Today marks the end of my 2nd month back in business post-pandemic and so I thought I’d review things so far, both to keep myself in check but also as a way of reaching out to others who have experienced either a big break in business and the subsequent recovery journey, or simply big changes in their business, or both.
I am happy to say that – in spite of a few (inevitable?) bumps in the road and the odd day of feeling a bit despondent (perhaps also inevitable) – the story so far is a positive one. I hope my fellow recruiters (and everyone else) are starting to see and feel the same.
It started with the “white paper” I wrote upon my return, which not only gave me a critical insight into the effects of the pandemic on our industry but also put me back in the driving seat – knowledge is power, as someone far more erudite than I once said. It also gave me something useful to share with my clients. I knew that recruitment would – most likely anyway – be the last thing on their minds at this point, but the insights that I’d gathered together in my research were, for the most part, relevant to all employers not just recruiting employers. And it started the conversation between us again – a chance to reconnect, empathise, console, and, above all, look forward. It also put me back in touch with some clients I hadn’t worked with for quite some time, as they responded gratefully and positively to the work I had shared with them. And one of those old connections is now talking to me about a potential piece of recruitment for the final quarter of this year!
Back in the Game
Once you remove the financial motivation in your business activity, in favour of simply focusing on getting back in the game – and just doing something proactive and useful – you can in fact uncover untapped potential you would have perhaps missed whilst in the midst of all that success you used to enjoy (and perhaps take for granted?) before Covid19. I have certainly taken that as an important – and long-lasting – lesson from all this.
I am relieved to say that following this initial period of research and reflection I managed to get in a couple of jobs from existing clients, and another from one I hadn’t worked with for a few years, all of which I have now thankfully filled, and, perhaps most importantly, with candidates who had either already lost their jobs due to the pandemic or were at great risk of doing so.
And so what about the next few months?
I’m under no illusion that it’s still extremely tough out there and have come to terms with the fact that after this short run of fortune may come a period of knocking on doors and finding nobody there. But having seen a bit of light I now feel that things will come good the end, and by staying focused on what you can offer (to your clients if you’re a recruiter, or to an employer if you’re a candidate), and by remaining positive and true to yourself, I believe we can all play a part in making that happen.
I took part in a supplier survey this week and one of the questions was, “What do you consider to be the 3 most important attributes in candidates at this time?” I ticked the following: Resilience, Adaptability and Innovation. The first two are pretty self-explanatory, but I chose “Innovation” because I believe we must all be more creative in the way we operate these days, be less afraid of suggesting new ideas, ways of working, etc – as recruiters, candidates, employers, and employees.
I’ll be looking at this in detail in my next Blog post, but, for now, it’s back to the drawing board.
