What’s It Really Like To Work In Recruitment? The Pros And Cons

You might be familiar with the term ‘the recruitment roller coaster’. Research shows that recruitment is considered one of the most stressful career choices in the UK, due to its demanding and highly competitive nature. However, despite the challenges, it’s highly rewarding with opportunities for personal growth and financial potential. It’s important to remember, however, that the role requires a serious level of dedication and determination to succeed. Some may claim that becoming a recruiter is easy, but the reality is this field requires a diverse range of soft skills, backed up with bags of tenacity and resilience to be successful. Whether you’re considering a career in recruitment or simply curious about the profession, as someone who has worked in the industry, I’ll delve into some of the pros and cons of what it’s really like to be a recruiter!

The Pros

It’s a people-orientated career. Recruitment has become more than a transactional process and to succeed you will need to develop strong, long-lasting relationships with candidates and clients, making sure both parties feel heard, respected and valued.  Every day you will have the opportunity to develop your personal skills, whether that’s by interacting with candidates, understanding hiring needs or building your network.  It’s important to remember that every interaction counts within this role, you never know what one small encounter with someone could lead to!

No two days are ever the same. Working in recruitment is incredibly fast-paced. You will have the autonomy to plan your own day as the job involves a wide range of tasks, each crucial to the success of the recruitment process. A typical day might look a little like this: juggling multiple vacancies, interview-prepping candidates, delivering an offer to a candidate, or attending client meetings on the other side of town. Phew, I’m exhausted just writing about it!

It’s a highly rewarding career. Knowing that you were involved with helping candidates find their dream job can be extremely satisfying, especially when you have guided them on their job search from start to finish. You will also play a crucial role in the success and growth of businesses you are working with by helping them grow their teams. A great thing about working in recruitment is that your hard work is recognised. Based on individual performance, this career path can be financially very rewarding with great earning potential. Some companies may even offer incentive trips to recognise people for their exceptional performance throughout the year. For example, in 2023 some of the Gleeson team jetted off to Monte Carlo!

Opportunity to influence. Clients look for trusted partners and want to work with people who are going to guide them through the recruitment process. You should view yourself as the expert and influence clients on current market trends whilst guiding them through hiring decisions to help shape the future.

While there are many positives about working in recruitment, I won’t pretend there aren’t also some negatives. As someone with a recruitment background, I’ve personally experienced the recruitment rollercoaster influenced by ever-shifting economic conditions, a competitive market, and the unpredictable nature of candidates. Below are some things you might want to consider before stepping into the world of recruitment.

The Cons

Not everything is in your control. As a recruiter, you will spend a lot of your time being the middle person between a candidate and a client. Coordinating both parties isn’t always easy and issues might occur. This could be anything, from candidates not showing up to their interview or a client deciding to change the date at the last minute!

You’ll be fighting negative stereotypes. Often you will find you have to fight the bad reputation that the recruitment industry carries. There also appears to be alack of understanding about what we really do on a typical day. Most recruiters have strong values and work hard but there are those recruiters who show poor behaviour and this tends to ruin it for us all. Don’t be alarmed if you walk into a networking event and people walk away. People often perceive recruiters to be over-the-top salespeople who are only out for themselves.

People change their minds. Don’t go celebrating too early once you have made the placement! It’s not unusual for candidates to change their minds about a role a week before they start. You must remember to control the controllable, so make sure if you have placed a candidate to stay close to them. Take them out for lunch and catch up with them regularly because it only takes one phone call from your competitor to change their minds.

It’s hard work. If you are looking for an easy ride, then this isn’t the career for you. Recruitment is tough, and you will face rejection and challenges along the way. It’s a career that requires dedication to succeed, along with healthy doses of tenacity and grit. There will be early mornings or late evenings, especially when you are trying to arrange a call with your candidate who might just be perfect for your role.

Interested in a career in recruitment? At  Gleeson Recruitment Group we offer a brilliant career structure with lots of options available for you, which makes us an ideal platform for anyone looking to build their recruitment career. We’re looking for recruiters of all levels to come on board and reinforce our already established teams in Birmingham, London and Reading. You can apply online, or get in touch with us at marketing@workwithglee.com for more info.