The Recruitment Rush

There are two polar opposites on the ‘How To Fill A Job’ spectrum.

At ‘Point A’ you have the scenario where you have to do a lot of work, from defining the brief, managing the hiring manager, producing great attraction material, researching, speaking to lots of candidates, interviewing, organising the admin and managing the offer.

Conversely, ‘Point Z’ is where you submit a candidate you’ve never met, for a job they’re not great for and who ends up getting offered a different job, by the same company, at a higher salary.

I actually had one of those ‘Point Z’ scenarios back in the days when I was in contingency – although I did actually interview the candidate.

But the free £15,000 really came in handy. And that’s what it felt like; free money. I’d hardly done any work.

Those are the two broad extremes of the recruitment services industry and I think it’s probably fair to suggest that most recruitment agencies sit in some large grey area between Point Q and Point Y.

I think it’s the ‘not knowing what’s going to happen‘ element that’s the biggest attraction of the job for many agency recruiters.

They rarely articulate it like that when you ask them though.

It’s the adrenaline rush of what I sometimes call ‘the easy placement’.

Adrenaline rushes are easy things to get addicted to.

You might argue that placements made this easily are payback for all that other work that didn’t result in a placement fee.

But that’s not the point.

The point is that you love the high of not knowing exactly where your money is going to come from.

The high that’s made more pleasurable by the previously endured crushing blows of your best candidates not getting an interview or turning down an offer.

Or the torment you felt those times when all the candidates you called had already been pitched the same job by other agencies.

It’s that familiar euphoria and depression cycle that seems to grip most gamblers and drug addicts.

And I know, because I’ve been there. It is exciting.

But, it can’t carry on being like this for ever. Just like the gambler’s winning streak and the drug addict’s 2 gram a day habit – it’s just not sustainable.

As you get older and smarter and take on more responsibilities in your personal life (i.e. spouse, mortgage, kids, etc..) earning your income this way can become debilitating.

As you get older and smarter, the tendency is for you to need to make your income a bit more forecastable.

One way to do this is to move inhouse. The other way is to learn how to work on retained fees.

One way involves earning less money. The other involves earning more money.

So, where have you got to in your life?

Do you still love that unpredictability rush?

Or are you more driven by stability and consistency?