The Pros and Cons of Recruiting
While growing up to be a recruiter may not be a dream for most children, they might want to reconsider. Recruiting can be rewarding—both mentally and financially. While it doesn’t come without its challenges, it is an often-overlooked career path.
Along with one of our longest-tenured recruiters, Steve Kerr, who has over 14 years of experience as a recruiter here at A&A Search and Staffing, we compiled the pros and cons of joining an industry that puts your success in your hands.
Pros
- Teamwork: The feeling of camaraderie and working toward a unified goal is very strong when you are in a good recruiting agency. You feel supported and have great coworkers who understand your job and can offer valuable advice and insight. This is especially helpful for new hires and those just entering the industry. Many sales positions leave you as a loner on the road, figuring things out as you go. But with recruiting, you have a team to offer insight and best practices from day one.
- Hard work is rewarded: With many jobs, no matter how hard you work or put in extra time or effort, your paycheck will still be the same week after week—even as the company’s bottom line rises. With recruiting, when you work harder, place more candidates, and get more clients, you see the reward for your efforts. You are in control of your own success.
- Making a difference to your clients and candidates: Recruiting can be financially rewarding, but surprisingly, one of the other top reasons people continue in this industry is the relationships and emotional rewards. You are part of finding new employees that will grow and impact a company’s success now and into the future. You help bring in the talent that builds that company’s foundation and culture. In turn, you help candidates find a job that rewards them financially and emotionally. Imagine being a key part of positively impacting people and the companies they work for?
- Recession-proof: While this may not apply to every recruiting agency, here at A&A Search Staffing, we specialize in IT—and whether the economy is up or down, people are always looking for the right candidate with the right skills. The economy can definitely make it more challenging to find those candidates, but we have never been at a loss for work.
Cons
- Not 9–5: This job has a lot of rewards, and with that comes requests and needs that fall outside the 9–5 schedule. Though most people feel that technology makes work from anywhere, anytime a reality, no job is truly 9–5. Recruiting is a job, or as some would say, a passion that goes beyond the regular work day.
- People: While the relationships are a reward, they can also be challenging. You are juggling a variety of personalities and needs. You need to meet both the needs of your clients and those of your candidates. This requires you to be analytical and good at reading people and situations in order to make the call that will equal success. Many find this part of recruiting exciting and it’s what keeps them inspired and fresh. No day is the same and you are never bored.
- Need to be self-motivated: While you have your team to help you get up and running, it is your drive and motivation that keeps you, your clients, and candidates successful. If you don’t have a personality that is driven, motivated, and a little competitive, recruiting may not be the path for you.
Steve Kerr says, “Growing up, I played football and loved the teamwork, drive to succeed, and competitive spirit of the game and sport. I found those same things in recruiting, and that the relationships with my clients and candidates keep me interested and ready to go every day—even after 14 years.”
Interested in becoming a recruiter for an Industry that’s growing and always evolving? Click here to learn more today. Recruiting may not be for everyone, but for those who choose it as their career path long-term, there is no other job they would rather have.
Become a Recruiter