Going solo? Recruiting is a hard business, and if you’re an independent recruiter working from home, it can present some additional challenges. Here are three things to keep in mind when branching out:
1. Solo recruiters need a strong network – from former co-workers to the talent pool, experience in a staffing firm or the industry you plan to recruit in is invaluable. Working on your own you will need a group to bounce ideas off of and consult with. How are you going to stay current with the latest in your industry? Join business groups and groups on LinkedIn, register for additional training, and stay social to keep abreast of trends and new regulations. Talk to other recruiters and firms to hear about their methods, challenges they’ve had, and things they do that work. This is something where the more you put into it, the more you get out of it.
2. Solo recruiters need a plan – working from home allows for flexibility that working for an employer may not have. But you won’t have the same structure or guidelines, so it’s a matter of effective time management and self-control. It’s important to make goals like connecting with a certain number of people per day, and working set hours each day. Make sure you have steady activity when it comes to sourcing, qualifying and submitting candidates. In addition, you won’t have the resources that a full firm has, so it’s good to make connections with other recruiters or a split network, to get orders and get revenue coming in while you build your desk.
3. Solo recruiters need to get out – email, phone calls, and Skype are great, but there’s nothing that replaces sitting down with someone face-to-face.
Once a week, Marcus Ronaldi of Marcus Ronaldi Recruiting goes into and works out of another NPAworldwide firm’s office in San Francisco. “Doing that allows me to get a better sense of the things he’s working on,” Marcus said. “There’s a criteria of submitting a candidate, vs when you’re doing calibration, like ‘does this work?’”
Another NPAworldwide member, Jim Lyons of LH International, visited another members’ office that he saw while driving through CT. He’s worked out of their office, and it’s led to several splits and a lot of money.
“If there are people in your area that have an office, find out if they have an open desk,” Marcus said. “If you have an open desk in your space, invite someone over. It’s good to meet face to face and get a sense of what people are working on.”
Are you a solo recruiter? What works for you? What challenges did you encounter first starting out?
