Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Amber on March 16, 2011 at 3:10pm

Hi Joel,

Are you working on your own job orders/search assignments? When you worked for someone else, did you bring in new clients and orders? And as far as the time management, if you have to work part time at night, can you also keep most of the same hours you were working before at the firm? Then whatever you were doing in regards to the kids before should still work out.

I would think that if this is going to work as your main source of income, you need to be able to dedicate at least the same amount of time you did when working at the firm. And now you will also have to be on top of all the "other" tasks that are involved, which may have been handled by your employer before.

 

Do you know why those deals haven't closed? That would be a good point to start looking at what revisions to your plan you might want to make. I.e., is the client ever going to actually hire someone from you?, if it is a split partner - are they someone who you can mutually be of benefit to each other?, did the candidate decline an offer - was your understanding of them correct, do you need to ask different questions next time? .... and so on.

 

I think 3 months is too soon to lose faith - if you were a good performer at the company you worked for, you should be able to translate it over. You may have to learn some things you didn't have to do before, and you definitely need to make a set schedule (not necessarily the same days/times) to focus on your business.

When I started working on my own, it was great that I could take off days when I wanted, go to the office and leave when I wanted, take lunch whenever I wanted, etc., but I soon realized and remembered that many of my previous accomplishments were made while working for a corporation (not doing recruiting) during certain times and expected amount of hours. So I try to keep a balance in the freedom of working for myself AND making sure I have a good plan of getting things done.

 

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Permalink Reply by Alex Kovalenko on March 16, 2011 at 10:02pm

Hi Joel,

 

Whatever you do - do NOT cut your fees please. ;) 

 

Why did you leave your firm? Were you not making money there? Maybe there is a bigger issue here?

 

The bad news: With no firm backing you up: a) you do not have access to hundreds of thousands of advertising budgets that firms spend; b) access to your coworkers and their headhunted and carefully screened  candidates, c) no structured environment.

 

The good news: All money that you make goes directly into your pocket (minus expenses). So make sure to pick up your own clients, by doing your biz dev calls in a morning and recruiting calls during the day. Some people might recommend partnering / splitting a fee - I find thats never a good idea as the process will get even more tedious and harder to control. 

 

My quick 2 cents. Once again, this business is not for light hearted - as Danny C. would say - you gotta eat what you kill.

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Permalink Reply by C. B. Stalling!! on March 17, 2011 at 12:40am

How many placements did you make in the 3 years before you went on your own. If you were not making them on a regular time frame it might me time to look for something else...Sorry

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Permalink Reply by pam claughton on March 17, 2011 at 7:24am

Joel,

 

Are you doing this part-time? Or giving it 150% meaning, 10-12 hour days to get your business going? The beautiful thing about our industry is that you can turn things around quickly if you put the hours and effort in. When I first went on my own I was determined to get my first placement in asap and I was up and on the computer between 6 and 7 am daily and worked steadily until 6 or so and then usually jumped back on again for a few hours in the evening. It paid off though with two placements fairly quickly and I was off and running.

 

I actually do advise you to link up with a few people you trust to do splits with. i've always done that and it's been a big part of my business as it allows you to leverage your efforts, which is one of the key benefits of working at an agency.

 

Are you doing a lot of direct, cold-headhunting? if you focus on finding great people every day, you'll always have a pipeline of top talent. Market those people daily as well to bring in new orders.

 

This is a great time to get going on your own in our business as the market is improving tremendously. If you are not doing it full time and full force though, it's very difficult to get and keep the momentum.

 

I would also advise you to link up with some training. Mike Gionta has some great stuff specifically geared to those who are on their own and trying to build their own recruiting businesses. For $50 a month you can be part of his group and have access to monthly q and A calls, training calls and link up with other members. I've met a member through his training and we connect every week or so by phone to check in and see how the other is doing and if we're meeting our goals, and to brainstorm any issues that come up about the business.

 

one key bit of advice that we're both implementing that is making a big difference in our business is to focus on the metrics, how many calls and connects we make daily and the results of that activity in terms of submittals and sendouts and placements. A good rule of thumb is to connect with at least 15 people a day, and by connect that means a conversation with someone about a search.

 

good luck!

~Pam

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Permalink Reply by Jerry Albright on March 17, 2011 at 7:46am

I'm just going to come right out and say this - ditch the part time job if there is any way to do so. 

 

A part time job may pay, what?  $10/hr?  $15?  Hire yourself as a part time recruiter in the evenings.  In the end your time will be FAR MORE rewarding when you make that first placement.  This is a philosophy I have always had - and when I started it was a key to making things work.

 

No part time job in the world even comes close to the reward of that time spent focusing on your first few placements.  Not even close.

 

You're in it now.  Ditch the crutch.  You'll get to your sweet reward far sooner.

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Permalink Reply by David Shieldhouse on March 17, 2011 at 9:20am

Jerry is right, Joel.

 

I've been in the business for 25 years and there have been good times and lean times. 

 

It's all about Faith!

 

You've done it for 3 years .. you know what to do .. just do it .. 100% balls out do it .. all day .. all night.

 

Stop every now and then and review where you are, adjust .. then punch it .. again.

 

Forget worry .. leave that to the Lord.

 

Faith - Faith - Faith :-)

 

I once knew a used car salesman who made $100,000 a month in recruitment .. he was a nightmare .. completely unprofessional .. abused confidences .. clients and candidates hated him!

 

But he delivered.

 

I'm not saying do what he did .. I am saying he had no fear .. fear will kill your business .. faith and perseverance is all you need ..

 

 

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Permalink Reply by Jerry Albright on March 17, 2011 at 9:29am

Something to keep in mind.  You can't really "make" a placement.  You can only make connections, make presentations, highlight your product/service the best way you can and always keep a focus on moving everything on your desk forward.

 

With that in mind - you can, however, "make" a sendout.  This is assuming you've got a client who has engaged you and a candidate who claims to be both qualified and interested.  You should be able to "make" that happen.  But then the rest, in my humble opinion, is left to the god of numbers, the karma you may or may not be in line for, etc. 

 

Don't worry about a placement.  WORRY about not leaving your desk any day before you can honestly say to yourself "I've got the guy!" that you can make a sendout with tomorrow.

 

No "guy" yet?  You haven't earned a ticket home.  That's my motto.

 

Am I rambling?

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Permalink Reply by Joel C. Riet on March 17, 2011 at 10:25am

Thanks everyone for all of your helpful input. I think some of the biggest hurtles are going from being able to split my desk when needed, to solo only, utilizing the firms resources (when needed) and most all having the dedicated time to work a full day at an office (without interruptions in the home office). I think in this process I will definitely be better trained at what I do from this experience.

 

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Permalink Reply by Joel C. Riet on March 17, 2011 at 10:28am

Hi Pam,

 

Thanks for those helpful tips! If you have any recommendations of what you have done to start working with others to split a desk, I would love to hear. That aspect may help speed up the process.
pam claughton said:

Joel,

 

Are you doing this part-time? Or giving it 150% meaning, 10-12 hour days to get your business going? The beautiful thing about our industry is that you can turn things around quickly if you put the hours and effort in. When I first went on my own I was determined to get my first placement in asap and I was up and on the computer between 6 and 7 am daily and worked steadily until 6 or so and then usually jumped back on again for a few hours in the evening. It paid off though with two placements fairly quickly and I was off and running.

 

I actually do advise you to link up with a few people you trust to do splits with. i've always done that and it's been a big part of my business as it allows you to leverage your efforts, which is one of the key benefits of working at an agency.

 

Are you doing a lot of direct, cold-headhunting? if you focus on finding great people every day, you'll always have a pipeline of top talent. Market those people daily as well to bring in new orders.

 

This is a great time to get going on your own in our business as the market is improving tremendously. If you are not doing it full time and full force though, it's very difficult to get and keep the momentum.

 

I would also advise you to link up with some training. Mike Gionta has some great stuff specifically geared to those who are on their own and trying to build their own recruiting businesses. For $50 a month you can be part of his group and have access to monthly q and A calls, training calls and link up with other members. I've met a member through his training and we connect every week or so by phone to check in and see how the other is doing and if we're meeting our goals, and to brainstorm any issues that come up about the business.

 

one key bit of advice that we're both implementing that is making a big difference in our business is to focus on the metrics, how many calls and connects we make daily and the results of that activity in terms of submittals and sendouts and placements. A good rule of thumb is to connect with at least 15 people a day, and by connect that means a conversation with someone about a search.

 

good luck!

~Pam

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Permalink Reply by Jerry Albright on March 17, 2011 at 10:28am

Do you have a job order to work on right now?

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Permalink Reply by Joel C. Riet on March 17, 2011 at 10:35am

Hi Jerry,

 

I have three solid orders now that I am working on. I think some of the things I am running into are since I am now only doing direct headhunting most of the candidates are passive. With that said, none of the jobs I seem to have line up with what they would make a move for. I don't have the luxury of resume data bases due to the cost factor (for now at least) Which is probably a good thing.

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Permalink Reply by Jerry Albright on March 17, 2011 at 10:41am

What kind of positions?

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