This is so important.

Do you think you are a ‘good recruiter‘, when in fact you are only average?

Do you think, having survived the Covid debacle, you will rise phoenix-like from the ashes and fly ever upwards?

It doesn’t matter where you work, or what you do. If you recruit, especially in an Agency, you will end up with a future that looks like one of these three.

1: You are superb at it.

You learn the skills, you earn the relationships. You are an influencer who can manage the ‘moments of truth‘ in recruitment for the greater good. You enjoy high self-esteem, respect from your customers, and reap fun and money. Your job is exhilarating, and it feels like a vocation and a hobby, not work at all, because you tackle it with passion, believe in what you do, and are intrinsically happy to be placing people in work. That is recruiting nirvana. It’s also less than 10% of all recruiters working right now.

2: You suck at it.

You just don’t get it, or you work at a place where you will never get it. You suffer rejection, depression, humiliation and failure. You fight against the tide for a while, you even see flickers of success, but it’s a losing battle, and you end up hating every day. You fill one job out of five and although you are not introspective enough to see it, that means you fail 80% of the time you are at work. And as for the percentage of candidates you see who you place? God help us. (Would you go to a brain surgeon who has an 80% failure rate? A plumber? A lawyer? ). Soon you leave the industry entirely, shaking your head in disbelief that anyone could stick at such a relentless job. That’s unfortunate, you failed as a recruiter, but it is not the end of the world. You gave it a go, it was wrong for you… and maybe, now, you thrive at something else.

…and then there is the worse fate of all…

3: You are mediocre at it. A serial plodder.

You don’t have the intuitive love of listening, understanding and making the match. You can’t connect with clients or candidates at a level that resonates with them. You don’t have the urgency, the negotiating skills, or the drive to actually make things happen. You are just good enough to keep your job, maybe, but the massive downs of this business are never cancelled out by the extreme highs. Because you just don’t get enough of them. A life of bad months followed by the odd average one. You hate what you do and you spend a lot of time blaming clients, candidates, colleagues and mostly, your employer.

And that fate, ladies and gentlemen… is career purgatory! It is a worse outcome than being no good at recruitment and getting out early.

If that is where you are… get up… or get out!

Seriously. I mean it. This is one job you cannot be average at. Step up! Challenge yourself! Learn new skills. Move up the value chain.

Or go and find something else you can be great at.

Hear me on this. It is better to fail at this job… and get out… than be average… and stay.

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