The 5 Hardest Things About Being A Recruiter

The majority of people who are not in the recruiting business have little to no understanding of what an emotional rollercoaster it can be to be a recruiter. The good days are really good while the bad days can be pretty tough to get through. Here are some of the toughest struggles that every recruiter has to deal with on a daily basis.

1. Uncertainty about the job market

This is perhaps one of the biggest uncertainties recruiters have to deal with on a daily basis. Every recruiter is worried about not being able to fill positions and how it will affect his or her commissions at the end of the month. This uncertainty is real and can cause a lot of stress for recruiters and their clients. The best recruiters really do care about their client's positions and genuinely want to find them the right candidate as soon as possible. It’s safe to say, recruiters can carry a lot of weight on their shoulders.

2. Constantly being on the go

A recruiter is always on the go, they are always thinking of new ways to market themselves and bring in potential candidates for their clients' positions. They spend most of their time on the phone or emailing both clients and potential candidates. Not to mention, being on the go can last well into the night. The hours are different every day. It’s not uncommon for a recruiter to be submitting applications at 10pm or receiving calls from clients at 12pm or calls from candidates at 6am.

3. The commission is by no means a guarantee

In recruiting, nothing can be guaranteed. Even if you do everything right to fill that position, from finding the perfect candidate to conducting interviews, there is still no guarantee that you will get the placement. The recruiter will spend time and money marketing the position, paying for job ads, conducting background checks, etc. Even when the position is filled there are still occasions where the candidate quits shortly after starting and you may have to start all over again. Most of the time recruiters won’t get a commission check until 30-plus days after their placement is hired. There are times however that a placement will not be filled and a recruiter will essentially not get paid for their time and efforts finding a candidate for that position.

4. Being underpaid for hard work

As recruiters, they put in more work than any other profession but are only compensated a small percentage of the candidate’s salary. Just think about it, recruiters get paid almost nothing for everything they do. They spend hours upon hours of their time finding candidates and placing phone calls, but recruiters get paid very little for all of their hard work. There is a ton of time spent going back and forth in communication between clients, candidates, HR, etc. They juggle going back and forth to communicate with all parties in the deal and may have to deal with major headaches along the way. You never know what kind of setback will come up because someone on the other end isn’t meeting a deadline or doing what was asked. When working with clients, the recruiter can spend days, weeks, or even months looking for the perfect candidate and put in several applications on behalf of their clients. Sometimes applications will not get accepted, other times they will, and sometimes the candidate will back out even after accepting the offer. You literally have no idea how each placement will go. Recruiters deal with surprises and setbacks all the time.

5. Dealing with difficult clients and candidates

All recruiters have had to deal with difficult clients or candidates at least once in their recruiting career. Clients or candidates are always coming up with the most ridiculous demands and recruiters have to deal with them no matter how crazy they may sound. Most recruiters will do anything it takes to make their clients happy because