Whether you’re opening a new venture or have an established business, it’s crucial to identify and understand the recruitment competition in your market. If you haven’t gone through this exercise, here are a few ideas to get started:

List Your Recruitment Competition

• Make a list of all the recruitment providers in your local market.
• If you are working in a niche or micro-niche, you’ll want to expand the previous item to include the major players within that niche.
• Identify which of your potential clients already have in-house talent acquisition teams, as these will also serve as recruitment competition for you.
• Include quasi-competitors like BountyJobs and other similar services.
• Include job boards that your clients (and potential clients) may be using.

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Small recruitment firms have a number of requirements at the start-up phase. Insurance is an important item for your business and one that can be easily overlooked, especially for a start-up venture that may be home based. Here is a list of some of the different types of insurance you may want (or need) to procure: Read the rest of this entry »

Defining your industry/segment/niche/geographic focus is a crucial step in establishing a successful recruitment business. When defining your focus, keep in mind that specialization can help you stand out in a crowded market. Clients and candidates often prefer recruiters who have in-depth knowledge of their industry or niche. Additionally, as you gain expertise in your chosen focus, you’re more likely to become the “go-to” recruiter in that area, which can lead to more referrals and business opportunities. Lastly, consider seeking guidance from business coaches or industry experts to help you refine your focus and ensure that your chosen market can support your success. Too narrow a focus limits your potential and too broad a focus might lead to a scattered and poorly delivered service to clients and candidates. Read the rest of this entry »

I love talking to recruiters about how they got into this business. It’s almost always accidental, and it’s fun to hear all the different stories. Many agency recruiters go on to own a recruitment firm of their own. If this sounds like you, how will you know when you’re ready to hang your own shingle? Here are three important things you should consider before starting your own venture: Read the rest of this entry »

So, you have been recruiting for a big agency, a firm owner, or maybe you have been in HR and are ready to apply your passion for people to the recruiting profession. Something has driven you this point. Congratulations for considering and researching the next logical step…how to start a recruiting business!

What follows are some basic steps that will allow you to be a well-planned and profitable recruiter in the years ahead. Luck and timing can have an impact on the magnitude of your success but only your effort, aptitude, dedication, and commitment to working a plan will deliver the result. Read the rest of this entry »

If 2013 is the year you will start a recruiting business, here is a very high level look at some things to consider.  The steps may be spelled out for you if you are buying a recruitment franchise.  I would strongly suggest you consider formal and informal network membership as an alternative to purchasing a recruitment franchise.  Here are the high level actions required to get going with your business:

1. Pick a name

Think ahead. Maybe someday after you start your recruiting business you will want to sell it and retire. Do not name the recruitment business after yourself. There is less value to a business called “John Jones Recruiting” when there is no John Jones in the business. At the same time, don’t let name selection paralyze you. The name might help, but look at Google: who would have picked that name? I think they are doing just fine with a crazy name.

Make sure your company name is not already taken with the  U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or the appropriate service in your location.

2. Register a domain name

Make sure that the name you selected has available the domain that you want. Even better, think about how people might find you via an online search and see if there is a way you can incorporate your top keyword into your domain name (as well as your company name).

Go for the .com extension. If you must give in, consider .net or .jobs. Try to avoid the dreaded hyphen! Check domain names at Network Solutions. There is nothing worse than a thriving business working on a @gmail.com, @yahoo.com or @aol.com address.

3. Arm your recruiting business with tools

Business cards – Vistaprint.com is a great source of cheap cards.

Accounting Software – Quickbooks is a standard. Freshbooks is an online option.

Applicant Tracking System – I like PCRecruiter. They have a low-cost, highly-flexible tool to track clients and candidates. (Disclosure: Main Sequence Technology, maker of PCRecruiter, is NPA’s technology partner.)

Backup system or cloud-based storage area – Dropbox or GoogleDocs are cloud-based, or you can have a scheduled backup from a service like Carbonite.

Mailing/Marketing Service – try Constant Contact or MailChimp.

LinkedIn – buy the best package you can afford. You will be using it all day, every day, so make it your friend.

4. Set up a website

There are many low-cost tools, including godaddy.com, Network Solutions, and Vistaprint. A word of caution: You don’t want your next-door-neighbor’s-kid’s-best-friend to build you a website, unless that person REALLY knows about websites, responsive design, search engine optimization, mobile interfaces, etc. Economical is smart. Cheap is not.

5. Get connected to the industry

Join the industry trade association – NAPS (National Association of Personnel Services) is in the US.

6. Get trained

Look into a service like Next Level Exchange. They provide training on recruiting from many of the masters of industry.

7. Expand your capabilities/make more money/connect to a peer group

Once established, join NPA, The Worldwide Recruiting Network to enable global coverage to your prospects and clients, do more deals, and gain access to fellow entrepreneurs for ideas and coaching.

It is a great time to be a recruiter. It is difficult work, but the demographics are on your side. With millions of boomers retiring each year and companies back into a growth mode, good employees will be hard to find. That’s where you can benefit. Happy New Year and best of luck for a successfully starting a recruiting business.