Recruit, Pivot, Recruit, Pivot

Today’s guest blogger is Patti Steen with The Pelsten Group located in Seattle, WA. The Pelsten Group is a recruitment firm that focuses on all levels of positions within Healthcare and Medical Device organizations. The majority of their clients are in the Seattle area, but they actively support NPAworldwide across the US. Patti is currently serving on the NPAworldwide Board of Directors as Secretary/Treasurer. Today she offers some guidance to recruiters who may need to pivot to a new sector or service.

For a lot of recruiters, 2023 was a year of reinventing themselves…over and over again. Customers were hesitant to hire, employees were not making moves and in some markets, layoffs outpaced hiring. It was a difficult pill to swallow coming off two years of frenzied hiring.

How many of you had to pivot from your traditional jobs, types of business and geography? Were you taking any job that in the past you would have stayed away from? Staying nimble was the name of the game and helped many recruiters weather the storm.

There are two fairly easy pivots to make when you find your traditional business is challenging or not meeting needs.

Change Industries/Jobs

All recruiters can easily make a shift to new types of roles. Many feel it is impossible but recruiting strategies are the same regardless of the position.

• Identify the 3-5 key requirements of the job. You may not know what an Electrical Engineer does, but you can research it and feel confident screening candidates.
• Ask the customer to provide 3 questions they would ask the candidate and what the ideal response would be. This will help you understand more about the new customer but also about the position and industry.
• Ask your candidates questions when you are interviewing. That will give you additional insight into their world.
• You can also tap into your professional network and find a recruiter that focuses on that niche to partner with. Part of a fee is better than no fee!

Contract/Temporary Jobs

When hiring starts to recover, traditionally there will be more companies dipping their toe into the water by hiring contractors to do the work before investing in a full-time employee. Is contract staffing for you? Are you thinking I cannot fund payroll or hire a team to manage the payroll process? You don’t have to!

• There are companies that solely focus on being the employer of record for a small percentage of the fee. Generally, most outsourced companies charge 22-25% over the pay rate depending on the state. You can still make a healthy margin if the bill rate to the customer is at a 50-60%+ markup over the pay rate.
• You are paid weekly, and it provides steady income!
• Sell this service to your current customers! Generally, they will not think you have the capability to do this work if you have only been working on their full-time roles. Someone is providing contracting services to them…it may as well be you!

Your strong recruiting skills can easily shift into any industry, type of employment or service. Use your recruiting knowledge and fill in the gaps by learning from your peers, partners, customers, candidates and Google. Pivot as needed to stabilize your business and revenue.