If you are a seasoned recruiter, you should know how good things are right now! You should be able to smell your commission payment and if you can’t you need to have a really good think about the position of your desk and the industry sector you are recruiting in.
The great recruiters are so busy they can’t keep up but they see it as a great problem to have. Those that recruited through 2008 and beyond have an appreciation for how lucrative a career in recruitment is right now and in making hay while the sun shines.
In 2007 the global financial crisis began. It started with a crisis in the subprime mortgages market and then later developed into a large-scale banking crisis with the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008. In recruitment I remember the exact moment when our phones stopped and our job boards fell to the floor. Recruitment freezes were in full force, temp numbers reached new lows, commissions were frozen and mass redundancies was a daily occurrence. Many recruiters were still let go, and some managed to hold on for the ride. It was a dark time in the industry and it was survival of the fittest. When the phones did start ringing again, it was in abundance with candidates, often clients, desperately seeking work.
Business development, winning new accounts and cementing new relationships has never been easier. There has never been a better time to reverse market, start a new desk or move industry sectors. Executive, Property, Infrastructure and Information Technology are all very lucrative recruitment sectors in the Melbourne market at the moment.
We as recruiters are currently working in golden times. If your desk is not performing, if you are not around high achieving consultants or your workplace culture is not delivering for you, you need to start asking some questions as to why. 