The Best Pre-Recruitment Jobs (and Why Recruitment is Better!)

Despite common misconception, Recruiters aren't born into Recruitment. We didn't enter the world mumbling "just calling to touch base" between hours of crying, or have our "1 Day Old Today" photos taken in three-piece Moss Bros suits. Some of us?didn't even write?"When I grow up I want to be a Recruitment Consultant" on our Year 6 homework and I'd go even so far as to say 99% of Recruiters can't remember a Top Billing Consultant coming into school alongside the Firefighters, Police Officers and Teachers to talk about a successful career in their field. Shocking, I know.

Unfortunately (yet actually,?so very fortunately), there is life?before?Recruitment.

Over my 11 years across three different agencies, I've come to meet some incredibly successful Recruiters from the unlikeliest of backgrounds. The truth is, because we operate in an industry which doesn't?necessarily?require any formal qualifications, most of the skills you need to become a Recruitment God(ess) are actually transferable - and intangible. With this in mind, I've compiled a short (as if - never short) list of the best Pre-Recruitment Jobs (and why, if you're considering a move, you'd probably be better off in Recruitment!).

1. Estate Agency. You're already in sales. You're already stressed. You already have the taste of making commission. But wait, don't you work weekends?! Aren't your sales cycles?months, if not?years?long? Aren't you paid low base salaries and still expected to turn up to work everyday feeling motivated and ready to smash the month ahead? I don't mean to make your job sound rubbish, but it doesn't sound great when it's put like that, does it? The most successful Biller (Recruitment Consultant) I have ever met was an Estate Agent before he became a Consultant. You get your weekends back, you make more money and you see your money far quicker. "SHUT THE FRONT DOOR", I hear you say (see what I did there with the property reference? I know, I'm a wasted comedic talent). I'm just here to tell the truth! Most of the rookie Recruiters I know who have made a high impact in a very short space of time have come from Estate Agency and I don't think any of them would trade candidates for house-hunters now.
2. Professional Sports(wo)man/Personal Trainer.?Look at Ricky Martin.?No, not the Puerto Rican singer, widely regarded as the King of Latin Pop - we're not talking Livin' La Vida Loca here. Ricky Martin is the winner of Series 8 of The Apprentice in 2012 and now, with the help of his investment from Lord Alan Sugar, owns and runs Hyper Recruitment Solutions, a specialist Scientific Recruitment Agency. I'm not saying he's the?most?successful Recruiter of all time - far from it, but he's done pretty well for himself. In addition to being a Recruiter, Ricky is a Professional Wrestler and you cannot underestimate the power that brings with it. Sports(wo)men are disciplined, competitive, self-motivated and know how to come back from a knock-down. I've seen ex-rugby players, ex-golfers, current footballers and everything in between try their hand at Recruitment and honestly, they?usually?all smash it. You'll never know a knock-back like losing at a sport you think you're at the top of your game for - or having a candidate accept a counter offer with their current employer the day before their start date. When your fitness and form in sport starts to falter, Recruitment will be waiting for you. Time to hang your boots up and cross over to the dark side?
3. High Street Banking/Insurance Sales.?You're used to dealing with a specific set of guidelines, working with numbers, remembering the detail of the products you're selling and, most importantly, doing it in a highly regulated industry. You deal with queries, inbound calls, outbound calls, complaints and angry members of the public but,?you keep hitting your targets. You sit in front of people?all day. No hiding behind a telephone, no hiding behind your manager, no hiding at all - but?you keep hitting your targets. You work?Saturdays. You make commission, but not a lot. You get paid a base salary, but it's low. You're essentially being paid a Retail Assistant wage, to do a Sales Executive job and duh? How boring is banking? You can communicate incredibly important and complex products to people from all walks of life, work to KPI's, up-sell products and?hit targets.?Recruitment in general will offer you the same?joyous?experience, but will pay you tenfold - and did I mention Saturdays off? If you're consistently smashing targets and wondering "what next?", then it's time to get the Recruitment feelers out.
4. Public Services/Armed Forces.?Marines, Army, Navy, Police, Fire, Ambulance - I mean?all of you. Not only are you resilient, you're a different breed to the rest of us. These jobs teach you to remain calm and controlled in the most serious of situations. You handle stress like?no other. You can put on a brave face when the rest of us are panicking and you run towards danger instead of away from it. No, I'm not saying that Recruitment is?anywhere near?as stressful or dangerous, for that matter, as any of these jobs. However, many a good Recruiter has come from one of these backgrounds. Whilst the rest of us are on the verge of a mid-week-meltdown at the thought of a temp not showing up, you've inevitably dealt with far worse?and?more serious situations than an graduate bombing out on a part-time receptionist role. You're fearless, unshaken and always on your toes. You've learned quick reactions and you're always first on the scene. An ex-Police Officer turned Recruiter once told me that "nothing in this job would stress you out if you'd seen what I've seen" and that's always stuck with me. You won't be directly saving lives in Recruitment (although, you never know!), but if the heat of the beat ever loses it's charm, there's bound to be a warm desk with your name on it at a Recruitment Agency near you.
5. PR/Marketing/Advertising.?My last couple of blogs,?Attracting Superstars: Job SPEC vs. Job ADVERT?and?You're Not "Just in Recruitment"?touched on this a bit. When I recently researched into the backgrounds of the Consultants that currently work at?The ONE Group, I wasn't surprised to learn that a large number had come from this type of sector before ending up in Recruitment.?Ayesha Achtar, our Associate Marketing & IT Recruiter, achieved a First Class Marketing Management degree before joining us and she knows all too well the importance of the skills she learned throughout her studies, in helping her to attract and build relationships with her clients and candidates today. You're constantly marketing yourself, your brand and your service?as well?- as your clients and candidates - in Recruitment. You're used to putting yourself out there, getting creative with social media and other marketing avenues and you're never afraid to dive head first into a networking event. It's glamorous and exciting to work?in?the Marketing industry, but even more?financially?rewarding to work?for?it.
6. Field Sales/Account Management. Honestly, Recruitment is the sales job of?dreams. Field Sales means you're on the road. All. The. Time. The open road might sound like a dream with a phone, laptop and company car but I'm bold enough to suggest that the novelty of petrol station sandwiches starts to wear off after a while and then where does that leave you? If you join a Recruitment business which is that way inclined, you'll have all the autonomy and freedom you loved about Field Sales, but you'll have a base office to surround yourself by collaborative team members when you need that extra boost?and?you will still get that open-road feeling when you spend many an afternoon out visiting clients. The relationships you are used to building and nurturing in Account Management are?just?as prevalent, if not?more?so in Recruitment so you'll never miss the interaction you love. But -?and this is a common theme?- you'll earn more money in Recruitment.
7. Graduate. Yes, I said it. I know you probably went to university and studied Biology in the hopes that you might one day be a Doctor or a Vet. You may have studied Business Studies or Media Studies, in which case I know you probably just fancied three years in student halls without your parents asking what time you're coming home (JUST KIDDING before anyone debates the usefulness of one of these subjects). The point I'm trying to raise here is that you might be one of those people who just?didn't know?what they wanted to do after school and so studied in order to continuing your learning journey until you had it all figured out. Falling into Recruitment from university is common and possesses just as much of a chance of creating a successful Recruiter than any of the above work experience. If you're tenacious, ambitious, money-driven and keen to carve out a life-long career then Recruitment might just be your post-university destination.

I might be biased when I say that Recruiters are some of the most driven and passionate people that exist, but I'm not too proud to admit that we all have foundations that stem back further than our last - or even?first -?placement.

If you're a successful Recruiter, I'd love to know where your career history stems from and how it's helped you to carve out a successful career in Recruitment - answers?not on the back of a postcard; the comments section below will do!

And if you're not?yet?in Recruitment but think you're missing a trick, drop me a line and let's discuss how we can grow your career - and your bank balance, obvs.