Bachelors, Masters and PhDs have been flying around at breakneck speed and if you don’t have four degrees with at least one in Neurophysics, then you’re practically unemployable. People are constantly on the hunt for night classes and extra courses; anything to become more employable.
We regularly get approached by graduates and experienced professionals alike who, when they’re interviewing with us, ask what extra qualifications they need to enter the recruitment industry, already sure that whatever they have isn’t enough.
While many agencies and firms may require a degreed candidate, it’s not always as necessary as you may think. We seem to have gotten swept up in the education tide, gaining titles just for the sake of them. Really though, is your degree in Neurophysics that relevant to a sales floor?
[clickToTweet tweet=”While many agencies may require a degreed candidate, it’s not always as necessary as you think.” quote=”While many agencies may require a degreed candidate, it’s not always as necessary as you think.”]
Here’s what we look for instead and we think these things make for pretty incredible recruiters:
Confidence
By confidence, we don’t mean you have to be dancing on the tables at every party. Confidence comes in many forms. We mean that quiet belief in yourself, the courageous ability to talk to anyone and everyone, and the bravery to approach the scariest-looking CEO at the annual networking event or trade show. We’re talking about the belief that the complete stranger on the other end of the line will want to talk to you.
IT geek
The word “geek” may imply that you need to have just popped out of The Big Bang Theory. But again, fear not; we don’t need that level of genius from you, although you may very well be one. We live in a world of seamless tech and the better you are at it, the better you are at your job. Being a recruiter means using various social platforms to reach your candidates. It means using recruitment software to track your every process step, record, and placement. It means being able to effortlessly use your laptop for everything from managing spreadsheets to designing a killer presentation for you or your team’s upcoming pitch.
[clickToTweet tweet=”The word “geek” may imply that you need to have just popped out of The Big Bang Theory. ” quote=”The word “geek” may imply that you need to have just popped out of The Big Bang Theory. “]
Communication skills
This doesn’t just mean being able to write a great email or have a conversation with colleagues around the water cooler. It’s bigger than that. It’s about being able to shapeshift your way through different situations with a host of different people. One day, you might be sitting down with the CEO of a blue-chip company. The next, going for coffee with the founder of the hottest startup. Later that morning, talking to graduates fresh out of college and then calling seasoned professionals with worlds of experience beneath their belts. After lunch, discussing strategy with your own bosses and then calling finance and accounting at your clients about payment runs. You finally finish by joking with a candidate about interview questions as you get them prepped up. You’re dipping into so many different worlds, and sometimes all in one day. You need to be able to communicate to each of these groups effortlessly. That’s something that college won’t teach you.
Patience
If you don’t have any, delete this article immediately. Cancel all your interviews with recruitment agencies and never look at this industry again. To be in recruitment, you will need the patience of a saint. It’s the only industry in which the thing you’re selling has a mind of its own, and if it wants, it can refuse to be sold. You must be able to wait for that one call; the where you’ll hear how the interview went, keeping your fingers crossed that they didn’t say anything terrible, and of course if they themselves still want the job. And if they finally are offered the job, your candidate might just tell you they’ve up and decided that now they want a different kind of job. Deep breaths. The recruiters that can keep their cool are the really exceptional ones.
[clickToTweet tweet=”To be in recruitment, you will need the patience of a saint.” quote=”To be in recruitment, you will need the patience of a saint.”]
Slightly crazy
This job is intense, insane and completely ridiculous at times. It’s also hilarious, thrilling and wonderful. It’s exasperating and rewarding and one of the best jobs you will ever do. But picking up the phone and talking to strangers every day is a little bit odd, and you have to be a little bit crazy to do it without losing your mind completely.
We’re not sure what degree program you can take that will give you all those skills, but those skills are the things that will lay the foundation of a very successful and lucrative career in our world. Perhaps that extra degree is just a waste of time and your days might be better spent out of that one corner in the library. Instead, why not dive headfirst into the business world to start accumulating the skills you’ll need for the rest of your life?