“We can raise the talent bar, but you have to do something different. You can’t do what you are currently doing today” Lou Adler, CEO, Adler Group
Recruitment is a continually changing sector. With so many new channels to find talent, from social media to talent apps, it can be difficult to know where to start. Whether you’re new to the world of recruitment or an experienced professional, there is always room for improvement. As the saying goes, ‘if you change nothing, nothing will change’. With that thought in mind, I gathered our team of recruitment experts together and asked them one simple question:
“If you could go back in time to your first day in recruitment and give yourself one tip, what would it be?”
Here’s what they had to say…
1. Pick up the f*****g phone
Recruitment is a balance of activity and quality, leading to specific outputs. If in doubt about anything, such as if you’re unsure a candidate is right for a role or whether a business development call will lead anywhere. Don’t procrastinate, just pick up the phone and find out.
2. Trust your instincts
If you’re in recruitment and doing well, then you’re naturally a good communicator, you’re probably a good “reader” of people. Trust those instincts. If you’re unsure of a candidate or client, then learn how to probe those instincts, you’ll be surprised how often you’re right.
3. Work hard
Probably the easiest thing to fix. Have a good process and then simply graft hard and get in the flow. We’ve been working with an external consultant to help us learn about the art of getting into the flow quicker.
4. Be honest with yourself
Reflect on what you’re doing. Plenty of recruiters are busy, REALLY busy, but what have they got to show for it? The most reflective and brutally honest recruiters are often the best ones, as they make important, simple but effective changes to the way their working to be more successful.
5. Keep asking questions
We’re naturally chatty people, right? If you’re speaking more than your candidate or client, then you either need to ask more probing open questions or position them better to get your client / candidate to open up properly.
6. Control your “controllables”
Identify, honestly assess and manage all the risks to your placement / potential placement happening. Manage any area that you think puts your placement at risk. If you’ve done all this and it still doesn’t work out, then look after the long-term relationship instead.
7. Never let anything be a surprise
This links to tip 6. If you’re getting surprises with candidates / clients, then you haven’t risk assessed your candidates / clients well enough.
8. It’s all in the detail
Questioning, controlling the “controllables” and avoiding surprises are all interlinked. It’s all about getting the detail. Make sure that you know everything you need to know from candidates and clients, the devil is most definitely in the detail.
9. Goals, goals and more goals
The best recruiters have clear goals to work towards to be successful. What is it that you really want from your career within recruitment? What is it that’s really motivates you? Break this down into your monthly, weekly and daily business plan and stick to it with religious discipline and reflect on it regularly. This gives you the foundations to measure your performance (see ‘honesty’ above).
10. People buy from people
Be authentic and be yourself. Ultimately people buy into people, not facades, or personas, your relationships are what will get candidates and clients using you time and again.
11. Be organised
Always keep on top of your admin. What use is your network of amazing relationships if you haven’t recorded the intelligence about them, or even recorded them at all? Once, you’ve been a year or more in recruitment and been successful, you’ll soon find your network too big to rely on your brain to keep track of things and not miss potential opportunities.
12. Don’t let people down
On the same subject as organisation, it’s vital to keep track of your commitments to individuals. A good recruiter is only as good as their network and if you start to forget about your promises you will notice your network shrinking by the day.
If recruitment is your passion, but you haven’t found the right company to work for, We Are Adam could be your next career move. If you’re looking to surround yourself with driven, experienced and happy colleagues, it’s time to apply. You can find out more about what it’s like to work at Adam, straight from the horse mouth, so to speak. Our team share their experiences in our recent blog ‘What is it Really Like to work at We Are Adam?’
To find out more about joining Adam, contact Peter on 0161 359 3789 or via email at peter@weareadam.com.
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