Entering the recruitment world remotely - a grad's view
Entering the recruitment world remotely - a grad's view
I was under no illusion that venturing into the world of recruitment would be a big step up from anything I had done previously, but somehow I still managed to underestimate the amount of adjustment it would take. I’d had a few office jobs prior to this, nothing however that involved managing my own time and juggling numerous tasks in one day. All that said, the idea of setting out my day how I best see fit was an exciting prospect and a challenge I was most definitely ready for.
My only reservation was that I would be starting my new role remotely. Whilst the positives outweighed the negatives for me, it would be impossible to know how I would fare before meeting the team and getting started. Over time, I developed a routine that worked for me, going on walks were very helpful but the key for me was that I allowed time to chat to my colleagues and get to know them better, after all this is what I would have done had I been sat next to them in the office. It was very important to me that this element isn’t lost when working remotely.
I’d been told that things can move at a very fast pace, but I definitely did not expect to be carrying out searches and sending messages out by the end of my second day. By the end of my first week I was calling up candidates that I had sourced and arranging interviews, and by the end of the second week I had called up three candidates and shared the great news that they had received job offers. All three candidates were over the moon, what a great feeling knowing that this is all down to my hard work. That’s three placements before the end of my second week.. I knew this was definitely not the norm but I still caught myself thinking that this recruitment thing can’t be THAT hard can it?
Fast forward a week, and two had received offers elsewhere which they ultimately decided were more desirable. I had already spent the commission in my head! I now understood what they meant when they said to be prepared for the ups and downs
Disappointing to say the least! However, I would say the key take home here is to remain level-headed. It’s the only way I have made it this far. I try not to get too excited and celebrate the wins prematurely whilst equally not getting too down when things don’t go my way. If anything, so far I have had more weeks that haven’t lived up to my expectations, but one thing I can safely say is that not one week has gone by where I haven’t progressed and developed my knowledge further. I’m a strong believer that the results will come as long I stay engaged and find ways to keep myself motivated.
Starting any new job working from home brings its fair share of challenges, but the second key take home here is communication. Suffering in silence won’t help anything but that said, you need to be somewhere where your voice will be heard. I’d heard stories about the recruitment industry, had friends that had tried it out and decided it wasn’t for them. Whilst I do believe there are certain traits which put you in better stead for this line of work, I believe that at times it may not be the individual but the environment they have found themselves in.