So you say you’re in a recruiting slump . . . how do you break out of it? Well, we consulted industry trainer Jeff Skrentny, CERS of The Jefferson Group for the answer to that question.
Skrentny indicated that slumps usually occur when recruiters move away from the basics, even if it’s not that far away. Below are seven steps Skrentny identified as being important for recruiters who are intent on breaking out of a slump.
#1—Set up a 90-day program.
“You have to commit to a 90-day program and honestly monitor a few of the basic elements of the business,” said Skrentny.
#2—Plan, plan, and then plan some more.
As you might have already guessed, planning comprises a rather sizeable portion of your 90-day program. “You have to commit to a certain number of candidate interviews every day, namely two,” said Skrentny. “You also have to commit to a certain number of candidate reference checks daily. I would say nine of those. Our business isn’t brain surgery. It’s about crunching the numbers: the number of candidate interviews, the number of references checked, the number of sendouts, and the number of search assignments worked. If you work those numbers, and you work them hard enough, you’ll never fail to get out of a slump.”
#3—Look at your past testimonials from both clients and candidates.
This practice is good for the psychological aspects of the slump. “Testimonials will give you belief in your value,” said Skrentny. “You have to realize that you are good and that you’ve been successful in this business.”
#4—Go on client visits.
Now that you’ve taken the time to get re-acquainted with your value, it’s time to help your clients do the same. “You should have an honest goal of going out and doing a client or prospect visit once per week,” said Skrentny. “You have to get people to realize how valuable you and your services are.”
#5—Tenacity is your friend.
“Get an active search assignment and pursue it like a bulldog,” said Skrentny. “Once you fill it, basically the slump is over. I’ve always found that it takes an intense effort to get things going, but once they get going, it’s easier to keep them going.”
#6—Utilize a mentor, coach, or accountability partner.
“You need somebody who’s going to hold your feet to the fire and make you accountable for the goals that you’ve set,” said Skrentny. “Ideally, though, it should be somebody you don’t already answer to. You probably don’t want to use your boss as an accountability partner.”
#7—Identify the ebbs and flows (the rhythm) of your desk.
“I go through a slump every year, so to speak, and that’s over the summer,” said Skrentny, who’s a huge baseball fan. “I gear my business back up in the fall. That way, I have eight straight months of hard work, from October to sometime in May.”
According to Skrentny, the most important, number-one thing to remember when you’re going through a slump is that you’re a recruiter. It’s still one of the best jobs that anybody can have. Bottom line: you’ll get through the slump. You just have to remind yourself the whole time that it’s worth it in the end.
“Go back to why you like being a recruiter, stuff like the economic freedom and the business freedom,” said Skrentny. “Remind yourself of that and how great it is. All things considered, this is the best place you can be.”
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