The Skills You Need to Get into Recruitment

By Sian Macintyre

The right position in recruitment can create life-changing opportunities, but how do you get into an industry that is so vastly populated?

When I tell people I’m a recruiter, one of the first questions they ask is usually about getting into recruitment. Becoming a recruiter with no experience is most certainly possible for those interested in changing careers.

The truth is that very few recruiters plan to get into recruitment. It usually just happens, and if you ask most recruiters their story, it will include starting in another career altogether and then transitioning into becoming a recruiter. You’ll come across personal trainers, graduates, estate agents and retail workers (to name a few) who have made their way into the world of recruitment.

If you strip recruitment down, it is essentially a sales role – you are selling opportunities using a company’s employer brand to people and selling your candidates’ skills/experience to companies. You are matchmaking through sales.

A recruiter in today’s world needs much more to be successful. The common misconception is that recruiters post jobs, wait for candidates to apply, interview them and close the deal. And some recruiters do this, but they’re often referred to as the “Dinosaur Recruiter”. We no longer live in an age where this post and pray strategy works. Today, recruiters are faced with a shortage of good talent where they have to take a more proactive approach.

The job of a recruiter is not easy. Corporate recruiters often juggle countless requisitions and hiring manager expectations. Agency recruiters work in an increasingly competitive environment where targets are more challenging to meet. However, being a recruiter also comes with its perks — one of them is the rewarding feeling of knowing that a star candidate has been matched to an exceptional company through your efforts. This is absolutely the best part!

How to get into recruitment when with no experience

Look for transferable skills

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that you have no skills to bring to a career as a recruiter. Whether in sales, customer service, or software development, you likely have the required transferrable skills relevant for getting into recruitment.

Create a kick-ass LinkedIn profile

I can’t stress the importance of having a LinkedIn profile if you want to get into recruitment. Whether or not you have much experience, other recruiters have to find you and LinkedIn is the best way to get found. Believe it or not, recruiters like myself specialise solely in recruiting other recruiters, so you want to create a LinkedIn profile that brings out your transferable skills.

Sell yourself

Becoming a recruiter was an active decision I made. I had no experience but had recruiter friends whose work lives I found interesting, and I could hold a conversation in social situations where I knew no one. The moral of the story – don’t be afraid to sell yourself and your transferrable skills.

Network, network, network

Networking is probably the best way to get a job in recruitment or any other industry. Chances are, you probably already know someone in the industry. The key here is not to ask them for a job but to learn more about the industry from them. Every once in a while, I get a message on LinkedIn from someone interested in breaking into the industry. They’re not asking me for a job but instead asking if I have tips or reading material.

Agency or corporate recruitment

There’s a clear difference between agency recruiters and corporate lives. I learned the actual difference between those worlds as an insider. Do some research to decide which career path is best for you.

Always be better (This one is a bonus tip)

Once you get into recruitment, don’t be the type of recruiter who settles for being average; go above and beyond. Do anything in your power to learn from the more experienced, to train in different areas and join a company that can match your ambitious attitude.

Think recruitment might be for you? If you want to know how to get into recruitment, following the above tips should improve your chances of landing your first job in this exciting profession. If you’d like to learn more about what recruitment consultants do, we’re always looking for ambitious people to join our team. So, if you’re interested in becoming a recruitment consultant, you can find out what it’s like to work at Fraser Dove International by contacting me – smacintyre@fraserdove.com / 0203 355 7050.