How to become a successful recruitment consultant

Dear recruiters, do you ever feel hesitant and insecure when a new month begins, having the feeling the start from scratch again ?

Two misconceptions on how to succeed in the staffing industry:

First and first, I believe that the majority of failure in recruiting is not due to individual qualities.

It is not about who has the most activity or who works the most hours.

And second-tier, recruitment isn’t a numbers game.

Recruitment isn’t about cold calling or cold emailing as many people as possible till you get a position, then doing it all over again.

You are battling to produce constant and predictable outcomes since you learned the profession in this manner and don’t have a solid strategy. Yet, consistency and predictability are the only ways to become a successful recruitment consultant.

As a result, you’ll need two things to be effective in this position.

My Secret Recipe to achieve consistency and predictability

The first is proper support, and the second is sound strategy and here is my secret recipe on how to become a successful recruitment consultant.

1. Candidates first

First and foremost, the candidate must be at the core of your approach. If you have to be good at anything in recruitment, it should be on the candidate side.

The candidate is king, and I know you’re really enthusiastic when you first start.

You want to prove yourself, you want to get your first client, but rushing that step would be your biggest mistake.

Because, as I usually say, the candidate is where everything begins with market mapping and sourcing and finishes with the closing and contract signature. Furthermore, in a candidate-driven market, first and foremost, delivery is critical.

Second, you can’t count on responsiveness. You must create a candidate pipeline proactively. Otherwise, you will be unable to fill in your roles on time.

And there are so many parallels between the client and candidate sides that trust me, it will only improve your sales.

2. Trust the process

Number two, don’t focus on the outcome but what it takes to get there.

In other words, have faith in the process. The deal fixation is another major blunder. Making that first deal should be the least of your worries.

You should instead concentrate on your inputs, best practices, and processes since chasing the deal will force you to worry and think in the short term, which is not what you want.

You want to be consistent in your performance over the long term. And in order to achieve so, solid foundations must be laid. You must comprehend the work. You must comprehend the plan, and even if you play the numbers game and obtain rapid results, it will not pay off in the long run.

You will not be consistent or successful in the long run until you understand how to get there.

Also, trusting the process can help you manage the stress and strain of an unpredictable work because if something goes wrong, you will only have one question to ask yourself: did I do everything I could possible do?

If the answer is yes, stop torturing yourself and go on.

If the answer is no, learn from it and repeat the process the following time.

3. Always be closing

Closing, in my opinion, is about three things.

The first one is process control and process management.

You want to be one step ahead.

Each phase of the process must be defined and agreed upon. You want to be as prepared as possible.

Second, closing is about leaving no room for assumptions, and to do so, you must challenge every piece of information and be clear.

It must be precise.

Third, there can be no close without “pain” or confrontation. For example, if you have a negative sensation, face the fact and address the point rather than ignoring it.

If you get a terrible feeling, if you notice your candidate or client is doubtful, reluctant, or unclear, address the issue and don’t avoid the confrontation, because it will be too late to say I knew it later, so act now.

4. Information is key

Fourth, information is essential and getting the right information should be your focus.

Having the incorrect focus and having the wrong goals is another common mistake I observe.

You don’t call the prospect to see if he has any available jobs or if he wants to work with you, which is something that happens a lot because of the deal fixation, because this is short term thinking when you should think long term.

It is important to comprehend the circumstances, plan and processes when you call a prospect. It is to gather as much knowledge as possible so that you can add value and have a greater impact in the future.

And the next time you contact him, you will have a greater influence.

And this is how you open accounts since you will deliver greater value.

That is an excellent strategy. Of course, it is possible that the client is happy to deal with you right away.

That’s fantastic.

However, if it is your goal before each call, your job will be 90% frustrating because this is clearly the exception rather than the rule.

This is why you should create for yourself small projects that interest you and set reasonable goals.

For example, mapping a department, scheduling a meeting, obtaining a name, and so forth.

So, you may appreciate your small victories and advance gradually since the most valuable thing you can receive from any conversation is information:

How big is the team?

When was the last time they hired someone?

What was the most difficult position they had to fill?

Who makes the decisions, and so on?

5. One action, multiple benefits

And if you haven’t figured it out yet, trust me, you will very fast because in this career, you must maximize everything you do.

When you undertake something, you must have various aims in mind.

As previously stated, you do not contact a prospect solely to determine whether he wishes to work with you, and you do not contact a candidate solely to discuss a specific opportunity.

You must consider the big picture.

6. Prioritise

Same goes when you organise your day. Even before you begin your day, you should have a clear idea of what you need to do and maximise every action.

This is why you should organize your day the night before.

Your daily schedule should also be motivating.

Day plans are frequently repetitious and lack variety, yet it is critical to maintain a healthy balance between the client and candidate sides, for example.

Because this is something I see a lot, for example, if you don’t have a job right now, you’ll spend your entire day prospecting and cold calling.

First and foremost, it is quite gloomy. And, secondly, it is not at all smart. You must strike a balance between the candidate and the client sides.

It is the only method to develop a long-term wise strategy.

And, while we’re on the subject of priorities, don’t squander your time on jobs with low commitment.

It’s clearly a beginner error.

If you believe you will have to pursue that client, quit your job and utilize that energy to continue expanding your market.

7. Everything is a learning opportunity

And that is exactly what you are doing right now.

Continue to learn, learn from everything, from your colleagues, from your office’s top performers, from your failures, from your accomplishments, from internal resources, from online resources, etc.

Always remain open-minded, learning, and questioning your convictions.

If you want to be a good recruiting consultant, follow those seven guidelines and have a strong work ethic.