Could you make it as a recruiter?

Regular readers will know we often use this blog as a platform to provide cutting edge insight and offer tips to professionals on how to get ahead in their careers. However, after a period of rapid growth and expansion we’re now looking to bolster our ranks and take on skilled recruiters – of all experience levels – to work out of our North West base. But could you make it as a recruiter?

Hard-working, but satisfying

It would be remiss to suggest that working as a recruiter is all sunshine and lollipops and the role can include a lot of hard work in order to be successful. However, it’s worth the occasional stressful day because you also get the satisfaction of knowing that you’ve potentially changed someone’s life. Securing a job can often be a pivotal moment for an individual, and their wider network, and contributing to such a major step is a highly gratifying feeling.

Communication

This is a key attribute and there are few, if any, top-level recruiters who don’t possess the ability to convey their point clearly and concisely. You’ll often be dealing with incredibly busy professionals who don’t necessarily want to take time out of their day to speak to a recruiter, which means it’s critically important to get your point across quickly yet accurately. It’s not just oral communication either, you’ll also have to possess the ability to engage effectively with people via email and through employment platforms like LinkedIn.

Belief in your ability

You’ll be placing professionals who are often true subject matter experts and they’re hardly likely to take career advice and guidance from someone they suspect may not know as much as they say. You have to be able to portray confidence to both clients and candidates if you want to be taken seriously, and that only comes from possessing true belief in your ability. As mentioned, changing roles can be one of the most significant moments in an individual’s life and they won’t want to be led on that journey by someone who doesn’t come across as credible and professional. Believe in yourself and those attributes will begin to shine through.

Self-motivation and resilience

As with any other job, recruiters will have good days and bad days. However, unlike some other sectors, it’s near-on impossible to ‘hide’ in the hiring industry and your employer will expect you to be able to take the rough with the smooth while still performing to the best of your ability.

The benefits

Now for the good stuff. After all, that hard work isn’t for nothing and one of the major perks of working as a recruiter are the benefits on offer. While the job descriptions promising you “45K BASIC SALARY OTE AFTER TWO WEEKS 400K” are, frankly, nonsense it’s certainly true that you can earn a significant amount working in the hiring field. Recruiters secure commission on the placements they make so hard-working and adept professionals are able to take home added benefits. Depending on the firm you work for, you’re also likely to get alternative perks. Here at Clayton Recruitment, for example, we offer an annual car incentive, raffles for super prizes, corporate days out and a team and company profit share system. We’re also firm believers in the power of CPD and offer training and development opportunities – along with potential study leave – to all of our consultants. Obviously, not all organisations will offer these types of extra-curricular perks however it can be a good way of identifying which firms will make the best employers.