Working In Recruitment: Stereotypes Vs Reality

Are you considering a career working in recruitment? Are you unsure due to some of the stereotypes you have heard surrounding the sector?

As VIQU IT’s Head of Talent, it is my job to identify, attract and secure great talent that will contribute to the business’s future success. My work includes recruiting trainee recruiters who have never worked in recruitment or who have very minimal experience. I have been working in recruitment for nearly 20 years, both as a recruiter and within business operations roles. Therefore, I am in an excellent position to provide honest and realistic insights into the recruitment industry.

I have heard lots of myths surrounding what recruitment is like and I am here to address the stereotypes, dispel the myths and provide the truth on what it is really like to work in recruitment.

Stereotypes of working in recruitment… and the reality

“Recruiters need a degree”

This is completely false! If you look on our Meet the Team page, you will see we have recruiters from a vast variety of backgrounds. Whether you are just finishing sixth form/ college/ an apprenticeship/ university or are looking for a career change later in life, you can become a great recruiter if you have the right soft skills and personality traits.

Our belief is that you do not need a university education to prove that you would do well in this career. In order to succeed in recruitment, you need resilience, drive, confidence and a willingness to pick up the phone, connect with other individuals and have tough conversations. There are many hard and soft skills involved in recruitment, but with excellent training and effort, you have the potential to have a fantastic career if you are willing to put the work in.

Take our Managing Director Matt Collingwood as an example, after leaving school Matt knew his future was in sales. He then applied for a number of recruitment agencies and secured a role working for one of the UK’s largest IT recruitment organisations. He worked his way up in that organisation before starting VIQU IT in 2014. It was Matt’s drive, sales ability and communication that helped him to succeed in the industry rather than a degree.

“Recruiters have no work-life balance”

In comparison to some other jobs, a work-life balance can be trickier to navigate as a recruiter. How someone feels about whether they have a good work-life balance or not will be personal, so whether a work-life balance is easily achievable will depend on the individual.

Some recruiters say that the stress from certain aspects of the recruitment process feeling out of their control can cause additional stress and make it harder to achieve a work-life balance. Additionally, recruiters will sometimes have to schedule calls outside of their office hours in order to reach a manager or candidate who are unable to talk during their working day. This may not suit everyone, however, being open to having that flexibility will help you significantly in your career.

A good work-life balance is more than possible by focusing on self-care, giving yourself time to disconnect from work, exercising and talking to your manager to ask for support when needed.

“The sector has a hire and fire mentality”

It is true that some recruitment agencies have a mass hiring and then firing approach for those who don’t succeed, but it’s less common than you think. Here at VIQU IT, we are a lot more selective about who we hire, so that we can offer individualised and extensive training and support to each new hire. This way they have the best possible chances of succeeding in recruitment.

Although, the sector does have a high turnover rate, I have found that this is often due to individuals realising that they do not enjoy the sales aspect of recruitment or had misconceptions of what the role was like, rather than from agencies mass firing unsuccessful hires.

“Recruiters don’t understand the roles they hire for”

This may be the case in generalist agencies, who work on roles across industries and seniority levels. However, at VIQU IT, as a specialist IT recruitment agency, our consultants tend to choose a niche to specialise in whilst gaining exposure across the IT spectrum. This means that they really dig deep and understand a particular area of IT so that they are able to talk to candidates about their previous experience and explain the role well. This leads to a better job placement as the consultant knows which role really aligns with a candidate’s skills and career goals.

“Recruiters don’t care about candidates and just push them into jobs they don’t want”

Some people are turned off at the thought of recruitment as a career as they think the role is just about pushy sales and that recruiters will encourage candidates to take roles they don’t really want.

I have unfortunately met a few people like this, but it’s not a sustainable way to work as a recruiter. After all, this doesn’t make financial sense, as most recruitment agencies will have to waive their fee if a candidate resigns soon after starting. Additionally, if the recruiter consistently secures new hires that do not work out long-term with their clients, it can give them a bad reputation.

The vast majority of recruiters that I know take a lot of pride in helping candidates find the best role for them.

“Recruitment is easy”

Another myth I have heard is that recruitment is an easy job where you just ring people up and talk them through a role. Some people have even compared it to a call centre job and unfortunately, I have had it said to me that “recruitment isn’t rocket science” and that “anyone could do it”.

There is a lot of skill involved in being a good recruiter that someone who does not have experience in the industry would not understand. It is a lot more complicated than people think. Our team of recruiters face challenges every day, such as:

• Taking on the position of mediator between hiring manager and a candidate
• Understanding people’s pain points and what they are really looking for
• Anticipating any potential issues that can derail the process
• Negotiation, negotiation, negotiation!

This is on top of market knowledge, understanding of specialisms, niches and more.

“There are no non-financial benefits to working in recruitment”

Recruitment at its core is a sales role, and many people are attracted to the role because of the earning potential and commission, so it makes sense that there are a number of financial-based benefits offered in recruitment. This can include commission, bonuses and financial incentives.

However, many agencies also recognise the importance of wider benefits such as private healthcare, family benefits, and more. At VIQU IT, we offer these as well as incentives and rewards such as our monthly lunch club, our spin the wheel rewards system and our all expenses paid international team trips for those who meet their half yearly targets.

“It’s a fiercely competitive atmosphere”

I cannot speak for all recruitment agencies, however, at VIQU IT, we know that supporting each other is key to a productive environment and with the business doing well, we all benefit. Of course, recruitment is a competitive environment, but we all work together to ensure we’re successful.

We offer excellent and continuous training for our recruiters, with many of our trainees working directly with our directors who have 10+ years of experience in recruitment. In our weekly huddles, we celebrate every win and achievement, sharing what we are struggling with and offering advice to colleagues unsure how to progress.

If you would like to hear more about what working in recruitment is like from recruiters at all stages of their career, check out our team Q&A blogs here. Furthermore, if you would like to join our team, click here for our latest opportunities.