Life as a Recruiter

Over the past 17 years in recruitment, candidates have asked me countless times what working as a recruiter entails. Some even contemplated joining the trade because opportunities were aplenty and the monetary rewards appealing. In the earlier days, a recruiter’s job involved cold calling clients and headhunting candidates over the phone. Over the past decade, the industry has undergone a drastic change. The recruiter landscape shifted as the war for talent heated up and many MNCs decided to establish their own internal TA departments to work on their recruitment needs. Coupled with the introduction of the easily accessible tool called LinkedIn, which has garnered widespread adoption in the hiring community, the need for external recruiters to help companies headhunt candidates has fallen drastically.

What then, is the value of external recruiters? For companies with TA teams, our goal is to partner and complement them. We present candidates who may be passive in their job hunt and thus not appearing on their searches, but who are on our radar and whom we know will be a good fit for the organization. In a way, we also act as their HR “marketing” department – sharing with candidates on the organization’s culture and assessing whether both parties will be able to meet the other’s needs and objectives. Hence, we help to unearth the hidden talents that internal teams may not be able to find while streamlining the process on both ends.

For candidates, we coach and assist in the negotiation process. We walk with them through the entire recruitment journey and seek to provide invaluable inside information and insight into the company.

Has the market become tougher for external recruiters? Absolutely. It is imperative for recruiters to be on the ground at all times so as to understand the ever-changing market landscape. This allows us to know the industry and its people well, enabling us to present candidates in a short span of time (usually in 5 working days or less). As a recruiter, most of my time is spent either at meetings or coffee sessions. I consume copious amounts of caffeine daily (my caffeine intake is much higher than normal people) and this is all in the name of work, with no guarantee of success. Client acquisition is truly, not an easy task.

With the decline in recruitment opportunities juxtaposed against the uphill challenge of client acquisition, is my passion for recruitment still the same as it was 17 years ago? My answer is a definite yes(!) and here is what keeps me going in these hard times:

1.     Presenting to my clients well-qualified and motivated candidates who fit in well with their organization and are able to contribute positively.

2.     Candidates being placed in roles that utilizes their skillsets whilst fulfilling their career aspirations

3.     Candidates who have performed well under our placements and in turn, use our services to expand their teams.

4.     Clients who continue their partnership with us, trusting us to deliver the candidates they need. And they continue working with us even when they move to different organizations.

5.     My colleagues who share my vision and belief in making a positive impact in the lives of our candidates.

After 17 years, I am still passionate about recruitment. I enjoy the adrenalin rush of finding qualified candidates for clients and enjoy the satisfaction of seeing placed candidates flourish in their roles. I believe that these little joys outweigh all the challenges the recruitment industry is currently experiencing and I know that as long as I keep ploughing, there is hope that my labour will yield results in due time.

Romans 12:12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.