A wise man once said, “Every man to his trade,”. Who should know this better than the very person responsible for finding those suitable for jobs, recruiters? For some, this profession means doing nothing but sitting at the desk browsing through countless CVs; for others, recruiters are those who earn more by doing less. As you may have guessed, there’s much more to this particular trade—and below we explain what recruiters actually do.
What Recruiters Do?
Your typical working day is spent engaging with completely different people, be it on behalf of the client (e.g. a corporation looking for new staff) or the candidate (the job seekers). It goes without saying that any human interaction has its own particular air, and you will undoubtedly end up adjusting yourself to various communication situations. You might expect your working day to coincide with typical business hours; the reality is however that this just isn’t possible—most recruiting agencies have increasing bonuses for overtime work (more on that later) and some candidates will want to speak out of hours.
What Don’t Recruiters Do
Let’s get this straight: Recruiting is not about finding someone a job. It’s about satisfying the client’s need for a suitable candidate. Their feeling of greatness for helping them with their career is a by-product of recruiting. You have to get ready to reject a significant number of job seekers just by looking at their CVs, let alone after the interviews. And, more importantly, numerous conversations with candidates might make you more sceptical of people in everyday life.
How Much Do Recruiters Earn?
In most cases, recruiters are paid based on their performance; that is, the more candidates you help find, the more you earn. Therefore, from a financial standpoint, recruiting can be highly rewarding. Also, agencies are normally not shy to offer even newbies numerous perks, from free gym membership to a corporate car. You shouldn’t expect to have a high salary in your first year, especially if you haven’t had relevant experience before.
What Makes A Good Recruiter
When applying for a job in recruiting, you’d be expected to have a number of ‘soft skills’, most importantly a good command of language, empathy, negotiating techniques, problem-solving skills, relationship building, stress resilience, and knowledge of Recruitment CRM processes. Prior good knowledge of the market you are going to work in would be an added bonus; previous recruiting experience is a must for a more high-paid, prestigious position. Don’t get upset if you’re ‘wet behind your ears’, there are a number of jobs to jump-start your career in recruiting if you haven’t been in the field before.
Pros and Cons
As has been mentioned before, recruiting can be highly rewarding, both financially and socially. It is also rife with opportunities for promotion, and hard work coupled with determination can make true wonders. You can find stories of people that struck gold in the early start of their career, but take those with a pinch of salt. In order to be successful in recruiting, you will have to put up with irregular working hours, pushing the envelope and learning new things, and perhaps the most important reservation, constant stress. Last but not least: Your career in recruiting would be heavily KPI-based. Should you fail to accomplish a particular goal (Calls, CV Sent, Offers, Interviews, Placements, etc.), you may miss out on a bonus or promotion opportunity causing even more stress.
So… What Should I Do?
Recruitment is a highly challenging yet rewarding field. Before stepping in on it, consider carefully what you want to get from it and whether you’re ready enough to take on all the setbacks it entails. Your way to success in recruiting will be replete with obstacles big and small, but the feeling of accomplishment will trump it all.
