Top Tips for New Recruiters

Whether you’re a graduate fresh out of Uni, or an experienced person making a career change, your first few months in recruitment are likely to be fairly challenging. The following tips will help you through.

 1. Stick with it!
Many new recruiters harbour serious doubts about their choice of career during their first year but this doesn’t necessarily mean recruitment isn’t for you. In fact, some psychologists would argue that it’s perfectly natural to harbour these doubts.
To paraphrase, their theories suggest there are four stages to learning:


Unconscious Incompetence – you have no idea how unskilled you are because you don’t fully know what a job involves. This could also be known as blissful ignorance!

Conscious Incompetence – as you begin to understand what a job involves, it dawns on you just how little you know. For those of us that are used to being good at what we do (and that applies to most people hired as recruiters,) this is an alien feeling, on par with being the dunce in a class of A-grade students, or a donkey in a field of thoroughbreds. Naturally, we want to stop feeling inadequate and the quickest way to do this is to leave. We’ll call this the ‘I’m not sure recruitment is for me’ phase.

Conscious Competence – if you’ve stuck with it, slowly things start to come together. Yes, you have to think about things before you do them, and you’re making some mistakes, but your skills and confidence are growing.

Unconscious Competence – your ability to do the job has become almost instinctive. You know the questions to ask, how to influence, how to close the deal. (Often at this stage, recruiters become complacent and stop doing some of the critical basics but that’s a topic for another blog!)


If you’re questioning if recruitment is for you but your manager is supportive and believes you can do it, you’re probably Consciously Incompetent – sounds lovely, doesn’t it?! Give yourself some time to develop the skills you need (at least 9-12 months) and you’ll make an informed decision, rather than a fear-driven one.

2. Learn to switch off.
Dreaming about work is exhausting - you arrive at work as tired as when you left. Add to that
a hefty dose of Sunday night Fear and before you know it, you’re a shadow of your former self... That’s an exaggeration (I hope!), but if you do struggle to leave work at the office, get into the habit of writing a daily to-do list, and reviewing it 15 minutes before you plan to leave the office. The physical act of ticking off jobs-done and then writing the next day’s list will give you a sense of control and help you to leave work at work. Let’s be honest, dreaming about work is a waste of valuable REM – Zac, Brad, the hot receptionist... It’s all better than dreaming about candidates!

3. Practise, practise, practise your questioning skills.
Asking simple questions is the key to every effective interview, BD call and job spec but asking clear questions isn’t as simple as you’d expect. Many new recruiters miss out on useful information because they ask too many closed questions, confuse respondents by asking three questions when one would do, or are so enthusiastic they don’t give respondents time to answer. If you’re ever in doubt about how to ask a question, ask yourself ‘what do I actually want to know?’ Practise by speaking to as many people as you can (candidates are usually more accessible - and more forgiving – than clients), and ask your team leader or manager to observe you and provide feedback.
A consistent approach to regular questioning activity – such as interviews and job specs – is also useful. It makes you less likely to miss important information and allows you to listen to what the respondent is saying, rather than worrying about what your next question will be. If your employer hasn’t provided you with a template to use, ask them to help you develop one that works for you but avoid scripts at all costs. They might be written to help you look professional but usually have the opposite effect.

4. Learn from the best
Who are the top billers in your team and in your office? As well as managers and trainers, these are the people that you want to learn from. They are usually very busy so consider what you can do to encourage them to give you some of their time. For example, the more leads or hot candidates you send their way, the more likely they are to help you. Listen to them on the phone and ask to sit in on their interviews or if you can join them on client meetings; buy them a beer and ask if they’d mind giving you some advice. They might say no, but most people are flattered to be asked, and you won’t know unless you try.

5. Invest in yourself
People who achieve excellence in their chosen field – commerce, sport, the arts, and so on – don’t rely solely on others to develop their skills for them. They give themselves every advantage and take responsibility for it themselves. The fact that you’re reading this is a step in the right direction. Check out other blogs, read books, attend whatever training you can... the more time you invest in developing your own abilities, the better your results will be.

I’d love to hear what has worked for you, and any tips you’d like to share.
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