Keeping Up With What’s Happening in Your Industry

Recruitment is one of the most vibrant and fast-paced industries, with long hours and a relentless work ethic often being key to staying ahead of your competitors. Sometimes however, this intense working environment can mean that recruiters miss out on the bigger picture, and the chance to work smarter, not harder.

How many consultants take time out each day to keep up with the latest news and developments in their respective sectors? The answer is very few.

Most consultants would rather concentrate on business development calls or interviewing candidates, seeing these  activities as more important with direct, visible results.

However, the simple task of keeping up with industry developments can have huge benefits for your business, the two main ones being:

–   Identifying threats and opportunities: Keeping up with industry news is vital for business planning. It will give you an idea about the state of the market in your sector, whether businesses can expect to be expanding or contracting and thus hiring or firing. This obviously can have an effect on the potential for new business.

–   Building your industry ‘authority’: The more you know about the industry you recruit in, the more your ‘brand’ is distinguished and differentiated from your competitors.

Cold calls can become so much warmer when the potential customer can see that you understand the market, and are able to discuss the latest news and market trends.

A good recruiter always keeps their finger on the pulse of industry developments and uses a variety of sources to do so. Here are three important ways you can keep up-to-date with what is happening in your industry:

–   Trade Press/Websites: Keeping up with the main sources for news in your sector can be done through both online and offline sources. As well as keeping you abreast of all the latest issues, it can also highlight important contacts in organisations and help you identify the key decision makers in your sector.

–   LinkedIn: LinkedIn is a great resource for recruiters. Make it a core part of your strategy to become the best consultant you can be in your sector. LinkedIn shouldn’t be used simply as a resource for identifying clients and candidates.

It can be used to build your image as a recruiter in your industry who knows what they are talking about, and who people would be happy working with.

Join relevant groups in your sector and regularly participate, offering genuine helpful advice that reflects your expertise. Do this and you will find yourself becoming the ‘go-to’ recruiter in your sector.

–   Relevant Networking: Attending relevant events in your sector not only keeps you up-to-date with all the latest issues and debates, but is a great way to meet new clients and candidates.

Attending such events differentiates you as a recruiter, marking you out as a specialist who cares about the industry they work in. Recruitment is such a competitive market differentiating yourself is important.

Keeping up with what’s going on in your relevant sector may at first seem to be time-consuming with no immediately obvious positive outcomes. However, if you are a consultant who wishes to grow their desk and become the leading consultant in their sector, it is a vital, and ultimately will reap you rewards in terms of more clients and better candidates.

‘Till Next Time,

Cheryl