You might think that it’s not exactly the business of a recruitment outsourcing specialist like ourselves to dictate to you whether you should establish your own recruitment company as someone with no prior recruitment experience yourself. In many ways, you’d be right about that. The decision to start a recruitment firm is a very personal one that only you can ultimately make.

However, our own many years of experience in dealing with recruitment agencies have also left us with no doubt as to how extremely difficult it typically is to run such a company.

We do feel that if you are to stand a good chance of making your recruitment business a long-lasting success, a solid foundation of prior experience in this industry is crucial – and here are some of our reasons for that stance.

Attention to detail is imperative in recruitment

It’s so often the little things that accumulatively make or break a business, and there are definitely a lot of such ‘little things’ in recruitment. Never mind whether you’ve been in the recruitment industry for a few months or 10 years – there are always new challenges to confront.

Life as a recruiter means having to carefully balance the requirements of clients and candidates, as well as set pay rates that both you and your contractors can be happy with. You have to take on such sensitive matters as suppliers, taxation, HMRC and data protection, all while handling different groups of people skilfully and coping with the other issues that are inherent to life at the helm of your own business.

When you’re having to learn not only how to run a recruitment agency, but also the basics of recruitment at the same time, it’s easy to become overwhelmed and lack the effectiveness that you would wish and need to have as a recruitment agency director.

Hiring and recruitment are not the same

Many of us have probably had that moment of feeling affronted that a relative or friend of ours thinks our profession is “easy”.

All too often among non-recruiters, there is a perception that recruiting simply involves placing an advertisement on a job board, picking out some CVs from those who apply and calling the best of the candidates to an interview, so that the client can decide on the right one for them.

By contrast, those who have worked as and with recruiters for years know the sheer level of challenge that this sector can represent. They know that there’s a real art and skill required in building successful and sustained client relationships, developing networks of prospects, shortlisting and managing candidates and negotiating payment terms.

Nor should everyone consider becoming a recruiter

Recruitment can be a wonderfully stimulating and rewarding sector to be involved in, but it is not for everyone. You may not be able to appreciate that, in fact, until you have accumulated a certain minimum level of experience in the field.

It’s not as if a person with zero recruitment experience can’t necessarily start a recruitment business and even be a success – they can. However, you will likely be much better prepared to get your recruitment firm off to a great start if you already have that foundation of past recruitment experience.

Remember that, whatever your recruitment background or lack of it, you may benefit considerably from having the right recruitment outsourcing experts by your side. Get in touch with our office now to discuss the merits to your own recruitment agency of our highly rated TBOS Complete package.