Are You Cultivating Your Daily Success Habits?

Summer is again drawing to a close, and across the UK people are returning to work after holidays and re-gearing for the final few months before Christmas. This is always a great time for recruiters to get motivated again to perform- whether your primary focus for the remainder of the working year is sourcing new talent, new clients, or both.

Success is rarely about one big thing that you do that propels you to great heights; rather it’s the culmination of a string of positive daily habits. That’s why it’s so important to take time to assess whether the steps you take every day are setting you up for a successful future.

1. Appreciate where you are right now.

Gratefulness feeds happiness, happiness feeds positivity, positivity feeds success. Find a minute each day to write down the things you’re grateful for, whether that’s a new receptionist who makes your life easier, a talented candidate that came your way, or a client who said thank you for a great hire. Remember, gratefulness doesn’t have to be about work in order to work its magic; it can be about your home life or tiny details like really enjoying your new favourite café.

2. Make one step towards a goal each day.

You should already have your goals defined (and if not, get to it!) No matter how busy you are, make a small step towards that each and every day- even if it’s just looking at your goals and assessing your next.

3. Study up on your industry.

It’s so easy to stagnate by relying on the information you already have, but recruiters who don’t constantly learn about their industry cannot hope to succeed in the long-term. Make sure you read one article or listen to one short podcast each day that relates to recruitment or the sector you work in (it might help to subscribe to a recruitment or an industry blog which sends you daily email alerts with relevant articles.)

4. Network in different ways.

Recruiters often fall into a familiar pattern of networking—perhaps it’s attending the same networking events, posting the same old stuff on social media, or building your network in the traditional manner of getting referrals from satisfied customers and clients. But what about people that you used to know?

Send an email to old colleagues! What about hitting some new networking events- perhaps in tangentially related sectors? What about joining up to some online forums and actually participating in the comments section? What about mapping your current candidate and client list and then expanding outwards to include their contact list? What about posting some exciting stuff on social media, sharing others’ content, and building your following that way? Get networking!

5. Ask yourself if you worked as hard as you could have today.

We’re all familiar with those days where we leave the office knowing that the day was a bit of a write-off, that we just didn’t perform at maximum capacity. The great performers will feel a bit guilty about that, and vow to do better tomorrow.

Assess your view of your current performance: are you really doing your best, or are you falling into the common trap of thinking that you’ll only really give it your all when you get that great client, or get that promotion?

The point is that unless you’re working your ‘tail’ off now, you will probably never get that great client or promotion. You need to make the effort now, not when you get the dream job, so start working the way you think you will when you finally attain the goal, or you’ll never reach the goal at all.

6. Make time for others and smile.

It helps to remember that you’re not the only person in the room, so take time to have a kind or friendly word with the other recruiters and office staff. Try to see the best in the people that are frustrating you, and if you can’t manage positivity, then at least be polite!

Also, remember to smile- it transforms your face, transforms your voice on the telephone, and transforms how others see you. These steps may sound a bit wishy-washy to those looking to power their way right to the top, but recruitment is built on relationships, and having a friendly professional demeanour will not only make you feel good, but it will open doors.

And yes, of course we realise that you won’t always have time to do everything on this list, every day (although smiling is non-negotiable.) You just have to try your hardest to hit as many as possible, and you’ll soon find a new momentum in your everyday routine that will rapidly propel you towards the success you seek.

Until next time,

Cheryl