Hi there, all you recruiters and placement specialists...

Please forgive me for being technically challenged, kind of laid-back and keeping it simple with pen and paper: I really haven't been hip with the whole online networking buzz that started with myspace, so I never had an account with them or facebook. But when a business colleague told me about his contacts through LinkedIn, I thought, perhaps now's the time...it's a new year, I should really get current!

I'd been interested in the recruiting field since early 2008, I just got my face slammed by the doors of many recruiting and staffing agencies due to the economy. So by 2009 I decided to go on my own and be an independent. Therefore, aside from a few good contracts, I would like to know from some of you your own pros and cons of being an independent recruiter in this economy. Your comments and advice would be greatly appreciated!

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Comment by pam claughton on January 16, 2010 at 6:34pm: Recruiting is not an easy business even for those with experience. To go on your own with no experience in an economy like this is going to be even more difficult. Why? Because you don't have a good reason for an employer to use you. What do you have to offer them? I didn't go on my own until I'd worked for an agency for many years and built up a strong network so that when I started my business I wasn't starting from ground zero. I also found that the first year at an agency is invaluable. You learn so much from your peers. You're not selling widgets. You are selling people which is a very complex sale. What other 'product' can decide at any time in the sales process that it doesn't want to be sold? What we do is a double sales process. The turnover rate in this industry is incredibly high. Why? Because people are lured in by the thought of fast easy money and lots of it. Then reality sets in, especially in bad economy.

However, if you are still determined not to join an agency first...and it's very easy to get a job at an agency. You just call them up, ask for the sales manager and say you are going to be a recruiter and are considering their firm among others and you'd love to come in for a meeting. They'll always agree to meet with you. Then, if you can impress them with your sincerity and say truthfully that you will work long hours, make hundreds of cold calls and do whatever it takes to learn the ropes and be successful, and you present yourself well, they will want you. Why? Because if you really have this great energy and drive, they don't want another agency to snap you up.

That said, if you are still determined to do this on your own, invest in some real training. I just got back from a one day course with Peter Leffkowitz, even though I've been in the business now for 16 years, I'm always looking for ways to improve. Peter has a new recruiter boot camp, I think it's a 3 day course at his ranch where you learn everything, how to recruit without using the job boards, and how to market those candidates to clients. I have a friend who was a teacher and wanted to be a recruiter and there were no staffing firms where she lived, so she did the course with Peter and has been very successful.

Good luck! This a great field to be in, but there are no shortcuts. :)