3 Recruitment Habits to Build for a Record-Breaking Year

Habits. We all have them! Whether it’s the same breakfast we have every morning or a certain route we take when going to and from work, habits are a huge part of our everyday lives.

Building a new habit can take anything from 18 to 254 days, with the average person taking around 66 days. There are obviously other factors that can impact this, but generally, it shouldn’t take too long to make something a part of your daily routine.

Recruitment is a very habit-focused role, whether you like to admit it or not, and great recruiters are disciplined to ensure that their day-to-day becomes habitual and focused to generate incredible results.

2025 has started off with a massive bang, and in the spirit of keeping the good vibes going - we’re going to give you three recruitment habits that YOU need to build for a record-breaking year.

#1 Business Development every single day

So many recruiters don’t enjoy business development, especially in the early days when you’re building a desk. 

You may think this sounds like a generalisation, but it’s the #1 topic we speak about the most here at Limitless Learning because people are so focused on getting better at it. 

If you want to have a record-breaking year, you MUST be doing Business Development every single day.

Whether that is allocating a 2-hour slot into your morning or afternoon, or giving yourself a set amount of targeted calls that you need to do, integrating BD into your daily actions will do three key things:

• It will become a part of your routine, a HABIT not a CHORE

• It will force you to become better at it because you know it’s a non-negotiable every single day

• It will naturally broaden your network and your skills as a recruiter

Please don’t think we’re exaggerating when we say that it’s the #1 talked about topic. Everybody wants a slice of the BD pie, and everybody wants to know how to get better at it. Make it a habit!

#2 Database Hygiene

So many recruiters are operating with a cluttered database. Whether it’s scrambling to make an outreach list first thing in the morning or dialling through a list where numbers or e-mails don’t work, you’re reducing your success rate when you’re operating in a messy environment. 

Think about your database hygiene just like you would in your house. At the end of your day, would you leave the TV on, plates and cups everywhere, and forget to put food back in the fridge? 

The same goes for your database. Get into the habit of doing a ‘close down’ at the end of your day. 

• Which candidates need updated numbers and e-mails? 

• Do you have a targeted list that has already been created for your BD/Candidate session tomorrow?

• Are there things missing from certain profiles that need to be searched for?

We are lucky that many recruitment databases nowadays do the heavy lifting for us, but it’s also on us to ensure that we are keeping our main source of money (the database) neat, tidy, and clean.

If you do this every day, you’ll naturally set yourself up for the next one to be as successful as possible.

#3 Ask for referrals

Great candidates know great candidates. Great clients know great clients. 

In a world of LinkedIn and AI, it’s very easy to get lazy and rely on tools and technology to get you the answers you want. But, there are so many candidates that aren’t on LinkedIn. Aren’t on job boards. Aren’t accessible…unless you get a direct introduction to them!

When you’re asking for a referral, the worst thing you can do is get a “no, I don’t know anyone”. It’s probably the easiest question you can ask someone all day. 

Getting into the habit of asking for referrals and growing your network enables you to build a web of talent, that you may not use now, but may use in the future.

Go for the low-hanging fruit first, which would be speaking to placed candidates about who else they know. Then, work your way around from there!

So, there you have it. Three habits, all are pretty easy to implement, and all are guaranteed to get you on track for a record-breaking year.

P.S. Whenever you're ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

#1: Do you listen to my podcast? I release a weekly episode with either a top-performing recruiter or recruitment entrepreneur to find out how they achieved their success so you can learn directly from their journey Check out my latest episode and subscribe to the show.

#2: Promote your brand to over 5,109 recruitment professionals by sponsoring this newsletter (bookings available from Feb 2025).

#3: Want to improve your job-to-fill ratios and new client pipeline? Hector - Our online skills development platform, helps recruitment teams build BD strategies that drive results, enhance the quality of jobs won, and fill roles faster—without the need for costly external trainers >>>> Book A Free Skills Assessment Session With Me Here to see how we can help your team achieve these results too!