So, who looks after the Recruiters career when the Recruiters recruiting?

We in the recruitment industry pride ourselves on our capacity, skill to assess accurately applicants abilities and using this expertise, recommend appropriate resources with the right competencies for the job. Yet our industry has one of, if not the highest level of staff turnover of any industry. Industry averages predominantly range between 18 and 22%, yet the recruitment industry has for decades exceeded 20% and is now approaching levels of around 30%*. So, just how well are we, the recruitment and career ìexpertsî looking after our own careers?

Based on the statistics, it seems we are performing poorly.

One in three consultants** each year move either from one agency to another or leave the industry altogether. Those leaving the industry altogether is of particular concern. Initially drawn to the industry by excessive financial rewards ($100k in your first year, no experience required) and the opportunity to help others, by and large they are left to fend for themselves with little assistance. Seen as competitors by their peers and as ìcash cowsî by managers, the majority flounder and soon leave the industry, disillusioned by the experience. How often do we hear that John, who recently left the company, ìjust didn't fit the company cultureî, or Jane who has been asked to leave because ìshe didn't make quotaî. Sound familiar?

There has been for many years a universal expectation within the industry that for recruitment consultants to succeed they must be highly skilled sales people, be able to account manage clients and candidates and be outstanding resourcers. We see it all the time in recruitment job advertisements, terms such as ìend to end recruitmentî, ì360 recruitmentî.

Being all three is a big ask, yet the majority of recruitment organisations persist in seeking talent skilled in all three disciplines, and ìchurn and burnî those who donít quite make the grade. From my observations I have concluded less than half the recruiters in the industry are successful at all three elements. Does that mean that more than half the recruiters in the industry are failures?

I don't believe so, I have seen many great sales people in the industry who are particularly poor at candidate interviewing and do not relish the task of sifting through a database to match the requirements of the position they are seeking to fill.

Similarly, I have worked with some excellent consultants who are able to quickly develop a rapport with clients and candidates, are very influential, are exceptionally good coordinators, manage their time effectively, have great business acumen to effectively match candidates but are very poor at sales and securing new business. Should these recruitment consultants be considered failures?

We purport to be expert authorities in matching talent to the particular requirements of our clients - understand the position and match the talent to those requirements. How many times have we heard/said this? Yet when it comes to our own careers, we fail dismally.

* An RCSA report released in September 2005 quoted average staff turnover at 27%.
This was fractionally down from previous surveys.

** The RCSA report suggested organisations lose more than one in four consultants each year.