I’ve been with IN2 Consult in my first recruitment role for just over a year now and there are some key things that I found helped me navigate my first 6 months to a year. These are my top tips for getting through and making the most out of your early recruitment career which you can do too.
Be a Sponge
There is always room for improvement within recruitment. Whether you’re in your first week, the first month, or you’re at the year mark, there are always elements you can work on. It’s all about taking in as much information and guidance as you can and moulding that into what works best for you. You can learn from everyone within your team, whether it’s a fellow Associate, a Senior Consultant or the Managing Director themselves.
Understand that it’s a long game at first
It takes time to learn and fully understand your market and the key people you want to work with so it’s vital you understand that this won’t happen overnight. This will come over a period of time and hard work; learning about your specialism and speaking to various candidates and clients across different levels. Quick wins are great, however the wins that come from a sustained period of hard work are more rewarding.
Be Yourself
Recruitment is all about building long-term relationships and as per any industry, it takes time to cultivate these. You will find that people will naturally buy into your personality so it’s important that you let your personality shine through while showcasing your skills. You will build plenty of long lasting relationships with candidates and clients by simply being yourself, and supplementing this with the technical knowledge that you gain along the way.
Understand the importance of being resilient
If you’re considering a role in recruitment, you may have heard of the ‘recruitment rollercoaster’ - this is a very common expression! It’s key to know that there will be highs but there will also be lows. How you power through the lows will help you reach the top of the rollercoaster again. It’s important not to let bad news get you down and affect your future! For me, if I receive some bad news, I take a 5 minute breather to myself, accept that it’s happened, put it behind me and move on.
Have Fun!
There’s not many more enjoyable environments than a buzzing office, surrounded by people who are equally motivated as you, with music in the background and banter flying around. Having fun and enjoying yourself is key because this will affect how you come across whilst on the phone to candidates and clients. You can almost feel the positivity through the phone when speaking to someone, but similarly you can quickly tell if they’re down in the dumps - so have fun, have a laugh and enjoy the atmosphere!
Switch off when you aren’t working
I’d say it’s important to have a hobby or something to keep your mind occupied whilst away from your work. This doesn’t just apply to recruitment, however being in a fast-paced environment can take its toll so make sure you have something to look forward to afterwards! For me, I enjoy playing golf, watching football and gaming - find what you enjoy and switch off outside of working hours.
Ultimately, the most important thing you can do is to really enjoy the journey and to not be hard on yourself. Every role, recruitment or not, comes with the highs and lows so you need to ride the recruitment rollercoaster and learn from both the challenges and rewards you encounter.