboarding Stage

Onboarding covers the period from an accepted offer to the agreed start date.

Encore remains in contact with the client and candidate through resignation, the notice period and preparations for starting. If circumstances change, communication continues so both sides can decide what happens next.

Discover the background of our agency and the values that guide us by exploring Our Story. 

FAQ

How long does the recruitment process take?

Every search is different. Timescales depend on the role, candidate availability and the decisions made throughout the process.

Do you speak to every candidate you find?

No. Applications and people identified through searches are reviewed first. Candidates are contacted where there is a reason to discuss an opportunity with them.

What happens after Encore makes a recommendation?

The client and candidate each decide whether to continue. Either can say no at any stage. We communicate decisions and feedback and, where relevant, agree what happens next.

Looking to Recruit?

Tell us about the role you're recruiting for. The process starts with understanding your business, the role and what you're looking for.

You can either Contact Us→ or Submit a Vacancy→

Considering Your Next Move?

You can either View Jobs→ or Send CV→ if you'd like to start a conversation about what you're looking for next.

 

Our Recruitment Process

Reviewed: August 2026