What's your job?

A few of the headlines I’ve read in the last couple of weeks:

---Commercial real estate loan failures could destroy banking system over the next 4 years

---Banks remain unwilling to lend

---Personal Bankruptcy Filings Up 14%

In case the economic bad news wasn't enough there was this one:

---Deadly Hybrid Flu Possible

It’s enough to make me pull the covers back up over my head every morning. At the very least it gives me an excuse to not work very hard. I mean hey, the business just isn’t out there.

Somehow most of us in this crazy business have all managed to not do either. 3^rd Party Recruiters are a pretty self-motivated bunch. We have to have to be resilient and have a highly developed sense of optimism in order to keep on keeping on. I think we are all also are a little wacky. Okay, so I’ll speak for myself.

The point is the business is out there. You just have to be more creative, more active, more determined and a lot stubborn in order to find it.

I started selling magazines at 14 years old. I would go to my job in a “boiler room” of sorts every day after school. “Back in the day” We used reverse telephone directories to make our calls……Going up and down every street in every city around my little town in Southern California. There were probably 100 numbers on each page. Our manager walked around the room during the 3 hour shift keeping us all motivated and making sure we were all “smiling as we dialed”. One night he saw me slacking and pointed at my sheet............

He said “There are 4 sales on this sheet. If I knew which ones they were I wouldn’t need you”. HA! What a good lesson that was. The business was there….It was my job to find it. Just for the record I became a pretty hotshot magazine subscription telemarketer.

How about you, all my fellow 3^rd party recruiters? Are you tuning out all the doom & gloom and making it your job to find the business on your sheet right now? What keeps you motivated?

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Permalink Reply by Fran Hogan on March 5, 2010 at 4:57pm

Thank you Maren....Let me add that finding Recruitingblogs.com was a valuable additional to my motivation arsenal. You are doing a great job in driving this community and something valuable, inmspirational and motivational is added for me every day.

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Permalink Reply by pam claughton on March 6, 2010 at 8:27am

Fran,

We are really busy, so no doom and gloom in our office. We just work heads down each day, on the phone, talking with candidates and clients, meeting people and filling jobs. The business is out there and you can be as busy as you choose to be. One thing that always has motivated me is that you can turn things around so quickly, just by taking action and making things happen. :) I think 2010 is going to be a much better year for most 3rd party recruiters.

Also, keeping positive is so important. Instead of focusing on whether or not you'll make a placement this month, focus on activity goals. If you dive in and simply interview more good people, submit more of them, increase your sendouts per week, the placements will follow. This kind of activity is easy to control if you track your numbers, so focus on action and that will get you closer to placements and new job orders.

~Pam

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Permalink Reply by Stuart Musson on March 6, 2010 at 2:26pm

Hi Fran,

When I started in the 3rd party recruiting world it was during a downmarket so I knew nothing but one way which was UP. Then we had a great 3 year run from '99-02 before the big tech wreck and dot com bust and again we buckled down and made it through those tough times.

Moving on to 2009 and I decided to do something REALLY crazy and start my own Rec 2 Rec firm and again there was no where to go but UP when you start at zero.

When everyone was telling me how bad the market was and that Recruiting firms were not hiring during the first 3 quarters of the year I kept on calling the potential clients back with a positive message that we were still around and can fill the roles when they are ready. Yes it was lean and we did manage to make some placements to "keep the lights on" but then Q4 hit and it was like a flood gate had opened up because we were getting calls back to us with orders to be filled.

I believe the continous calls and positive message being spoken by PRS was what kept our potential clients motivated and the doom/gloom away, which was also beneficial to my own motivation. Now we are growing internally as well as expanding our markets and that is what is keeping me and the Precision Recruiting Team motivated right now.

There is always doom and gloom in the news because that is what sells but IF you look hard enough there is always something good in the world as well and as Recruiters we need to hold on to those tid bits of positives to keep us going through the day(s).

Like you said there is always business to be had you just have to turn over the rocks to find it!

Have a great day!

Cheers,

Stuart Musson
President
Precision Recruiting Services Inc.
Telephone: 613-287-3767 Ottawa
Telephone: 647-727-4737 Toronto
E-Mail: stuart@PrecisionRecruiting.ca
LinkedIN: www.linkedin.com/in/stuartmusson
Facebook: Stu Musson

Web: www.PrecisionRecruiting.ca

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Permalink Reply by Fran Hogan on March 6, 2010 at 2:48pm

Pam you are so right...if you are taking action, keeping busy, staying positive and focusing on the activity the business comes. I'm glad to hear your office is so busy. I agree that 2010 is going to be a better year for us. and...you prove my point. We 3rd party recruiters are a pretty self-motivated and optimistic group.

Stuart, I believe that starting this job in a down market is a good beginning. You learn right out of the gate how to work properly. Many recruiters that started when placements were falling out of the trees, didn't make it out of the first downturn that hit. You did your job and didn't listen to the negatives when you went out on your own - and here you are!

You are both right that Doom & Gloom makes the news. Good news just doesn't sell. I ran a larger office back in the last recession. I told my recruiters to pass on an optimistic message to everyone they spoke with...candidates, clients, uncles, neighbors and pets. We are doing great!! Business is picking up!! yada yada yada. No one was allowed to spread the doom & gloom message. Optimism is contagious. Negativity is deadly.

Thanks for your comments and insights. Much appreciated.