So you want to be a recruiter? Here is the ugly truth no one tells you about.

This year marks my sixth year in Recruitment- six years of ups and downs. Six years of having the most bizarre situations thrown at me, but six incredible years none the less. Recruitment has been good to me; I have been lucky enough to help and guide lots of people do one of the most stressful things they will do in their lifetime. I have developed a set of skills that I couldn't have even dreamed about possessing before Recruitment. I have also made some great friends and still feel copious amounts of job satisfaction for the work I do every day. 

Hands down, there are some fantastic highs in Recruitment and equally, some pretty terrible lows. Potential recruiters out there need to know a couple of things before embarking on a career in Recruitment. Part of my job as a Business Partner sees me sit in on the internal interview panel for prospective recruiters. Eager graduates sit opposite me regaling me about how successful their recruiter friends are and how rewarding the career can be both emotionally and financially. While this may be true, their friends fail to warn them of the very real pitfalls.

I am not trying to crush any hopes and dreams, just trying to help prospective recruiters understand that Recruitment is tough; very tough at times. I want to hopefully create a clearer picture of the skills and patience needed to be successful in this industry. I endeavour to set expectations from the outset and paint a genuine picture of what recruitment is really like. It is vital to give our prospective recruiters this clear and realistic picture of what work means for us and how we measure success. Recruitment is not an industry where you can become successful overnight. You need to work hard and build effective relationships with both clients and candidates based on trust and delivery. This takes time. Often prospective recruiters are not willing to wait or put the work in for, hence the reason why turnover in this industry is much higher than most others. 

Here are the realities and skills and characteristics that every recruiter has to work with on daily basis: 

Resilience

One core characteristic you need to possess to work in this industry is resilience. Here is where those highs and lows come in. When you are on a high, hitting all of your targets, you have lots of jobs to work on, and you feel untouchable - like it's never going to end. Inevitably it will end at some point, and what goes up must come down. There are days, weeks and even months when you don't make any placements; you feel the pressure; you deal with difficult client and candidate situations, and you seriously start to question yourself (even after six years). Such challenging times mean resilience is critical. The early 90's band Chumbawamba summed it up perfectly with the lyrics "I get knocked down, but I get up again". Wallowing doesn't do any good and time is of the essence in this industry - all you can do is put the previous day behind and start a new day with renewed enthusiasm. 

Financial Rewards

If you are getting into the Recruitment industry to make a quick buck, then you are sadly mistaken. The reality is that the first few years are a tough slog, especially in an industry that sees people come and go. It takes time to build trust with clients and candidates. It takes time to understand the nuances of the market you are trying to master and of course, it takes time to realise that we are dealing with people so anything can change at the drop of a hat. To make money, you need to put the work in first. I was well into my first year as a recruiter before I saw any financial rewards for the slog I was putting in, and that is the harsh reality. If you expect to have things handed to you, then this is the wrong industry. Long hours are often needed especially in the early years, but it is an industry that rewards you for the level of effort you put in. 

Monotony

A common misconception is that all recruiters do is advertise jobs, review candidates applications, and then pick from the best candidates to go forward for the job -  sounds pretty simple, doesn't it? This might be true for some entry-level jobs, but the more niche your market is, the less this is applicable. Throughout my career, about 5% or less of successful placements have come from candidates that have applied for the role. Any recruiter that relies solely on applications won't last in the industry very long. In truth, depending on the level of difficulty of the role, you could be sourcing for a position for weeks or often months. As most of the work we do is contingent, this is weeks and months of the year we spend on a task without actually being paid until we find a suitable candidate. Recruitment can be at times monotonous, and often you will see yourself doing the same tasks over and over, searching for the same jobs and candidates over and over, for example, there are often instances we could get a candidate to offer stage. If they reject the offer, then we’re back to square one to start a difficult search all over again - there's the drop of the hat again! It is essential to be disciplined in your approach but also creative when looking for candidates that occupy particularly difficult skill-sets. I like to keep reminding myself that all it takes is one candidate. It keeps me going when I get frustrated or desperate.

I appreciate that I am focusing on the hard parts of Recruitment, but it is crucial to see both sides of the coin. We always hear about the lovely, fluffy parts of the job and people forget to acknowledge the harder parts. For anyone looking to enter the recruitment industry - do so at your peril; Recruitment is not for everyone. Understand that all good things come to those that are consistent, hardworking and most importantly, patient. The good news is that the initial months of rejection will eventually pay off if you stick with it. 

Got any thoughts on this? Feel free to comment below.