How Long Did It Take You to Make Your First Placement

How long did it take for you to make your first placement? How long do you tell your new recruiters it will take to make their first placement? How long does it really take for them to make their first placement?

I ask this because yesterday when I was listening to David Kippen talk on the Recruiting Animal show, he said that what new employees are sometimes told is very different than what really is. It made me think of recruiting and all of the people I have trained over the last 10 years and how the hardest part about becoming a recruiter is making the first placement.

** Post about David Kippen here

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Permalink Reply by Seema Gupta on September 11, 2007 at 6:17pm

Bill,
Which system would you reccommend to someone like me who works on her own and not for a company with a set system?

Appreciate your response.

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Permalink Reply by pam claughton on September 18, 2007 at 12:22pm

I made my first placement in 3 weeks, and was brand new to recruiting. But, I was lucky in that I had excellent training. I sat right across from my boss, and was a sponge, soaking up everything. I listened to all of his calls and all the senior recruiters around me, and they were all great in explaining why and how they did things. This kind of sharing is invaluable.

What I've seen over the years is that the norm is a placement within your first two months. It's rare that it goes to three, and frankly, if it does, I'd question if recruiting is really the right thing, or if you're in a supportive environment with appropriate training.

The beauty of what we do is that you can step out of it and step right back in and go. When I came off a year long contract, I had no idea how long it would take me to get going again on my own. I dove right in though, and made two big placements at the end of a month. How? By focusing. I had a client with a really difficult search and a commitment to hire. I knew if I put my time into this search I could fill it. So, rather than work on a dozen different searches, I worked on just a few, but was determined to fill them.

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Permalink Reply by pam claughton on September 18, 2007 at 12:25pm

Seema,

Just my opinion, but if you've never worked for an agency, you're at a big disadvantage. There is so much to learn about working with candidates and clients and negotiating and interviewing and closing. Even if you go work at an agency for a year or two, you will probably make more money than you ever would on your own...without the experience. After a year or two, you'll be much more equipped to establish yourself and create a viable business for yourself....you may even decide to stay with the agency, where you can leverage al the efforts of those around you, you never know.

Pam

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Permalink Reply by WorkFarce on September 18, 2007 at 8:14pm

2 days....

Irwin tools circa 2000, EVP level Operations...BIG $$$
I LOVE YOU,
WorkFarce

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Permalink Reply by madhu on November 30, 2007 at 5:03pm

can you please let me know how to market a candidate in a effective manner and is there any recruiting blogs to get the candidates.

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Permalink Reply by Erich on December 4, 2008 at 12:54am

I'm a new recruiter -- been recruiting for 6 weeks now and I tell you, it's frustrating as hell that I haven't landed my first placement! I'm encouraged from the feedback here however,

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Permalink Reply by Misty Mariano on March 11, 2011 at 7:38pm

It took 3 months to make my first placement, took 4 attempts at placements that didn't go through bc the candidates ended up being a farce, and now bouncing back from those and working my butt off to meet my personal goal. This job requires a lot of patience and drive.

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Permalink Reply by Mack on February 4, 2012 at 3:51pm

holly crap ..this was me..lol

will said:

I"m new to recruting and haven't made any placement yet. This is my second week as a recruiter and i'm enjoying doing cold and warm calls. I work hard, read and ask questions in order to improve my skills.
My question is, is it easier to specialize in one area of try to fill different jobs.? I would appreciate any pointers or help that a new recruiter can use.

Thanks

Macmay