So you want to be a recruiter?

Considering a career in recruitment? There are some things you should know.

You will find out soon that the amount of times you reject a person outnumber the times you can call a candidate and say they got the job. By a lot. Don’t get into recruitment because you like to bring good news.

Candidates will lie to you. About their experience. About their salary. About why they left their last job. About why they have to reschedule appointments. About why they didn’t show up for an interview. You will hear about more car accidents and family emergencies than statistically plausible.

Hiring managers will have unrealistic expectations. They will want to hire senior professionals for mid-level jobs paying junior salary. They will change their minds half way a procedure, and then again at the end. And blame you for not delivering. 

‘New hires’ will mail 2 days before their start date that they accepted a different job. Or they will just not show up on their first day. And you will be held responsible.

You will have to deal with wolves calling themselves recruiters that stalk, annoy and bluntly lie to candidates and companies. They treat people like cattle hoping to lure a cash cow. This will rub off on you. Most people don’t like recruiters. Few hate recruiters. In some crowds it’s smarter to say you’re a traffic warden than a recruiter. (This is why we invent new titles like “talent acquisition professional” every now and then).

But if you can put up with this. You might find recruitment to be fantastic.

You will work with some awesome recruitment colleagues with their weird jokes, quirky habits and strangest stories. Together you’ll create odd rituals to celebrate success. You will see a peer perform silly dances for every hire he/she makes. You will embrace a recruitment sense of humour that no one else gets.

You will have some very grateful candidates that thank you from the bottom of their hearts for your help. Some will express their appreciation so meaningfully, you will cherish it for the rest of your career.

You will experience a fantastic rush when you've hired that purple squirrel for a job opening that was deemed impossible.

You will grow teams, strengthen departments, and see managers flourish because you helped them building a winning team. 

You will see ‘your’ hires perform fantastically and get promoted. They will turn to you when they have to recruit for their team for the first time, and that will feel awesome.

You will find a way to deal with every possible personality and culture. You will be in your recruitment mind-set way before you enter the office and keep it until way after office-hours. When you speak to strangers on your holiday you will quickly scan your mind for possible job openings that might suit them. You will be recruiter 24-7. And you will love it.