I’ve interacted with thousands of Recruitment Consultants and Managers over the last eleven years doing Rec to Rec across Australia and internationally. I’ve met some of the best and most inspirational Recruiters and had the privilege of placing them into recruitment positions they have excelled in.
I’ve also met some complete shonksters as well. Consultants (and I use that term loosely) who can tell a good story but have no facts or figures to back it up.
From all of these encounters, there are 5 habits that distinguish the successful Recruitment Consultants from the failures. They are:
1) They develop resilience
Recruitment is one of the toughest industries you can work in.
Clients and Candidates let you down regularly. Resilience is a must have habit!
The successful Recruiters (and sales people for that matter) are able to bounce back quickly from adversity.
2) They build fruitful, strong and lasting relationships
These relationships are built both internally and externally.
Externally, they are able to recognise and then focus on building extremely strong relationships with the Clients and Candidates that will help them achieve their goals.
They don’t waste time working with people and companies that don’t deliver on what they promise.
Internally, they have the habit of working with colleagues and managers to build mutually beneficial relationships that deliver results.
3) They have energy and enthusiasm
No one likes being around lazy negative people.
People want to work with people they like from both a client and candidate perspective. Positivity and enthusiasm rubs off on those around them.
Successful Recruiters have the habit applying energy and enthusiasm consistently to their daily, weekly, monthly activities.
4) They recognise and deliver win/win outcomes
To put it bluntly, great Recruiters don’t burn leads. They don’t think short term – they are able to win repeat business from the people they want to work with. By delivering quality win / win outcomes they not only generate repeat business but they also generate quality referrals.
5) They develop a niche specialised market
Generalist recruitment is dead! Great Recruiters are subject matter experts. They know their market intimately and understand its intricacies. Needless to say, they have developed a strong social media presence in their space.
They can advise their clients and candidates on market trends. They know the latest industry developments. They know “who’s who in the zoo” and can reach out accordingly. They form the habit of continually researching their industry to identify these trends and developments.
Everyone keeps saying that Recruitment isn’t brain surgery. If that’s the case then why do so many people fail? If you want to be a gun recruiter these are some habits you should take on board.
