Resilience and Risk-Taking in Recruitment

Phili Alexander September 13, 2023 Recruitment

We recently sat down with Will Pearce in our ‘Pint With Paiger’ podcast. In the episode, we chatted about his recruitment career. Starting as a receptionist, it wasn’t long before he became a recruiter. After climbing the ladder, he became the founder and director of Orange Recruitment.

Through this journey, he learnt a lot. Read on for some advice from Will on all things recruitment.

Resilience is key in recruitment

Will’s career began unexpectedly when worked as a receptionist at a recruitment company. Soon after, he joined their trainee program to become a recruiter. He specialised in building services and engineering.

But, Life threw him a curveball when his family home burned down in a fire, which led him to move to Dorset. This created a personal connection to fire safety engineering, a sector he worked in. He grew a passion for making a difference by placing good people in this field.

He soon worked for a regional recruitment company, focusing on industrial temporary placements. This phase of his career required immense hard work. He’d often receive urgent calls on a Friday, requesting large numbers of temporary workers by Monday. He would spend evenings contacting potential candidates and be on-site overseeing the process. Despite the challenges, Will persevered. He eventually achieved success in this role, learning valuable lessons along the way.

Recruitment requires constant perseverance and the ability to bounce back from setbacks. Recruiters often face rejection from clients and candidates. They encounter difficult market conditions and deal with the pressure of meeting targets and deadlines. Without resilience, it can be easy to become discouraged and give up. However, those who have resilience are better equipped to handle these challenges. Learning from their experiences, and adapting their strategies, results in success.

Take risks

Will decided to quit his job and travel for six months before starting his own business. He needed courage and took a huge leap of faith. Despite the risks involved, Will’s belief in his abilities and the support of his friends gave him the final push to pursue his dream.

Taking risks is an essential aspect of personal and professional growth. They step out of their comfort zones, challenge themselves, and explore new opportunities. Will’s decision to leave a stable job and start his own company was a risk. Especially considering he had a six-month-old son to support. But, without taking risks, we would never experience the rewards that come with them.

Activity leads to motivation

By taking action and being proactive, individuals can generate motivation. They can then use this motivation to drive their personal and professional lives.

Simply starting to do things and engage in activity can lead to motivation. Some say motivation should precede action – but perhaps it is actually the other way around.

A great example is the act of making your bed in the morning. We can feel a sense of achievement and readiness to tackle the task of making the bed for the day. This simple action sets the tone for productivity and motivation throughout the day.

Bringing this back to personal branding and marketing in the recruitment industry. If you stay active, you will see results, which will motivate you to continue being active.

Long-term relationships are crucial

It is crucial to build and nurture relationships with both clients and candidates. Relationships are not just about immediate gains or making money in the present. Rather, it is about investing in the future.

Will recommends engaging in activities that may not yield immediate financial benefits. For example, he will speak to students at universities. He does this because he enjoys it and wants to give back. By investing his time in this, he is laying the foundation for potential future relationships. The students might remember him and reach out to him for job opportunities in the future.

This long-term perspective is crucial in the recruitment industry. Focus on building trust and rapport with clients and candidates, rather than solely focusing on short-term wins and quick fees. By investing time and effort into understanding the needs and aspirations of both parties, you can create a full picture of what they are looking for.

If any of these topics resonate with you, you can watch the full episode below. Hear more about Will’s career and everything he has learned along the way.

If you would like to follow Will’s journey, connect with him on LinkedIn.