UK
Is recruitment consulting the most stressful job in the world?
7 August 2008
According to a study by the unlikely combination of Siemens and The Stroke Association, people who work in recruitment are particularly stressed – more so than lawyers, teachers, marketing professionals and bankers.
The study doesn’t explain the precise source of recruiters’ angst but, according to the recruiters we spoke to, it’s partly attributable to the pay structure.
“This is a sales job,” says one. “You’re working on commission so it’s bound to be stressful.”
“It’s no more stressful than being a trader,” says the head of another recruitment firm dismissively. “There’s stress with any well-remunerated City job.”
Phillip Hodson, a counsellor known for his work with disconsolate white-collar workers, doesn’t have too many recruitment consultants on his books, but says some of his best friends are recruiters: “Recruitment isn’t like selling a joint of lamb or two pounds of apples – you have to manage people, who are inherently unpredictable. It can be very hard to meet someone’s expectations of the perfect job.”
But rather than recruitment consultants, Hodson says it’s bankers who are currently queuing up for psychological modification.
“The whole world of investment banking and financial services is an emotional mess,” he muses. “Enquiries from bankers are up around 10% on last year. People are increasingly exploring the notion of getting out of the industry, but if you’re a 40-year-old investment banker on a six-figure package, switching to become a primary school teacher on £26k a year is a hard move to make.”
The key to success and weeding out the parasites is to work for a niche industry, market leader, who are small enough to keep it personal and big enough to have a real importance in the market they operate in. Our head office has 18 people in it and you can see who's crap and who's not - it's a very transparent environment... and YES... we can also see the difference we make in people's lives becauwse we work extremely closely with your candidates - it's a small market we operate in and EVERYONE knows EVERYONE! I have worked for both of the major players in 'mainstream' recruitment, one who I would term "the old boys network" and the other who is so heavily US regulated it makes it almost impossible to do your jobs properly for spreadsheets and reporting getting in the way....
Keep things simple... work with candidates you truly believe you can help... don't lie... be honest... only promise on what you genuinely CAN do... simple simple simple...(God it sounds so cliched)
I love my job... yes - it's diffciult and stressful at times but only cause I let it get to me... got to keep ahead of the game and work smart
Sarah 14 Aug 2008
RECOMMEND Recommended 0 times | Alert Moderator