A Day in the Life of a Recruiter 

Liars? Money hungry? Would sell to their Grandad’s dog if it were a chance to boost their figures?!  

Recruiters have unfortunately got one of those stigmas, like estate agents and car salespeople. We want to break the mould and let you know most recruiters are nothing like this. Yes, they are extremely driven, and this could be seen as money hungry but in most cases, it is far from it. Let’s face it, there are bad apples in every cart, but do not tarnish every recruiter with the same brush.

Everyone is aware of recruiters, but how many of you know what a recruiter does? Believe me, it is so much more than just collecting and sending hordes of CVs to clients. There’s interviewing, screening, headhunting, and the most important thing, relationship building.  

As a recruiter it is essential to build and nurture long-lasting relationships with both candidates and clients. Relationships are built on honesty, trust, knowledge and by a lot of listening. Listening could be seen as one of the most underrated skills a recruiter can possess. For candidates, the ability to listen enables the recruiter to give advice that would be beneficial to the individual. When it comes to clients, a recruiter needs a good understanding of the needs of the organisation. They must know about the company culture and learn about the challenges and skillsets they require.  

So, let’s take you through a typical day in the world of recruitment. 

7:30am - 8am 

Your official start time is 8am, but you like to get in early to set up your desk, ready for the day ahead. First of many mugs of coffee by your side, laptop/desktop booted up, let the fun and games begin.  

You start by trawling through your emails that were sent the night before, replying to anything urgent. Next, LinkedIn is calling for a little look. That’s insightful – like. Someone you’ve helped in the past posts a job update – like. 'Aww, look at that cute puppy' – love.

Make a couple of calls to candidates you know are available for a chat before they start work and see if they are suitable for any roles, you are currently working on. 

9am 

By now, most of your colleagues have arrived and there’s a distinct sense of hustle and bustle in the office. People chatting by the water cooler, the kettle is being boiled cup after cup and phone calls are being made here, there, and everywhere. 

A quick huddle with your team, find out how Bob the candidate got on with his interview yesterday afternoon with a potential client, find out about the latest market news, and then you are ready and raring to go.  

9.30am 

Back at your desk, with the second coffee in hand. Time to have a catch up with your key clients either via phone or the new favourite, MS Teams. During these meetings you are not only catching them up with any roles you are working for them but sharing market information that you believe would be beneficial to them.  

11am 

Time for a mid-morning energiser with everyone in your office. A time to break away from the phones and your screen. Today, Harry has put together a quiz – you make up small teams and the healthy competition begins.  

Now that you have had a fifteen-minute break it’s time to talk to some amazing candidates. One of your clients gave you a role to work on during your catch up, you have a few names in mind from previous conversations you’ve had, you leave a few voicemails asking them to give you a call back as you have an exciting opportunity for them.  

But you don’t stop there, you want to go above and beyond for your client, you open LinkedIn Recruiter and the job boards to find new prospective candidates for the role. You build a pipeline of candidates and start to leave voicemails. 

Your Boolean search is on point, and you find the perfect candidate. You get straight on the phone to them, and they answer! You have an amazing conversation with them, finding out about their skills, what they currently do, what they’re looking to move on to do and above all their most important things for them in their next position. You go through the opportunity with them, and they would like to be put forward – today is turning out to be a good day. 

You make a few more calls before... 

1pm – Lunchtime! 

2pm 

You are suitably full of your Tesco Meal Deal and refreshed after an hour away from your desk.  

Time to crack on – check to see if there are any important emails that need dealing with and any responses from the candidates you reached out to. A couple of responses let’s get a call booked in for this afternoon.  

You already have a few candidate calls booked in from this morning. Most of the afternoon you spend conducting interviews with candidates for a variety of roles you are working on. Each interview is in-depth, outlining the role and company and eventually seeing if they would be a good fit for your client. 

4pm 

For the next hour or so you spend time prepping the CVs of the candidates you are submitting to your clients. Not only do you have to ensure the CV is readable, but it is also part of your company's policy to send the client a brief profile of the candidate, giving the client an insight into the type of person they are rather than just what their CV tells you.  

As you’re tapping away, aligning your candidate’s CVs, your colleague’s deal music sounds throughout the office. Another placement has been made. Everyone stops what they’re doing to congratulate them. This gives you the enthusiasm to find more candidates so it could your deal music playing next time. 

5pm 

For the final hour of your working day, you catch up with your key contacts. Clients and candidates alike. This time in your day really helps to cement your relationships with the people you talk to on a regular basis. It is an opportunity to give updates, find out about market information and become a trusted member of their network. 

6pm 

Hometime! It’s been a remarkably busy day, but also an extremely successful day. Time to go home, put your feet up, relax and get ready for another day tomorrow. Once you arrive home you have a sneaky look at your emails – one of your key clients has sent you over a requirement that needs full focus – That's your day sorted for tomorrow! 

So, there you have it, a day in the life of a recruiter. Long days with so much work and dedication going into providing great service to candidates and clients alike. Ensuring the candidate is happy and right for the role, then making sure the client receives the best possible candidates for their requirements. 

Hopefully, this has given you a bit of an insight into the world of recruitment and how much work goes into providing a great service.  

If you would like to see first-hand how a recruiter can help you find your next role, or if you are an organisation wanting to fill a role with the best candidate, contact Focus On ServiceNow today to see how we can help.