WHY I AM A RECRUITER?

Let me tell you something, being a Recruiter is not for sissies. Its takes hard work, discipline and dedication to be a good Recruiter. As Recruiters we also take all the risk, pay our own expenses and only get rewarded/paid based on success. Clients only pay us if we find the perfect candidate and they employ them.

Being a Recruiter is tough, but also very rewarding, I love the rush of getting it right. I enjoy talking to both clients and candidates, negotiating contracts and terms and ultimately closing the deal.

If you are a Recruiter, you’ll know that most of us get here involuntarily, you don’t really study to be a Recruiter or need any specific qualification other than you IPSC through APSO, our watchdog. I have never heard a school goer say “when I grow up, I want to be a Recruiter”, basically because it was an unnoticed profession and no one understood how important the recruitment process was and how critical it is for any organizations and job seekers alike.

It is a mixed bag of Sales, Project Management and HR, and you need to understand business, employment legislation, BBEEE, contracts, all the Acts, industry agreements and collective agreements, the workings and policies of Unions and Bargaining Councils. I think my exposure to Sales, Marketing and HR made me the perfect candidate to be found by the industry. There are a lot of repetitive tasks, but I must say that in my 18 years in recruitment, very few days are the same and automation tools are taking care of a lot of the “dog work”.

My first impression when I started recruiting was that recruitment must be easy, everyone wants a job, Right? But the reality is we do not really find people jobs, but rather companies the top 5% of candidates in their industry. It is however a fine line because without good candidates you cannot fill your job orders from clients. There is also the candidate scarce market we need to contend with.

Recruitment can be maddening at times as you are dealing with the most complex thing in the universe: Humans. Yes, you heard me correct!!! Because we are dealing with humans, we cannot be right 100% of the time so we offer guarantees to minimize our client’s risk. It is important not to have to replace candidates offer, as you could end up working for free. I have a 0.5 fall off rate. I replace 1 person for every 200 placed.

However, despite its difficulties, recruitment is an excitement, full of incentives and a great atmosphere, which is why I love my job! It is full of excitement because every day as a Recruiter you are in a head-to-head competition to attract top talent and win business from clients. There is nothing more satisfying to me than an offer letter to a new hire. It is like the smell after a fresh rainstorm on a summer day. Wide open eye, pride, happy dance or ring that bell

I make a difference when I help someone get a good job, move forward with his or her career, or just listen and pay it forward by handing them off to someone else that can help them succeed. These are people. They pay bills like me; they are just trying to make it like me. The downside is that the reality is we shortlist 5 in every hundred applications as we are looking for the best suited candidates for our clients, which are often head hunted and are passive (not in the market) candidates.

If you like to meet and interact with exciting people, recruiting allows you to meet and get to know hundreds of outstanding people and some innovators each month. You are continually learning, because recruitment is probably the fastest changing field in talent management. Because of this rapid rate of change, you will be constantly learning how to use new technologies and new communication approaches.

There are very few professions that give you the ability to not only change lives but let you be creative in the process. Recruiting involves multiple hats that range from being an influencer to a negotiator. The really good talent out there is not always looking. They need to be sought after and then convinced that they should take your job. Sometimes this is a monumental task at best. Yet that is what makes it exciting.

It may be blunt, but it is true, your success and pay check is judged on how well you fill your openings. My success has come from hard work and dedication. I am now an industry expert and the go-to guy.

Looking for staff? Mail [email protected] or call +27 21 5562313 or +27 83 5929794