Very few kids dream of one day being on the phone all day pitching jobs to strangers. Yet a great deal of people have tried their hand at recruitment at some stage in their career. Most people actually stumbled upon recruitment by accident and were tempted by the gold and glory.
The good news is that it’s relatively easy to be given a chance in recruitment, firms experience a big churn of recruitment hopefuls every year and most rookies do not make it beyond the first year. This is one of the reasons recruiters sometimes have a less than great reputation, a lot of juniors fighting for the same business will inevitably lead to dodgy tactics.
Don’t let this scare you off though, if you have decent sales skills and willing to put the hard work in you could be handsomely remunerated. As for salary, the rule is that working for a small company means a low basic, high commission and no benefits to write home about. The reverse ratios, high basic salary and low commission, apply for large companies and the benefits tend to be generous. The lower basic salary means the smaller firms tend to be more aggressive in taking gambles on juniors, the risk is only as high as the basic is low.
6 skills required to make it in recruitment:
1. Salesy nature
Can you sell ice to an eskimo? There are no fewer than three sales cycles in one recruitment process; getting the vacancy from the client, getting the interest from the candidate and finally bringing them together and making a placement. The ability to present opportunities and candidates in the best light is critical to success; placements do not happen by themselves and sales skills are the most important key to success.
2. Match maker
Ever set up blind dates for friends? To be successful at recruitment you have to be a good matchmaker. You have to be solution oriented and understand your marketplace. You should have the ability to spot opportunities for making placements before the client, candidate and competitors have realized it.
3. Communication skills
Can you talk the hind legs off a donkey? You have to have great communication skills and speak with conviction when selling your services to clients and jobs to candidates. To be the tenth recruiter calling a client in one week is not a fantastic gig. It really requires you to stand out so that they take the time to hear you out. Your ability to create relationships with everyone in the market is crucial, just like in any service sales job.
4. Positivity
Are you a constant happy camper? A positive attitude is required to get you through those dark days when neither client nor candidate seem to be biting your hooks. Do not be afraid of rejection, you will notice that for every Yes you will get five No. This is a numbers game and the pay offs will come through sheer hard work.
5. IT literate
Know how to use the format painter? A good recruiter is always tech savvy. The world of recruitment is run on computer software, the Interwebs is the main source of information. The successful recruiter has to be comfortable with candidate tracking systems, job boards, online networking platforms and other technology. Clients have very sophisticated search and portal systems nowadays; candidates are all over LinkedIn so it’s about being one step ahead.
6. A bit bonkers
Do you have a lot in common with Ralph Wiggum? Chasing people that don’t want to speak with you day out and day in does require some degree of madness, no matter how positive you stay. There might be cash to be made in recruitment but be under no illusions that it is little else than glorified telesales, as my old boss used to say. As long as you know it’s a ‘special’ job and accept it for what it is, you will be fine.
Do you think you have what it takes?
Next time you speak to a recruiter, ask them about their job and see if they have any vacancies. Even if recruitment is not your calling, a spell in this weird and wonderful world can do your career a world of good as it is so multifaceted and challenging. Have a go and see what you think. In case you don’t like it you can always use your new recruiting skills to land yourself a new job or start a blog about it like some folks do…
What skills you would like to add?
Image credit Vanjey Lego
