From Recruiter To … Recruiter! How To Tell If You’re A Recruiter For Life
We’ve been shining the spotlight on a lot of our new recruiters here at Prime who have come here from a variety of career paths lately. So, we thought we would take a second to honor our longer-term recruiters who have come to us from decades of prior recruitment experience.
People in the know say that once you hit the 2 year mark in your recruitment career, you’re a recruiter for life! That’s something our Senior Technical & Engineering recruiter Julia Sherlock knows all too well. 16 years after her first recruiting role, Julia joined our team with a wealth of experience behind her.
We took a minute to catch up with Julia and find out why she has stuck with recruitment for so long and how you know when you’re a recruiter for life…
How do you know if you’re a recruiter for life?You really need to enjoy the whole process – sales, talking to candidates, the thrill of getting a new client and then developing a relationship with them. I know from past experience that it helps to be passionate about the sector you are working in – I particularly enjoy Technical because I love finding out how things are made so really relish company visits when you can see the processes involved.
Why did you become a recruiter in the first place?
I became a recruiter because I loved sales and helping people. When you make a placement, it's just the best feeling. Everyone is happy: the client, the candidate and the recruiter. But if you don’t love the sector and the people who work in that sector then it can be tough. The first step is to get some sales experience to make sure you are happy in a sales environment, working to targets and enjoy picking up the phone otherwise the role will always seem like an uphill struggle.
What do you love most about the profession?
After 17 years I still enjoy developing relationships and really getting to know my clients, some of which have become candidates and then clients again.
How has the field changed over the years?
It’s much faster now and there is much more competition. Candidates apply for the most unsuitable roles as it is so easy on the job board to click a button. When I started out, CV came in the post or via fax. Email was a revelation as it made response much more immediate. I used to love Thursdays when the newspapers came out as the phones would go crazy.
How do you see the future of recruitment developing?
Although Social Media and Web boards make it easier for companies to recruit directly there is still a great deal of value that professional recruiters can offer; we can sift through the CVs and pre-interview to start, but attracting the candidates to apply in the first place is so important, just putting up and advert with a list of requirements is not going to get good candidates applying in a job market which is now so candidate lead. Priorities for candidates are changing and companies need advice and guidance on this. As recruiters, is it much more important to be able to sell what the client can offer a candidate, things like social and environmental issues are becoming more important to candidates as well as career prospects, benefits and financial rewards.
What advice would you give to recruiters looking to become experts in a set industry like you have?
Ask questions, there is no such thing as a silly question. What might be obvious to one person is not to another, companies also tend to use their own vernacular and short-hand so you are not always going to find out what something means on google. Knowledge is the key, watch videos, keep up to date on social media and news regarding the sector you are interested in, the more knowledge you have, the more the client and candidates will trust you.
If you love the rush of a target-driven sales environment, but want a work-life balance then why not consider recruitment? Choose an industry you have a personal passion for and you’ll be set for life. They key with Julia is that in addition to being a natural salesperson, she genuinely loves finding out how things work and as such has an organic affinity with our technical & engineering candidates and clients. So what gets you up in the morning? Whether it’s engineering, social impact, accountancy, tech, production, creativity or anything else, there’s bound to be a role for that! And if you can channel your skills into connecting great talent in that industry with the people whose businesses need it, then you could have a long and rewarding career in recruitment ahead of you.
