Pros
Hays train their staff well and for a young recruiter starting out in their career are certainly a good option. The company's size and reach ensures that they always have business on the go and that business development, while important, is not as pressing as with smaller companies.
Cons
The company, despite efforts, is still primarily a volume recruiter, focusing on lower end business. They do well in the bottom reaches of the market, competing with the likes of Michael Page and Robert Walters. Like those companies however they find it very hard to break into the more senior, and lucrative, parts of the market. This is reflected in the staff and there are very few Hays recruiters who really understand their business and can offer anything to a client except for CVs. The company has very high overheads, with a large support and administration staff and, as a result, both base salaries and commissions are very low. To ensure that costs are met the company is very KPI driven and does not encourage personal flair or creativity.