3 keys for a new recruiter

The first 12 months in recruitment are the hardest 12 months you will experience.

Sure, there will be times of economic struggle that creates challenges for recruiters, but you will have something then that you don’t have now. You will have a solid foundation of clients, candidates, experience and knowledge.

The best recruiters create this foundation and build on it consistently. They don’t forget about it, or just rely on the original ones that they created. They are constantly building and expanding. They are creating a recession proof desk. One that helps them stay successful even in the tough times.

For a new recruiter though, you don’t have this luxury, and that is what holds them back. They see what the other recruiters are doing, and try to replicate it without having the foundations to build on.

So for the new recruiter, the first 12 months should be all about building those foundations.

So what are these foundations?

Learn

This is the first thing that I get new recruiters to focus on in their first year.

You probably have little to no knowledge of the industry, and although you don’t need to be an expert, you do need to have some knowledge. If you don’t have even the most basic knowledge, candidates and clients will find out instantly. This can, and probably will, make your job much harder as they won’t have any faith in you. They will find it hard to believe that you will be able to find them a new opportunity, or fill their open vacancy. They will go to a recruiter that has far more knowledge.

This is the main reason that recruiters focus mainly on the candidate side of the process at the beginning. Candidates are more open to talking to recruiters. So when you are calling candidates, focus on learning as much as you can about the industry, their company and their job role. Frame it in a way that makes them think that you are just asking simple questions to understand them and the specifics of their role. Make sure that they understand that you are asking to gain clarity over the differences between them and everyone else in the industry.

Candidates are the key for learning in the early days, once you have some understanding of the sector, you will be able to build trust with clients.

Build a network

The next focus follows on directly from learning, by learning you have the knowledge to start building a network that loves you.

Having this knowledge allows you to have great conversations. Not only with candidates, but with clients. It allows you to build credibility and trust with them. Having this knowledge will give you the confidence to ask tough questions, or dive deeper into certain topics. By doing this you will start to win clients over and build your client base. This will be the start of your foundation building. Your aim will be to get candidates that look at you as the go to recruiter in the industry, and clients to view you as the recruiter that can find them great talent.

These two things go hand in hand. You get candidates looking at you as the go to recruiter by having great clients, and you get great  clients by having good candidates. This feels like an unattainable situation, but it’s actually easier than you may originally think. It starts with getting great candidates. Show them that you understand the industry, and ask them great questions and fully understand them, then they will bite your hand off to have you represent them.

This doesn’t just happen though, it requires time effort and consistency.

Activity

As a new recruiter, volume is essential.

As a new recruiter you are starting from zero. Everyone else has a rolling start. They have all of the previous activity to help them generate placements. You need to play catch up. You need to get the momentum going. You only do this by generating activity. This could be phone calls, emails, events etc. it doesn’t matter as long as everything that you do gets you talking to, or in front of candidates and clients. Every piece of activity that you needs to be giving yourself a chance to learn something about the industry and build your network.

You don’t need to be on the sell all the time. Forget the ABC method of always be closing. You are not in a position to sell, not your service anyway. You should be selling you, your brand, your knowledge, your passion, your drive for match great people with great organisations. The aim of this activity is to generate a pipeline of activity not only for this month and this quarter, but for next quarter and next year. You need to have a long game mentality when it comes to BD in your first year.

Most recruiters fail in the first year because they don’t generate enough activity, and then that holds them back not only that year, but the next one too.

By focusing on these 3 keys in your first 12 months, you will not only become a great recruiter, but you will  also set the foundations for the years to come that will enable you to be a top biller no matter what the economical climate.