As recruiters, we love experienced candidates don’t we? They’ve been in the industry for several years; they’ve got all the skills and qualifications required as well as a great network of contacts.

Clients love an experienced candidate because usually it means they can hit the ground running with the minimum amount of training, which is great in terms of time and cost. But does this mean potentially other good prospects such as career changers are being ruled out when up against more experienced candidates?

Why do people change careers?

People traditionally have tended to stay in the same industry throughout their career. However, over the past 20 this has gradually begun to change.

With the advent of the internet and the wealth of information and opportunities that it brings with it, this trend has accelerated in more recent times. People are now more aware of the different opportunities available, and what resources there are to enable a change. Innovations such as the Open University and the boom in adult education and online learning mean that people can study qualifications needed for a new career whilst still working in their current one.

There are many reasons why people change careers, but whether it’s because they feel their skills will be better suited elsewhere, or they simply want a new challenge, career changers are a group of jobseekers that are seriously underestimated.

Career changers bring passion and a love of learning

Career changers are by their very nature independent, hardworking and incredibly motivated. Going from one successful career into a completely different one, they obviously haven’t took this decision lightly, and you can guarantee that what they may lack in specific experience in their prospective industry, they will more than make up for in passion and drive. It’s a bold decision to decide to move careers and it takes a special kind of person to actually go ahead and do it.

Career changers don’t come with ‘baggage’

As much as experience can be a positive thing, it can be a negative. You may find yourself with a candidate that has an abundance of experience and know-how, but with that comes a certain way of working. After several years at a company doing things their way, how confident are you that they can adapt to a completely different way of working? The roles may be the same, but the company cultures may be poles apart. This can cause endless problems.

Are career changers the ultimate ‘apprentices?

It’s for this reason that many companies like to take on apprentices. Apprentices have no preconceptions and are not used to doing things a certain way, and a business can mould them into the type of employee that will thrive in the business. But take a moment to think about a more mature career changer.

Like an apprentice, they’re new to the industry and are like a ‘blank canvas’. But most importantly, they’re a blank canvas with maturity and experience from ‘outside’. This unique combination lets them look at things from a different perspective, and can make them outstanding candidates to employ, albeit at a greater cost than the traditional apprentice.

Do you have experience of placing career changers, or maybe you are a career changer yourself? We’d love to know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Till next time,

Cheryl

According to XPertHR, the average turnover of staff at companies in the UK in 2013 was 9.3%.  Specific figures for the recruitment industry are hard to find, but Globalrecruiter.com estimates industry figures to be between 25% and 35%, possibly even being as high as 40%

Whichever way you look at it, those figures aren’t good. If you have a high staff turnover, have you stopped to think why?

Of course, using the services of a specialist rec2rec agency will ensure a good supply of quality candidates, but that’s only part of the solution. What are you doing to make your agency appealing to the industry’s brightest applicants?

The vast majority of people you will be recruiting will be what are known as Generation Y (Gen Y), also known as millennials or the digital generation. Gen Y candidates are those people born approximately between 1980 and 1995, the ‘internet generation’.

Born into a much different world than their predecessors, their motivations and drivers are much different than the previous generations. It’s crucial therefore that you appeal to their specific wants, need and motivations to ensure you are attracting the cream of available talent…

Spread the word and engage

Shout and be proud about your company’s achievements, and share them socially. Word of mouth is much more important to Gen Y candidates as social media facilitates such communication. As well as your company’s social media channels being utilised, have your staff use theirs wherever possible.

You want to convey that there is always something going on at your company, that there is a real buzz about it and that it is never ‘just another day at the office’. Don’t forget to engage as well. Social media is a conversation, not a soapbox. Reach out, share, engage and enjoy.

Consider your company’s social and environmental impact

Whereas for previous generations, it might have been all about the money, for Gen Y candidates there are a multitude of other factors that they consider. Social and environmental impact is one of them. Now of course, a recruitment organisation isn’t a heavy engineering company and so your environmental impact will be reasonably low by default. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t have an impact in other ways.

Giving employees a day off occasionally to work on local environmental or social projects can have a range of benefits, from team building to being great PR to share socially. But the main benefit is that it makes Gen Y employees’ jobs more than just one dimensional tools to make money. It gives their job more meaning, which is something that appeals to Gen Y’s social conscience.

Salary

Gordon Gekko’s ‘greed is good’ mantra may have been the sort of thing that appealed to potential recruitment consultants in the past, but as we’ve seen, today’s modern generation are driven by so much more than money.

However, that doesn’t mean that salary isn’t important, it means that it isn’t the only consideration. According to the Institute of Fiscal Studies’ ‘Payback Time?’ study in 2014, UK students will now leave universities with debts averaging more than £44,000. A competitive salary therefore is a must, and a challenging but ultimately realistic commission structure will be appealing to help them pay down their mountain of debt.

Work/Life Balance

Work/life balance is Gen Y’s key driver according to PwC’s #NextGen: A Global Generational Study’.  71% of millennials found that work interfered with their personal lives, so if this is something you can try and engage with, you could be well on your way to appealing to Gen Y’s elite candidates.

Have you considered flexible working and even the occasional day working from home? These are all highly prized benefits to Gen Y candidates, and could seriously set your company apart in attracting the very best staff.

By engaging with the key motivations and drivers of Gen Y candidates, you can make your agency a company of choice and a desirable place to work. Do this, and you will see a significant improvement in your staff turnover.

Till next time,

Cheryl

If we’re brutally honest, recruitment consultancy as a profession doesn’t have the best image in a lot of people’s eyes. Sadly, this is due to a minority of consultants acting in a way that ends up tarring the rest of us who take our jobs, our profession and our reputation very seriously. Below we take a look at some of the common assertions made against recruitment consultancies and what we can all do to try and change the industry’s image for the better.

Client: “Recruitment agencies just throw CVs at us until one happens to be good…”

We all know that as reputable recruiters this isn’t the case, but there are a lot of agencies out there that take this approach. ‘Fire enough bullets and you’re bound to hit something’ is effective in the short-term (it must be or else it would have died out long ago), but in the long term it’s disastrous for the relationship with your client and the reputation of both you and the agency you work for.

Good consultancies aren’t the ones that send the most CVs for a vacancy, they tend to be the ones that send the least. This shows that they have been through a rigorous selection and shortlisting process, resulting in a handful of very strong candidates suited to the role. Clients love it too. What would you rather have on your desk? Thirty average CVs or three excellent ones?

Client and Candidate: “They don’t have an understanding of the jobs they recruit for…”

Both clients and candidates are quick to judge recruiters on this topic, particularly in professional and niche markets. It’s a reputation that’s not helped by the number of ‘fly-by-night’ consultancies that continuously open and then subsequently disappear. Taking an extra-curricular interest in the area in which you recruit is essential and will come across when talking to clients. It will set you apart from all the other recruitment consultants who don’t take the time to learn about their industry and you’ll really see the benefit.

Candidate: “They promise they’ll get in touch, but they never do…”

We all know how busy it is in recruiting, but it’s important not to forget the simple things. One of the major bugbears for candidates is the recruitment consultant who promises to get back to them but never does. Yes it is time consuming, and if you’ve got a list of people to call who have been unsuccessful in their applications, it’s not exactly enjoyable. But what it is good for is both you and your agency’s reputation. Pass the task to your office junior if you really have to, but ensure you always carry out what you promise. Your career in recruitment is built upon your reputation. Value it.

Client: “Recruiters don’t provide value for money. They just filter CVs really…”

We know this certainly isn’t the case! This reputation comes from the type of consultant who simply throws CVs at clients. But good consultants don’t help by not blowing their own trumpet and explaining the hard work they have put in for a client. They’re probably genuinely unaware of the sources you have had to search, the piles of CVs you’ve been through, and the long telephone calls you’ve had to make to help shortlist candidates. Sometimes all clients see is the problem and the solution. Keep them updated throughout the process and they’ll have a better understanding of the amount of work you have put in.

Be proud of being a recruitment consultant and be the best one you can be, and you’ll have a long, successful and profitable career, with a great network of satisfied clients and candidates.

Till next time,

Cheryl

Below is a recent article we were asked to write for Global Recruiter on what recruiting professionals need to focus on in 2015. We wanted to share it here for you as well.

As we hurtle towards the end of another year many of us ‘try’ to predict the future or at least have a handle on how we can bill more and grow our business in the next twelve months.

Though a crystal ball might be one alternative, a better strategy is to ask our clients and, review what is happening in the market. In our own specialist recruitment company, we are in the enviable position of seeing a range of different sectors and how their recruiting practice is changing. Based on conversations we have had recently, here are our predictions for 2015.

Hoorah hiring is up though budgets are down-time to demonstrate your worth

With a global shift in the economy, hiring during 2014 had a significant kick up; this will only accelerate in 2015. The flipside is that as companies recruit more talent to fuel their own growth; this is having a knock on effect on the available funding given to recruitment, especially external suppliers #us.

There isn’t a recruitment professional on the planet, that hasn’t had their fee challenged. Be prepared for this to happen more next year. Being aware of this fact enables us to get our house in order, ahead of our future meetings with clients.

Our first task is to demonstrate the value we bring to the hiring process. To command realistic fees for our effort and expertise we must be able to validate why that client should invest in us and not another recruiter in our sector.

This is simple to do. For instance, does your client know about your 15 step search process or the database of passive candidates you have been diligently building over the last five years? I doubt it. That is why it is important to know, in depth, the features, advantages and benefits of your recruiting process. Then above all, communicate them.

Build your desk, company and brand reputation

In times of growth one school of thought is that everyone wins. This isn’t always the case.  What sometimes happens is the big players get even bigger and the small players scrabble around for the scraps. Why is this? The power of a brand and positioning in the market.

The good news then? We live in a digital world and the ability to establish a position in your sector has never been easier. I’m not a marketer and this article isn’t about marketing, however I experience the power of it every day.

Hiring staff and changing companies are major decisions for all of us; that is why we want to feel ‘safe’ during the process. All the time we are unconsciously looking for someone to show us the way. It might be a comment we notice a consultant made on social media. Perhaps the way we were encouraged and treated when we called into their agency. In other words how the recruitment consultants lived their company and personal brand.

If you are in a candidate led sector (most of us now are) remember candidates can pick and choose the recruiters they work with. Some recruiters have a less than positive reputation and candidates have, friends and family who they will talk to about their recruiting experience. Imagine if they are singing your praises as opposed to the alternative!

It might take some thought and consistent action and it is possible to be a star in your recruitment sector; have the client and candidate relationship front of mind and you won’t go far wrong.

Over 70% of your clients and candidates are looking for you on social media

As recruitment professionals we are all ‘hanging out’ on LinkedIn most days. Though do you have a specific strategy in the way you utilise this platform? If not you need to and here is why?

A recent report from linkedIn stated that over 70% of people are now using a social network to find their next job and that 4 out of 5 UK professional use LinkedIn regularly.

Compare that with the fact that many recruiters still use linkedIn as a feed to place their jobs and as a search database only and hopefully the penny will drop? You are missing a huge opportunity.

LinkedIn is wise to this and from January 1^st is changing its InMail policy. From next year you will no longer get a credit back if someone doesn’t respond to your Inmail. Instead if they do respond you will now be rewarded with a credit. LinkedIn really does want to help us. I am convinced this change will make all of us better more professional recruiters.

As recruitment pros 2015 will give us all the challenge to up our game; are you ready?

Best wishes,

Cheryl

As Rec2Rec recruiters, we’ve talked to every type of recruitment consultant you can think of. Consultants from every conceivable sector through to old school recruiters and eager trainees.

In reality there are only two types of recruiter, those that are successful, and those that aren’t.

We all want to be the former, but how do we stop ourselves becoming the latter? However long you have been in recruitment or how successful you have been; failure is never far away. We’ve all seen those successful consultants lose it all of a sudden, and never regain their former glories. The reason why this happens? They got complacent and got into bad habits. Below we take a look at the bad habits that every recruiter should consciously avoid. If you can ensure this, your success as a high billing consultant is assured.

Failure to plan

Have you ever seen those children’s entertainers who spin plates? That’s what recruitment is like. Just as you’ve got one plate spinning, one starts to stop and you end up rushing from plate to plate until the whole lot come crashing down. Plan your day and your week, with clear, challenging but realistic objectives and you will always benefit from this. Think that you no longer need to plan, and you’ll find your plates crashing down around you in no-time!

Making assumptions

It’s great when you have a good working relationship with a company and an understanding of how they operate and the types of jobs they have on offer. But too many established recruiters get lazy, and begin to assume things. When faced with a vague job description, don’t think you know the company so well and fill in the gaps yourself. Too many good consultants have lost good clients by making assumptions. Whether you have been a recruiter for twenty minutes or twenty years, assume nothing. If in doubt, always ask.

Taking candidates at face value

Some candidates won’t tell you the truth. I know it’s not a PC comment and yet it’s the truth. It is an inevitable fact about recruitment. It’s also a fact that as a recruiter, you’ll become a good judge of character. However, this doesn’t mean the rigorous checks that you did earlier in your career should end. Too many good consultants have let their career go wayward by not doing the required due diligence with regards to checking out that amazing candidates credentials.

Yes it’s not the most interesting thing to do and it’s the sign of a true recruiting pro.

Neglecting their pipeline

Remember when you started out as a consultant? How you hit the telephones day in, day out? It was that consistent hard work in the early days that gave you the solid foundations that your career is built upon now. You’ve probably got lots of loyal clients, but don’t ever forget to look after your pipeline. A good pipeline always needs regular fresh leads, so don’t ever get complacent. The calls you put in now will look after you for a long time to come.

Complacency is the recruiter’s biggest enemy. Conquer that and never forget the importance of the basics, and you’ll have a long and successful career in recruitment.

Till next time,

Cheryl

We spend so much time as recruiters on the telephone ‘trying’ to get vacancies and meetings with potential clients; it’s easy to forget that once you get that meeting there is still work to be done. Below we discuss eight key factors that will ensure your client meetings are as successful and profitable as they can be.

Is there anybody else in the business you’d like to meet?

Always maximise every opportunity. If it is a large meeting, there might be other recruiting managers you’d like to speak to. Calling them and saying ‘I’m meeting Amanda Smith on Monday at 3pm to discuss recruitment requirements. I was wondering if you might be available at 4pm to have a similar discussion?” A simple request like this could produce an additional meeting and perhaps more roles to work on. The fact you’re meeting one of their colleagues can almost be seen as a recommendation so utilise it!

Research

Pre the meeting carry out as much research as you can. Check out their Linkedin profile. Where have they worked before? Do you have any shared connections? The more you can find out about who you are meeting with the better. It will help give you a guide to their motivations and drivers.

Set an agenda

You need to ensure your meeting has a direction, so having some sort of an agenda is essential. We’re not talking something rigid, but just a general direction you want to go. Don’t be prescriptive and present it as set in stone, just simply say something like ‘I thought we’d start by talking about X and then move on to discussing Y and Z’.

Make sure you know where you are going and how you are going to get there

There really is no excuse for being late to a meeting with a potential client. If driving, rare I know in London! Check the traffic news before you leave and ensure you satnav is fully charged. If going on public transport, ensure that you’re fully aware of any delays expected and leave in plenty of time.

Listen with empathy

It’s amazing how bad at listening some people are. You want this person’s business, listen to everything they say and empathise. The more you understand them and their business, the more you can ensure that they are going to get the service they require.

Don’t forget the essentials

I don’t want to teach state the obvious here and make sure you have everything you need for the meeting. For any client meeting, you should have a checklist of items that you take every time. This should include:

– Paper, notebook or tablet to make notes

– Business cards

– A list of your own questions

– An agenda

– Some examples of ‘hot’ CVs

– Client testimonials

– Candidate testimonials

– Copy of your application form and referencing questions

– Case studies aligned and related to their specific candidate needs

– Anything else you might think is important

Till next time,

Cheryl

As a recruiter, you’ll have a large database of candidates. You might have thousands, tens of thousands or even more. How are you using this though; apart from searching it when you are looking for suitable candidates? If not, you are seriously missing out on a powerful recruitment tool, the opportunity to build a talent community.

What is a talent community?

A talent community is a method of social recruiting, where a collection of people with similar skills, interests or careers come together on a social platform to discuss, share ideas and opportunities with each other. In essence it is a networking community, and one that can be a very powerful tool if used correctly by an informed recruiter.

Where should I build my talent community?

You have three main choices at the moment, Linkedin, Facebook and Twitter. Which will be the best for you will depend on a number of factors.

Linkedin

A Linkedin group is the obvious choice for a company wishing to create a talent community, especially if you recruit professional roles. You should already have a sizeable yet focussed network that you can invite to your group, so you could be up and running reasonably quickly. Linkedin may not be quite as effective if you are recruiting blue collar jobs, as Linkedin is generally seen as a white collar social network. Linkedin offers a real opportunity for thought leadership, and if done correctly could be a real springboard to having a dominant presence in the market. Take a look at the Linkedin groups you are part of and learn from them.

Facebook

Not at first glance the best place to build up a talent community, but in certain circumstances it can be very effective. Whereas people go on to Linkedin to network with work associates, people go on to Facebook for pleasure, which means it is Linkedin’s (and to an extent Twitter’s) poor relation when building a talent community. However, if you recruit in certain blue collar and niche industries, it can be very effective. The Composite Laminators Network is a great example of this on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/Composite.laminators.network/?fref=ts).

A very niche and specialised trade, the vast majority of composite laminators in the UK are members of the group, and the vast majority of contracting jobs are obtained through the site. Imagine that kind of coverage!

Twitter

Although very different in many ways to both Linkedin and Facebook, some of the most effective talent communities are on Twitter. The ‘hashtag hour’ is a type of talent community that can be very effective. Choose a day and a time, and make your hashtag hour a regular event. Host the event and direct the hour’s proceedings and discussion. You’ll be surprised by how many people will begin to participate if you give it time. The only downside to Twitter is that it is a little bit more impersonal than the other networks, in that usernames may not always reflect who the person actually is.

Once you have established your talent community, it’s up to you how successful it is. You should be engaging with people every day, starting and taking part in useful and insightful conversations. Do it well, and you should soon have a powerful recruitment tool on your hands, but just remember, look after it!

Till next time,

Cheryl

That’s a pretty strong statement isn’t it? Especially in recruitment, where we’re often told that new business is everything. I’m not saying forget about it entirely; that would be suicidal. What I am saying though is by concentrating too much on ‘new’ business, it is very easy to forget about ‘existing’ clients and candidates. Might be corny to say it and it really can be the low hanging fruit.

In whatever sector you work in, you are fighting with other consultants for clients. By focusing on new business all the time, you could well be neglecting your existing customers, and you might just find them using someone else’s services if they get neglected!

With the numerous channels of communication now available to recruiters to keep in contact with clients, there is a danger that some consultants are losing some of the vital, fundamental skills required to survive and thrive in this industry, such as relationship building.

Linkedin and Twitter are all very well for building networks, but that’s not the same as building relationships. That’s something far more personal, and far more effective.

Here are some tips to help you build long lasting and productive business relationships, and looking after your existing business.

Be genuinely interested

If you’re recruiting in a specialist market, you should already have a genuine interest in what goes on in that particular sector of the market.

That means talking to your existing clients; even when they’re not recruiting. Ask them how business is, and update them with things you’ve heard happening in the industry and locally. As well as marking you out as a professional who isn’t only interested in them when there’s a vacancy going, a whole manner of leads and vital information can be unearthed in such conversations.

Be solution oriented

Too many recruitment consultants are reactive. That is, they wait for a vacancy and then attempt to fill it. A good recruitment consultant however is just that, a consultant. Take the time to get to know your client’s business. What is it that they want? What is it that they need? Understand their vision for the future, where they want their business to be in 1/2/5/10 years’ time. If you can do this, it’s a real game changer, and will leave your competition floundering. You can now approach the company with solutions, rather than just candidates, and you’ll reap the rewards for a long time to come.

Cross-sell

We’re not just talking services that your own company provide (but by all means do so if they are relevant). A good consultant has a lot of connections in a range of different businesses, and if you can see an opportunity where you can help your client with a solution by introducing them to a friend or acquaintance, then do so. Don’t think that just because you won’t make any money from it, that it won’t be profitable. Talking to people opens doors, and providing solutions and passing good quality leads opens them wider. Referrals done in this way will be reciprocated wherever possible, and can often come at those times when you need them most.

By not forgetting about your existing business, and giving them the attention they deserve, you will not only prevent other consultants getting in on your business, you can grow your accounts and often even gain new business from it. Just don’t forget to still make them sales calls…

Till next time,

Cheryl

Every recruiter has at least a handful of these types of companies on their radar. Fitting the profile of your perfect type of client, for whatever reason, you have just never been able to get to speak to anyone there. This can be for a number of reasons.

You may be unsure who the decision maker is, you may be up against the gatekeeper from hell or you may just simply be unlucky and the person you need to speak to is genuinely hard to get hold of. It’s important not to waste your time chasing opportunities that may not be there, but here are some tips for you to try before you give up.

Don’t be lazy

Have you been out to see them? If not, why not? It’s amazing the number of recruitment consultants who never leave their desk. Knocking on doors may be awfully old-fashioned in these days of social media and email, but it’s also a method that can be highly effective.

Next time you’re in the area, simply call in and ask to speak to someone. It’s not always going to be effective, but you’ll be surprised at how much more receptive people are to someone who has made the effort to come out and see them. If they’re not available, leave some info for them with your contact details. It’s much more likely to get to them than normal post or email.

How to find out (almost) anyone’s email address

Sometimes you think that if only you had their email address so you could send them a quick introductory email then it could open the doors for you to do business together. But sometimes, it is almost impossible to find someone’s email address. This is where the internet is your friend. Go to a website called www.email-format.com. Simply place the domain name of the company in the search box and then press search. It should hopefully produce some results for you. What that website does is search the internet looking for email addresses that use that domain name, so what you’ll be presented with is a list of email addresses. If the person’s you want to contact isn’t there, don’t worry, you now know the format the company uses, such as jsmith@thecompany.com rather than johnsmith@thecompany.com. Chances are, if a person’s email address is difficult to find, they won’t get a lot of emails or spam, so yours should have a decent chance of getting read.

Research them

We’re not talking hours and hours of detailed research. Simply ‘Google’ for five minutes, and check to see if you can find them on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter. It is amazing what you can find out about someone if you’re willing to spend a bit of time doing this. You research potential companies, so why not people themselves at these companies. Knowledge is power as they say! Maybe you share an interest or you socialise in the same part of town. You wouldn’t be the first (and certainly not the last) to engineer an ‘accidental’ meeting in the pub. In such situations, natural defences are down and you never know, it could be the first step towards a long and successful relationship.

The difference between good recruiters and great recruiters is the latter’s ability to think outside the box. See difficulties like these as obstacles to be overcome, not insurmountable problems, and you will see the benefit in no-time.

Till next time,

Cheryl

What is the most precious thing that a recruitment consultant has?

– Their devastating good looks?

– Rapier like wit or ….

– …herculean work ethic?

Yes these are well though the main thing is; time and more importantly, control over it.

Time is the one thing we all wish we had more of. ‘If only I had more time to…’ is a phrase you will hear without fail each and every day.

Time is therefore a hugely precious commodity. It rules how much time you have to spend with clients, candidates and even your own family. Failure to manage time can see you become a slave to it, becoming the ‘busy fool’ and running around like a headless chicken. Master time management however and you will not only manage your time better, you’ll find you work more effectively and profitably, have more time for the important things and perhaps most importantly, have more time to unwind and relax, crucial if you want recruitment to be a long-term career.

We’ve looked previously at things you should stop doing that waste your time, now here are our three things that you should be doing to save yourself time and give yourself control over your day and ultimately become a better, more effective and more profitable recruitment consultant.

Follow the Money

Planning your day is crucial, but so is being flexible. Because of the fast paced nature of recruitment, it is easy for a well-planned day to be turned upside down, so for this reason, do the things at the beginning of the day that have the best chance of making you money. That means getting in the office early if you have to and getting all this done as soon as possible. You should be following up on interviews and getting feedback, following up current job offers and anything else that can bring your billings in.

Allocate time

This works differently for all of us, but the principle is the same. Be proactive rather than reactive. You can tell the reactive consultants a mile off. They sit down to do some business development phone calls, then after five minutes they get an email, which means they have to deal with that. Then a phone call comes in and they deal with that, and then another email comes in which means they now have to deal with that.

Before you know it, it’s the end of the day and they haven’t achieved anything. Not having a structure to your day can ruin it. It’s best to do five things correctly than do fifty things badly.

Did you know some of the best consultants check their emails just three times a day? First thing in the morning, then at lunch and then mid-afternoon. They’re not then reacting all the time to the inevitable torrent of emails you get as a recruiter, and actually have the quality time to do the important tasks like business development calls. And you know what? It’s reflected in their bonuses!

Always think pipeline

As any good salesman knows (and that is what we ultimately are as recruiters if we’re honest), success in sales is all about the pipeline. No matter how busy you are how many vacancies you have or how many vacancies you have in the pipeline, keep on making those business development calls! You should be canvassing every day as a consultant, without fail. Allocating a small amount of time each and every day is better than the seven hour days on the phone that you will inevitably have to do if you take your eye off your pipeline. Look after your pipeline and it will look after you, and you’ll find yourself having a lot more time on your hands too.

Like anything worthwhile, time management is tough to master and takes hard work. But dedicate yourself to it and it will be one of the most useful things you will ever learn, and will help you in so much of your work and personal life. Take control and reap the benefits it brings.

Till next time

Cheryl