If you want to rise to the top of your field, it’s now more important than ever to display the traits of a standout HR recruiter. Knowledge, networks, versatility, and persistence are crucial to succeeding as a HR recruiter, and there are many tricks to the trade that you’ll need to learn on your way to the top.

Know your market.

You need to know the industry inside out, and you need to keep abreast of any current market trends, new technology, or volatility in recruitment patterns so that you are marked out as an expert in your field.

Research their business.

Before you even think about picking up the phone or sending that email, spend a good amount of time researching their business as thoroughly as you can.

This solid knowledge will give you ideas about how to tailor your pitch, as well as fill you (and the client) with confidence that you’re well-prepared.

When you’re pitching clients or approaching a top talent, you need to ascertain what’s important to them, what their goals and challenges are, and find a way to tailor your offering to suit their individual circumstances. Do this and you will be ahead of 80% of the other recruiters out there; trust me we know….

Go out of your way to ask what’s facing them and offer help. Make it clear that they are your priority, and create a human relationship based on your assistance.

When you’re approaching fresh leads, you should have multiple ways to contact them and don’t rely just on one way. If you’re being blocked on one avenue such as calling from your office phone, then try from your mobile to see if you have more success.

If you have an info@ or generic company email address as your contact, it’s your duty to dig further to find out direct email addresses.

If you possibly can, get a personal introduction or referral when approaching prospects, whether candidate or client. Think creatively- it doesn’t necessarily have to be a business acquaintance, so give real thought to where your spheres could overlap.

That might be a networking event, a golf or charity event, or a favourite club you both go to where a manager or mutual acquaintance could make the introductions.

It doesn’t even need to be an introduction if that’s not appropriate, as the fact that you share an interest or both favour a certain charity can be a great talking point when you call to pitch them. This is what top billers do ALL the time.

Encourage your target to complain so you can then solve their problem. Lily Tomlin the famous US comedian once said, ‘Man invented language to satisfy his deep need to complain’, and while it may have been in jest, people’s enjoyment of complaining opens up a real opportunity for the savvy recruiter.

Think about it: if you can put into conversation something like: ‘I placed a specialist (insert rare job here) recently and I had to really lean on my whole network to find qualified candidates- I see you’ve been looking for a while. How’s it going?’

That’s a perfect lead to open up a conversation about the difficulties they’re having, and why they might need your help (while also managing to plug your fantastic network.)

Be persistent. Never give up, and keep trying different paths to get the client to take your calls, grant a meeting, and seal the deal. Remember though, that if you’re going to keep calling someone who has said no to your offering in the past, you probably need to have something different to offer this time, or at least a different way of saying it!

A quote widely attributed to Einstein says that ‘The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results’- and while we’re not saying it’s insane to keep pitching the same client identically each time, it is almost certainly a waste of time.

When something doesn’t seem to be getting the result you want, you will probably need to modify your approach slightly, or even radically update it. Check out our recent blog post on why it’s time to revamp your sales pitch.

Make sure you take each and every opportunity to grow your network. Never let a prospect or talent slip by without asking to connect on LinkedIn. Even if they say no to your current offer, every update you make to your network will appear on their LinkedIn newsfeed to remind them of you, and you’ll easily be able to keep track of their career moves so you can know what they might look for in future so you can tailor your pitch accordingly.

Not to mention all their connections you can browse through to find fresh leads of your own! LinkedIn is a recruitment goldmine, and while all recruiters use it, not all of you necessarily use it well.

Becoming a top HR recruiter takes effort and know-how, but it’s definitely worth putting in the time to excel in your chosen profession.

Until next time,

Cheryl

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Your candidate has made it through to the second round of interviews and their prospects of success are looking good, but this is certainly no time to sit back and assume they’ve got the job in the bag.

Sometimes recruiters prep their candidates for the first round but fail to do so for the second round, leaving their candidates fighting for a spot in a pool of similarly-qualified candidates—at precisely the moment they need to stand out!

Another common problem is that the candidate might assume that as they did well in the first interview they won’t need to change anything or study up any more for the next stage. Many candidates mistakenly view the second interview more as a confirmation or a chance to meet some more of the team, rather than what it often is: a very different interview altogether, in a different style, with different faces, against a fierce level of competition.

If you want this placement to succeed and boost your billing numbers, you need to make a solid effort to prepare your candidate thoroughly for the second interview.

1. Ground your candidate’s expectations.

After congratulating them for their success in the first interview, explain to them that the second interview may be different from the first and that they will need to prepare themselves just as thoroughly as they did for the first round, if not more.

Hiring managers will expect candidates in second round to have thoroughly backgrounded themselves on the company, and have new things to say than in their first interview. (Parroting the same things as they said last time is unlikely to make a positive impression.) Also prepare the candidate for the real possibility that there will be one or even several more rounds before a candidate is chosen.

2. Find out from the hiring manager as much about the upcoming interview as you are.

The style of interview, the people who will be present, and how many candidates are in contention are the basic information you’ll need to start with, while it would be helpful if the hiring manager would give an idea whether this is a ‘confirmation’ style second interview or an attempt to whittle down a good candidate pool, and how many more interview rounds are expected.

3. Use your relationship (or form one) with the hiring manager.

To find out how your candidate truly performed last time, and whether there were any weak spots to be improved. Then ask your candidate where they thought they could have done better. Obviously your candidate did fairly well or they wouldn’t be in the second round, but whether they came through with flying colours or just scraped through as a wild card is immensely important in how you’ll prep your candidate.

Any nerves or weak points can be worked on together before the interview, so that your candidate feels confident and utterly prepared.

4. Make sure your candidate has the details.

They know the location, time and dress code of the interview well ahead of time and have planned their route carefully to ensure all goes off without a hitch. Get them to photograph their chosen interview outfit and send it through if they’re at all unsure about the dress code.

They also know the names of the hiring managers and interviewers if they’ve been provided, and their knowledge of the company is as thorough as could be expected for a candidate.

5. Go through some practice questions with them that go past the resume-basics.

Try to bring out the deeper and less-obvious qualities that make this candidate a stand-out choice for the role, as if they’re competing in a tight field it is just as likely to come down to personality as experience.

6. Test them on how they think they can be of real value to the business.

Particularly in regards to challenges the company might face. This is a question where some over-confident candidates trip up, as they think this is an invitation to discuss something indelicate like a company’s financial issues, or a very public PR failure, in light of how they would manage it.

Of course, this will almost certainly be considered a major overstep by the hiring manager, so a recruiter needs to know how their candidate will address this question.

Second interviews might just be a ‘rubber-stamp’ in some cases, but companies are increasingly doing multiple interview rounds to ensure the candidate they choose is the very best fit. As a star recruiter, you need to be sure that every single candidate who is presented under your name is well prepared for what might be ahead.

Such a diligent preparation process significantly raises the chances of a successful placement, while your candidate will no doubt be impressed by the personalised service and you will retain this talent in your pipeline long into the future.

Until next time,

Cheryl

Life as a recruiter is rarely smooth sailing- and current conditions are certainly making things a bit turbulent for a lot of you in your sectors!

The Brexit referendum looms closer, and the result— whatever it is— will affect the employment landscape across Britain and Europe. Already, many employers are holding off recruiting until the decision has been reached- an understandable tactic on their part, but one which has serious ramifications for recruiters and the candidates they represent.

Your challenges aren’t restricted to Brexit, with lower than anticipated economic growth and certain sectors such as construction, oil and gas all feeling the pinch.

So, do you have to sit helplessly while world events and stock markets play merry havoc with your billing numbers? No you don’t! As always, the key to surviving (and even excelling) in turbulent times is to make your break NOW for dominance in your sector. Through becoming a standout recruiter you will secure the plum clients and candidates in your sector, and thereby immunise yourself against fluctuating market forces.

Tough times are when the less able recruiters start to flounder and fail. That does not have to be you.

How to Mark Yourself as a Top Recruiter and Weather the Storm

1. You choose your recruitment company wisely. This is not the time for loyalty to the small firm that gave you your first job if they’re struggling in the current climate. To succeed in turbulent times, you need to be working for the recruiters that have the best reputation in your sector and are financially strong enough to weather some lean times.

2. You expand your network.  Get on the phone, build your social media presence, attend events, and physically meet with candidates to build rapport.

3. Make yourself known in your field. Go to seminars and networking events, join groups on LinkedIn and specialist forums. There’s no point sitting in the corner listening quietly either- you need to actually participate to become known as an expert in your field.

4. Start studying. You need to become the most knowledgeable person in the room on your specialist subject, as well as wider recruitment industry developments.

5. You work furiously on mapping and building your talent pipeline. This is what will save you, so seek new talent everywhere you look. Give old candidates a call and ask if they know any talented people, don’t be shy about reaching out to passive candidates, and be super-alert for movers and shakers across related industries. The great restaurant manager you met who effortlessly charmed you into buying that expensive wine? That’s a natural salesperson with great people skills and a hunger to make the sale. Are they looking for a career change? Think creatively about potential.

6. Take more time with candidates to really sound them out and dig into their references and aspirations before putting them forward. All it takes is one bad placement experience to make a client (or candidate) lose faith in you.

7. Be brave. Your clients are probably fielding calls from other recruiters keen to lure them away from you, so be brave and ask your client for an honest performance appraisal, and work on a strategy to overcome any negative perceptions.

8. Dress smart and act the part. 93% of people’s impressions are based not on what we say, but how we come across. Always dress professionally, work on your body language, and consider your delivery. Do you talk at the right speed, volume and tone to make people have confidence in what you’re saying?

Looking to the future

If Britain votes to remain in the EU, you can soon expect the phones to start ringing again as companies regain confidence to start hiring. As for if the Leave campaign wins the day? We can’t know for sure, but a study by CV Library has revealed that 43.2% of UK recruiters believe a Brexit will cause further skill shortages and reduce access to viable candidates- meaning that your dominance of your sector will be more important than ever.

Now is the time to skill up, network like mad, and stamp your authority on your recruitment niche. Don’t be a victim of history; it’s time to make your mark.

Until next time,

Cheryl

What separates the top billers from the rest in recruitment comes down to one simple thing: the power of your mind. Whether you’re a great recruiter or not isn’t about the way you look, what school you went to, or how much money you have: it is about selling– and the truly great sellers display strong emotional intelligence, good resilience and great mental habits.

It’s true that some people were born with a greater natural stock of resilience, self-motivation, or emotional intelligence, but it’s just as true that all of these powerful mental traits and tricks can be learnt.

The secret to your success lies in the power of your mind. So we’ve put together a little list of the most powerful mental attributes that you can learn in order to become a top biller.

1. Emotional Intelligence. High emotional Intelligence (EI) has been proven to link more closely to success in life than high IQ. Emotional Intelligence is a very broad concept, primarily based on you being aware of your own and others’ emotions in order to navigate situations to your advantage. 90% of top performers have high EI, and they earn more money. For a recruiter, Good EI translates as knowing when to listen, when to try to close the deal, and when you should back off. Displaying Emotional Intelligence will also mark you out in the office as someone tipped for success- bringing in lucrative leads and promotions.

2. This is the buzzword of the moment, and as a recruiter your ability to be resilient in the face of stress and setbacks is vital. Resilience as a theory was initially researched when psychologists wondered why it is that some children growing up in terrible circumstances go on to achieve greatness, while most do not. They isolated this idea of resilience- an ability to bounce back and remain strong in the face of adversity. The good news is that you can build your resilience!

3. Growth Mindset. This extraordinary research by Dr Carol Dweck shows that people fall largely into one of two mindsets: Growth Mindset, or Fixed Mindset (although most of us are a mix of both.) A Fixed Mindset personality will believe that their talents and aptitudes are fixed at birth, meaning that we are only given a certain amount of ability and cannot surpass this. The fixed mindset personality will often fear the talents of others and struggle to deal with criticism, as they feel their level of talent is innate and can’t be improved upon.

A growth mindset, on the other hand, believes that they can constantly learn and grow, and that our levels of talent and ability are very fluid. The growth mindset personality doesn’t perceive criticism or other people’s talent as a powerful threat, as they believe in their own potential to improve. Which category do you fall into more? If you’re a fixed mindset, never fear- the simple act of accepting that you can grow your skills puts you well on the way to becoming a ‘growth mindset’ person and leaving behind that fear of not being good enough!

4. Great mental habits. Those who succeed tend to display some common habits, such as:

a. Not avoiding difficult tasks or conversations. Successful people will normally want to get the tough things out of the way early, so that they can feel like they’ve achieved and can move on with a clear head.

b. Not procrastinating and leaving things until the last minute. Procrastination is often just fear of failure dressed up in a fancy outfit- so assess what is driving your procrastination and leave it behind.

c. Planning well. Many top performers will plan out their day the night before, and they schedule their week effectively, factoring in time for unforeseen events.

d. Being able to self-motivate and focus.

e. Not allowing perfectionism to get in the way of performance. Successful people understand that while standards need to be high, that they shouldn’t waste time on tiny details if they don’t ultimately matter to the end result.

These four major mindsets for success are heavily interlinked, and you’ll find that as you develop your emotional intelligence your mental habits will improve, as will your resilience. Yet all of your improvements must be underpinned by one crucial thing: a growth mindset…for if you don’t believe that you can improve and learn new skills, you never will!

Until next time,

Cheryl

If you can keep your head when all around are losing theirs…
Yours is the earth and everything that’s in it,
And-which is more-you’ll be a man, my son.’

Those lines from Rudyard Kipling’s famous poem If still ring true today- and it doesn’t matter if you’re a man or woman, a CEO or a brand-new office intern.  Knowing how to keep calm in stressful situations is one of the great hallmarks of maturity and success.

Stress is a funny thing. In short bursts it’s a good thing- causing our brains to grow new cells to deal with a challenge.  However, prolonged stress is catastrophic to our performance as it causes our brain to shrink- as well as delivering a host of associated health problems.

At work, stress can blind us to issues, make us over-react to relatively minor stimulus, or lead to poor decision-making. For recruiters working in a fast-paced and highly competitive environment, learning to cultivate calm in your working day is imperative to success.

It’s time to get off the stress rollercoaster.

How you can beat stress

Get in control of your breathing.

When you’re stressed, your breathing tends to become shallow, which actually heightens the stress response in your body.  By giving yourself time and space to concentrate on your breathing, you will reduce the body’s stress response, which should restore some welcome clarity to your brain. Whether you can only catch one deep, calming breath before answering a stressful phone call, or you have time to sit at your desk and take 20 deep, calming breaths, you will feel less stressed if you just remember to breathe!

Exercise.

Exercise is the ultimate stress-buster, and now we know why. A Princeton study done on mice shows that exercise causes calming ‘nanny neurons’ to build up in the brain.  When mice were exposed to stressors, the mice who had not been allowed to exercise for several weeks took a lot longer to calm down, while the fit and healthy mice recovered very quickly from the ordeal. The same thing is understood to happen in humans, where exercise builds up a bank of calming neurons which are released when we encounter a stressor. Amazing!

Practice positive redirection.

When feeling like you’re straying down a fruitless path of negativity or worry, you can cultivate calm by replacing the negative thought with a positive one. This can be as simple as thinking of an upcoming holiday, looking at a picture of your gorgeous niece, watching puppy videos on YouTube, or reliving a happy memory.  Whatever works for you!  It only takes a couple of minutes for the brain to be tricked into releasing the negative thoughts in favour of positive ones.

Avoid ‘what-ifs’.

It’s definitely helpful to look at any action you’re taking and analyse it for possible weaknesses, and perhaps build in a Plan B (or C) in case things don’t go your way. That’s staying in control, and a clever strategy. However, when your brain runs away from your control, careening down pathways where you fruitlessly imagine and fear the worst- you need to be able to get a grip of yourself and snap out of it. Ask yourself: is this worry actually leading me towards a useful solution?  Could I be using my time better to either come up with a solution, or move onto something else productive?

Write down what is bothering you.

The simple act of writing down your worries reduces stress levels. It organises your thoughts and gives a sense of release and distance that is hard to achieve when stress is just bubbling away in your head confusing matters. Writing your stressors down also offers clarity- sometimes you’ll realise things aren’t so bad after all, or a solution might come to you.

Write down what is pleasing you.

There’s a lot of fascinating research afoot about how acknowledging all the things that are good in your life has a dramatic effect on happiness, and with that, reduces stress levels. ‘Gratitude journals’ are all the rage for this reason- and even if you don’t want to call it that, just give it a go and try and write down a few things every day that you are appreciative of. They don’t have to be big things, and they don’t have to be at all related to the aspects of your life that are stressing you (they could be that you are happy your partner loves cooking!)Consciously seek out the good in your life, and your brain will soon start to automatically do so.

Eat and drink well.

Like exercise, diet is another relatively simple lifestyle change that can put you in greater control of your stress levels by avoiding certain common foods and drinks. Coffee raises your blood pressure, while alcohol actually feeds stress by causing your body to release the stress hormone cortisol. Sugary drinks and snacks cause irritation and energy crashes, while salty foods. While it can be so tempting to eat junk food and head to the pub after work when you’re stressed, you’ll feel real benefits from taking control of your diet and avoiding stress-triggering foods.

You don’t have to try all of these- (although what a stress-busting powerhouse you would be if you could master all of them!) Why not experiment and see what works for you?

Until next time,

Cheryl

The year is flying by, but for those of you who aren’t enjoying your jobs right now, time might be dragging during the working week (yet weekends are probably passing at light-speed!) At this mid-way point of the year, it’s worthwhile assessing whether you’re just suffering from a mild case of the mid-year career blues after summer holidays, or whether the problem goes a bit deeper than that.

Is it time to change jobs?

When you’re unhappy at work and starting to consider your options, it’s always worth analysing the big picture and asking yourself a few important questions:

Is this role getting you closer to your goals? Remember those aspirations you had when you accepted this job, or when you first started out as a recruiter? Are you any closer to reaching them, or have you stagnated? If your role right now is not moving you towards where you want to go, you have to ask yourself if it’s worth continuing with it or if it is time to strike out in pursuit of your core goals again.

Are you regularly dreading work? Or are you just finding it a bit dull? If you’re dreading work on a regular basis (and not just on Sunday evenings), then this is a good sign it’s time to move on.

Will a change of company really help? Realistically assess whether a change of company alone will deliver the change you’re looking for. Perhaps a new sector is an option, or a different role? If the company simply isn’t using your skills effectively, or you’re unhappy with management or a personal conflict, then a simple change of scenery can definitely get your career mojo back.

However, if you’re actually unhappy with the role itself, then the same old problems will crop up before long at your new job too.  We’ve written about changing sectors before– maybe it’s time to mix things up a bit?

Are you learning any new skills? If you are to be happy at work, it’s important to develop new skills- not only to build your resume, but also to remain engaged and challenged. If your role has sunk into the hum-drum, same-old category, it’s worth discussing possible new challenges with your manager. If nothing is forthcoming, it’s time to leave: things almost certainly won’t improve.

Has a promotion/development been promised but not delivered?

Nothing can drain enthusiasm and loyalty away faster than a broken promise, or the understanding that a promotion or some training would arise…yet it never does. If this is you, then you need to sit down with your manager and discuss your future, rather than sitting around waiting for something to happen. It can be scary to find out that what you expected isn’t on the cards after all- but surely it’s better to find out now so you can go and chase your dreams?

Did you feel this way a month ago/6 months ago/a year ago?

If this is a fairly new feeling, there’s every chance it’s just temporary and may be linked to a fleeting issue- perhaps a poor billing run, a couple of difficult clients, or a strict new boss. If you’ve been historically happy in the role and things just seem to have taken a rapid turn from the worse, there’s every chance the pendulum will swing back again and you’ll find your contentment again.

However, if you’ve been feeling glum about work for a long time now, it’s time to take action! Can you imagine still feeling this unfulfilled in a year’s time? Life is short.

What kind of potential is this job offering?  Is it enough to encourage you to stay if you can focus on the long-term pay-off? Be realistic as to whether you can suffer it out long-term, or whether you can achieve your potential faster with another company.

A few things to do before you decide…

1. Remember to focus on the positives as well as the negatives. A ‘pros and cons’ list is brilliant here, as it forces you to logically assess all the good and bad things about your current role. Sometimes seeing it all down on paper brings your current discontents into perspective, while at other times this list will clarify your decision that it’s definitely time to move on! If you make a balanced decision, you’re unlikely to regret it, whereas rash and highly emotional decisions often have a way of leading to regret.

2. Sit down with your manager and let them know that you’re not completely satisfied. Often managers (particularly the ones low on emotional intelligence) are completely unaware when their team members are unhappy (and you probably do a good professional job of putting on a brave face, so perhaps that’s not entirely their fault).

You might be pleasantly surprised at what they’ll offer in order to keep you, and your career could go in leaps and bounds from this one conversation. If you don’t get the result you wished for…you have your answer.

3. Research what’s out there. Look at industry salary benchmarks, start putting out feelers for new jobs and attend interviews to gauge what’s out there (you’re a recruiter, you know how this part works!)

Once you’ve made your decision, don’t agonise any more over it. It’s time to take control and reshape your career.

Until next time,

Cheryl

A slowdown has hit the UK construction industry, shedding some doubt on last year’s upbeat predictions of a construction boom over the next decade.

The UK construction sector hit a low in February, on the back of fears of a weakening economy and Brexit concerns.

On the upside there are significant large scale projects ongoing in many areas across the UK.

In Liverpool the new Baltic Triangle will be home to a £30m construction project of upmarket apartments. In London new residential builds and also huge developments such as HS2, Crossrail and Battersea power station, are creating opportunities for hundreds of skilled construction workers.

So what does this mean for construction recruiters and their candidates?

The truth is this: There will always be roles for great people in construction.

Regardless of whether the current slowdown is a blip, the construction industry is a hugely diverse employment sector with massive career opportunities for strong employees. Despite the slowing rate of some building projects, there is still a notable skills shortage in the construction industry that is predicted to carry on for many years.

This gives an amazing opportunity for those construction candidates holding specialist skills, as they will always be highly sought-after by switched on recruiters and their clients.

The construction industry is as old as human civilisation, so unlike many other sectors that haven’t stood the test of time, a construction career is still an excellent choice for new graduates or those seeking a career change- particularly if they choose their specialist field carefully and then make every effort to succeed.

As for recruiters operating in the construction sector, the slowdown may mean that you will need to cast your net wider, both for clients and quality candidates.

You’re fortunate in the regard that the skills shortage is still very much in force, meaning that you will always be able to place good candidates— even if the number of overall vacancies and construction projects are currently lower than expected at present.

The power of your pipeline

All high billing recruiters know what is important to consistently achieve: A strong pipeline of both candidates and clients.

Remember your first billing manager barking on about business development and filing your pipeline? Though their coaching skills might not have been perfect the truth is they were right.

A continued focus on BD and filling your pipeline has a compound effect on your results. Like anything in life; effort will build towards results. There is a great book here for those of you interested in developing yourself that lays out how it all works; it’s called The compound effect by Darren Hardy.

Building a strong talent pipeline is of ultimate importance in the current climate for all construction recruiters; this is no time to be complacent by relying on your current crop of candidates to keep your billing numbers assured in the future.

As the construction industry shakes off this temporary downturn (the uncertainty about Brexit has put a lot of projects on hold that are likely to get going again after the referendum), it’s now the  perfect time to position yourself as the construction recruiter with access to ALL the top talent. As recruiters we all know having access to the key candidates in any sector makes us in demand.

Until next time,

Cheryl

With a new crop of graduates about to enter the workforce and many others considering a career change, there’s a huge amount of movement afoot in the recruitment industry. For those wanting to become a recruiter or are just starting out in the industry, there are some hints on how you can build the attitude to succeed in the recruitment game….even before you get your very first interview.

Success is about skills, certainly- and you need to gather as many skills as you can, but what separates the goods from the greats in business, is all about attitude. Recruitment is a high-pressure occupation with tremendous highs and difficult lows- so you need to create a winning mind-set in order to position yourself as the best trainee recruiter from the get-go.

Don’t take it from us… take this great advice about attitude from some of the great success stories of our time.

Don’t regret your mistakes

Richard Branson sees regret as a waste of productive time- what a great lesson for trainee recruiters who are bound to make mistakes! You will make mistakes, the key is to not squander time feeling stupid or regretful and not wanting to risk doing so again. So dig deep, analyse your mistakes, and learn from them.

Don’t be scared to stray from the recruitment path you think you want

We sometimes see new recruiters pigeon-hole themselves so firmly in a niche from the beginning that they are blinkered to all the other opportunities in recruitment. It’s great to have a goal, but don’t get fixated on it to the point where you shut the other doors of opportunity without investigating what they might lead to. Writing on Quora, Fortune editor Pattie Sellers likened careers to jungle gyms rather than ladders, and counsels that you don’t have to have it all figured out!

Do the thing you’re most scared of

At the beginning of a recruitment career, nearly everyone is nervous about approaching clients—particularly big clients with important job titles! As a result, many new recruiters spend lots of time building up their candidate list (because they’re not scared of candidates) but then have no jobs to supply them with. Nobody wins. Often, the very call you’re scared to make is the one you really need to make, and the one that potentially holds the most reward.

We’re not saying pick up the phone and start calling CEO’s willy-nilly, rather that you prepare hugely for the right client and then make your move. Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook recommends that you ‘Ask yourself how you can improve and what you’re afraid to do’. That’s usually the thing you should try.’

Emulate the successful people around you

Warren Buffet recently counselled a 12 year old that the way to get along in life was to observe and copy the behaviour of those that you admire. Warren Buffet has amassed 63.3 billion dollars with this attitude! Look around – both in life and in the office- and notice any techniques or mannerisms that people use successfully.

Don’t burn your bridges

This is another one from the great Warren Buffet, who says that while it’s easy enough to tell someone ‘to go to hell’ today, it’s a much better idea to wait to see how you feel about it tomorrow. In recruitment, you’ll come across some difficult characters- whether it’s a candidate that bails at the 11^th hour and leaves you looking foolish in front of a treasured client, or a client who pays late, argues about fees, or has a terrible communication style. This is not to say you should keep every client and candidate on the books, in fact there’s some clients you should fire, rather that you should always retain good relationships as you don’t know when that person might come in useful in future.

Never eat lunch alone

This little gem of wisdom comes from Salli Setta of American chain Red Lobster, who sees getting out from behind your computer at lunch a valuable opportunity for networking and to get some perspective on whatever you’re working on. As networking is such a vital part of recruiting, this is important- but so too is just getting up and going for a lunch with a friend to recharge your brain- particularly if you’re stressed.

Don’t grab the glory from others

Recruitment is a competitive field, and so you can often see individual recruiters become fiercely competitive and sometimes trying to muscle in on each others’ opportunities. This kind of ‘superstar’ attitude at the expense of others is particularly strong when promotions are up for grabs, but remember that the boss will always be looking to promote team players who allow others to shine as well (particularly if you’re working towards a management role.)

Blackberry CEO John Chen says that grabbing the glory can turn off your co-workers and your boss, and that ‘Trying too hard to show you’re a superstar tells me that you only care about what’s best for you, and not the company as a whole.’

If you can commence your recruitment career armed with an attitude of bravery, fairness and open-mindedness, you can be the best recruitment recruit- right from your first day on the job.

(You can read more success strategies from the original INC article here.)

Until next time,

Cheryl

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if every candidate we put forward accepted the job, and every client was instantly delighted with our talent pipeline, our fees, and our performance on each placement? Alas, this is an impossible dream.

As a recruiter, you will always have to deal with objections-whether it’s a candidate unhappy with the company culture or salary package, or a client displeased with a placement fee increase or the standard of the candidate pool you have to offer.

The issue might start even earlier than that: with objections to your initial sales pitch. How many times do recruiters hear ‘I’m happy with my current recruiter’, ‘I’m not interested’, or ‘Email me, I’ll get back to you’.

The point is that it’s how you handle those objections that can turn your relationships with clients and candidates into a possible dream.

Objections as opportunity

Remember, clients and candidates are not making objections purely for the love of being difficult (and if they are you should definitely read our recent blog on ‘Clients You Should Fire’). Rather, they are registering their concerns so that you can give them more information/a better offer/a new strategy. In objections, there lies the golden opportunity to really make these important people happy, so remember to avoid taking the objections personally. And, crucially, to listen hard.

Prepare for objections

The best recruiters are always super-prepared, so let your objection-handling strategy be no different. You will want to start by considering all the possible objections you’ll face as a recruiter, beginning with your current crop of clients and candidates, but also using experience from your past, and envisioning objections that might come up in future. Watch how other recruiters deal with objections. Of course, most of these you’ll hear many times over in your career, so you can actually work out a rough script of how to best deal with them.

Treat it like a scientific exercise, and be dispassionate about your role in it (even if the thing they’re unhappy with is your personal performance.) By remaining calm, your brain will supply better responses— that are more about pleasing the customer than defending your ego.

Dealing with objections to your pitch

When it comes to getting the clients in the first place, there are some great strategies to counter really common objections such as the ones outlined earlier.

For example, if a prospect emails back with ‘I’m happy with my current recruiter’, don’t consider that door closed.  Send back a short and friendly email saying something like: ‘That’s great. As long as they have…(dot-point all the exceptional things about your offer here), then you’ve made a great choice. Let me know if there’s anything on that list that you’re not getting from them!’ Or, ‘Would you be willing to share their placement fees so that I can see if we can provide you with a better result?  This reframes the situation so that the client can see there might be a better offer out there.

If the client says they don’t have time to deal with taking on a new recruiter right now, ask them for a very small time commitment- ‘Would 10 minutes be possible? I’m sure I can save you time on your recruitment solutions in the long run so that you can be freed up to concentrate on other things.’

If they tell you to email and they’ll follow up- don’t fall for it! They won’t!! Try to find out when might be a good time to chat instead- in your email say that you’re going to call back at a specific time- or even better, give them a couple of times to choose between so that they feel it’s a more solid commitment on their part rather than a vague call that might happen in the future.

Don’t be defensive if someone says they’re not interested, instead, engage your inner curiosity and ask WHY they’re not interested.  ‘Thanks for getting back to me. I was hoping you might help me understand what makes potential customers say no? This is a question that may well furnish you with some really helpful answers about their company recruitment needs. And remember- if they responded to a cold email with ‘not interested’, you now probably have their phone number in their email signature… but proceed delicately, and don’t be pushy!

Preparation and practice makes perfect

Your ability to deal with objections successfully is something that improves astronomically with two things: preparation and practice.  So learn as many strategies as possible and practice as much as you can, and keep adding and refining to your script.

Any objections?

Until next time,

Cheryl

While it’s always important in the recruitment business to develop a sales pipe line, it’s fair to say that not all clients are created equal. Therefore, your professional focus should be on those clients that you can serve the best, and who deliver great results for you in turn. The client-recruiter relationship should be a ‘win-win’ relationship, yet some clients seem to ‘take more than they give’, as the song goes…

Often, recruiters fall into the trap of thinking that they can accept a bit of a raw deal thinking that the sacrifice will pay off later with that client, but what is really happening is that the client is getting the message that you’re a pushover, and is then very unlikely to change their strategy in future!

Of course, some clients really are great…but still might not be the right client for you. Remember, there’s no shame in letting clients go and freeing up space for new ones.

Today we’re discussing some of the signs of an unhealthy recruiter-client relationship, and some key indicators that it’s time to let that client go their own way and seek out better ones.

Clients you need to fire

The client is a terrible communicator

You’re trying hard to fill positions for them, but they don’t provide you with the information you need to do so. Job descriptions are woolly, they’re vague on salary details, and they keep messing the candidates around by changing interview times and cancelling at the last minute. You end up looking bad in front of the candidate and the candidate turns down the job offer due to the messed-up recruitment experience they’ve had…ironically leaving the client disappointed and unhappy with you!

This type of client is also often hard to pin down with phone calls and email responses, but wants you to drop everything when they’re ready. This client is almost impossible to please, but often doesn’t understand how they’re contributing to that. A polite conversation is required to try and turn the situation around; if that fails, it’s definitely time to fire that client.

The client is visibly unhappy with your fees and constantly tries to renegotiate

This type of client is always trying to get ‘something for nothing’. They’ll often object to your fees right from the start, and might even battle you down into a lower placement fee. This type of low-paying client is known to make many promises about how you’ll make more money in the long run, because they’ll need lots of candidates in the future, etc, etc. Of course, you have no idea if these vacancies will actually arise…

Remember, you know how much your service is worth, and agreeing to place people for less is just undermining your billing numbers. It’s also not great for your confidence to be undervalued, nor does it make you feel warmly predisposed to the client (and therefore you might find it hard to go the extra mile for them). In the end, nobody wins from fees being undercut.

The client doesn’t understand boundaries

It’s 9:30 pm and you’re getting ready for bed, and you get a call from a client, asking you if you received their urgent email they sent an hour ago about one of your candidates that they love/hate/want to know more about, or to discuss a placement from last year that isn’t working out. This client requires you to be immediately available to them at any time, and has no visible understanding that you have other clients that you need to take care of as well. (Oddly, these kinds of clients often don’t have big budgets, but desire 100% of your time regardless.)

In this client’s mind, they are the only client that matters, and you often get the sense that they think their fee means that they ‘own’ you. You can resolve this by setting clear boundaries, but this kind of client tends to have very stubborn ideas about their importance and will often revert to type very quickly…’I’m sorry to call on a weekend as I know it’s not what we discussed, but I really need your input- it’s an emergency….). If they continue to test and even ignore your boundaries,
then it’s time to say goodbye.

The client pays late and you always have to chase invoices repeatedly

It’s very difficult to think well of a client who doesn’t pay on time. You’re thrust into the position of having to send increasingly awkward follow-up emails about payment, and you start to feel that the client is messing you around. Maybe they are, maybe they aren’t- perhaps they’re just disorganised. But regardless of whichever it is: who wants a client who doesn’t pay what they owe, when they owe it?

When you do decide to let a client go, do it with maximum politeness and as much notice as possible. Thank them thoroughly for their business, and do everything you can to leave the relationship on good terms. It’s then time to learn from this experience, taking everything you now know about bad clients and bringing that to bear on finding better ones.

Make sure your future contracts are really specific about payment, availability, and non-negotiable fees to avoid future problems…and keep a very careful eye on any potential client’s communications styles. Learn from this and move on to the many great clients out there!

Until next time,

Cheryl