The Half Million Dollar Recruiter

Yesterday I listened to the Animal show and he had two guests. The first one was Bill Vick. Bill has been in the industry a long time and is very well respected in the recruiting industry. I learned a lot from listening to him and appreciated his insight. Recruiters who have been in the game a long time, and new recruiters all took away something positive from what he said. It is rare day when Animal and his audience are silenced and hanging on to the next word that comes out of the guest's mouth. To say it simply, I was impressed.

One thing Bill said that bothered me is he said "you know when a recruiter is great when you make $500,000 a year". I do not want to take away anything from Bill's inspiring and motivational guest appearance. Anyone could have said it. After all, you have obviously done something right if you are making a half million dollars a year. You are at the top of your game. But are there others who haven't and won't make 500k at the top of their game?

I don't know many recruiters (other than some on this website) that can make that claim. That is impressive. Kudos to the ones that have accomplished that feat.

Where does that leave the others who have not hit the 500k mark? What is your definition of success as a recruiter? 95% of the recruiters I know haven't achieved that goal and most of them will not. They are indeed great, if not excellent recruiters.

For a discussion, what makes a great recruiter? My opinion is not what your W2 says at the end of the year.

If you enjoted this, please check out Bulls Eye Recruiting at www.wthomsonjr.com and subscribe to my weekly newsletter.

Comment by Amber on March 28, 2013 at 3:08pm: I chased and obtained "success" in my past sales career. Dollar amount - yes. Weighed against the stress level and the fight to make that money ethically - no. Money is important, it can be a measure of success, but it really does not buy happiness. At this point in my life I am happy and fulfilled when I have managed to put some good people into good jobs, pay my bills and eat pretty decently, and have the flexibility to work the hours I choose to work.

Comment by Will Thomson on March 28, 2013 at 3:40pm: Agreed Amber. There are some really good recruiters out there. The definition of a successful and "great recruiter" has nothing to do with the size of their wallet. A great recruiter is someone who can find good talent for any organization in a short amount of time and provides a level of service that is above and beyond what the average recruiter would give. They genuinely care about helping others; their customer (client), and candidate.

Comment by Recruiting Animal on March 28, 2013 at 3:47pm: Willie, a real blogger provides a link to the show. Here it is

Comment by Recruiting Animal on March 28, 2013 at 3:51pm: Willie, I guarantee that someone who is earning 500K or a million dollars a year as a recruiter knows how to do all of the things you mention.

But they are smart business people, too. For instance, Bill told me that they usually outsource the admin work and sourcing to other people. They handle the sales and client relationships and short listing.

And that's how the big classy recruiting firms work too. They bring in the business then job out to the sourcing and screening to guys like you and me and then they make the presentations themselves. And take the lion's share of the fee.

Comment by Bill Schultz on March 28, 2013 at 3:56pm: If you believe Recruiting is Sales, which I do, then success is measured in dollars.

Comment by Will Thomson on March 28, 2013 at 3:56pm: Canadian Basement Dweller, agreed. I said "After all, you have obviously done something right if you are making a half million dollars a year. You are at the top of your game". Bill has years on me and he is a class act. My point is you don't have to make a half million to be considered a success.

Comment by Bill Vick on March 28, 2013 at 4:46pm: Thanks for the comments Will, appreciate it, and to clarify, what I think I said, was a Big Biller, by my definition, is those recruiters billing $500,000 a year or better. I don't measure success purely in the numbers but in the discussion, to define a Big Biller, that is my personal measurement. I know many, many recruiters and others in the staffing and human resource area who impact lives, are achieving their goals, and are truly a success. An example is my Daughter left a high powered executive sales career in the Pharmaceutical industry in order to teach middle school science. She is a great success by any measurement and earns 1/10th of what she was earning in the corporate world. Which is more important, driving the right care, wearing the right clothes, eating off the high end of the curve - or impacting young lives and changing them as she is doing. That, to me, is success.

Comment by Will Thomson on March 28, 2013 at 5:34pm: Bill, I have the highest level of respect for you. I learned a lot from the show. I hope you know this wasn't directed at you, but for a good lively conversation about what makes a successful recruiter. Thanks for sharing your story with us about your daughter.

@Bill Schultz- Is there anything else that you measure success of a recruiter?

Anyone else?

Comment by Deb Mullen on March 28, 2013 at 7:12pm: I think it's important to point out here that not all good recruiters work on a commission basis or are in business for themselves. I know a lot of highly successful recruiters that work either internally as corporate recruiters or work for an RPO solution provider. I agree with Will's statement:

A great recruiter is someone who can find good talent for any organization in a short amount of time and provides a level of service that is above and beyond what the average recruiter would give.

A good recruiter knows how to develop the relationships with both candidates and clients no matter what the commission might be and they do it with the utmost degree of professionalism, ethics,integrity and respect.

Bottom line, a great recruiter is only as good as their last placement.

Comment by Kelly Blokdijk on March 28, 2013 at 7:50pm: First, it was a good show and terrific to hear from Bill. The main take-away for me was that the basics still matter more than anything else.

Obviously, Bill earned his reputation for doing his job well and thus garnered the respect of his clients, candidates and recruiting professional peers. Regardless how much he or anyone else bills or billed, career longevity is built from being a trusted and respected person worthy of doing business with. It seems to me Bill continues to be an excellent example of that type of success.

Second, I do agree that this is an interesting topic to discuss. We live in a very materialistic society, so money is often an obvious measure of success. Some people do value their earnings more than intangible aspects that others find more rewarding.

If and when I ever experience how the other half lives, I'll let you know if that makes me feel more successful. Meanwhile, I guess I'll have to be satisfied believing "le$$ is more"

~KB @TalentTalks