Do you know what jobs to work and why?

Picking up a role from a client is one of the best feelings as a recruiter. Whether you’ve got your first role from a relationship you’ve been building for a while, or you already have an established partnership with a client, you should always go through a thorough review process to ensure that you are working the right jobs.

We recently ran a session on this with Ben Muwoki, who highlighted the importance of not just having a vertical to become more streamlined with your business development, but also using a framework to score your jobs and prioritise the ones that are realistic for your desk.

It can be easy to fall into the trap of assuming that every job is important, especially as clients will naturally want you to prioritise their job (even if they’ve given you sub-standard information).

The trick is to take a step back and use the information they’ve given you to ascertain whether their evidence matches up to how urgent the job is!

We’ve outlined two basic frameworks that you can use depending on whether you have a contract or perm desk, which will allow you to start ranking your jobs and deciphering how to get the most out of your clients.

Permanent:

Contract:

You can see that the frameworks will allow you to clearly rank where your jobs sit; however, you need to ensure that you’re asking yourself the right questions so you can successfully organise them.

We’ve created a list of preliminary questions that you can ask yourself to decipher how fillable a role is, creating an “FRS”, also known as a fillable rating score. The goal is to receive a “yes” for each question, and the more “yes’s” you get, the higher they will rank.

We have included both a permanent version (7 questions) and a contract version (9 questions).

You’ll see that these questions also have a direct relation to how you qualify the role with a client, thus keeping you accountable to ensure that you’re asking the correct questions and not missing out key information!

Permanent:

1. Do I have these types of people in my network today? [YES/NO]

2. Is the salary/day rate realistic? [YES/NO]

3. Where is this position based, fully remote? Obscure area? Hybrid? Is this working model something candidates want? [YES/NO]

4. Is the client's reputation in the market a positive one? [YES/NO]

5. Do they stand out against their competitors? [YES/NO]

6. Is the Interview process a good number of steps? [YES/NO]

7. Is their Benefits Package competitive/unique in the market? [YES/NO]

Contract:

1. Do I have these types of people in my network today? [YES/NO]

2. Is the salary/day rate realistic? [YES/NO]

3. Do I know if they are considering a permanent option too? [YES/N

4. Do I know if this is inside/outside of IR35? [YES/NO]

5. Where is this position based, fully remote? Obscure area? Hybrid? Is this working model something candidates want? [YES/NO]

6. Is the client's reputation in the market a positive one? [YES/NO]

7. Do they stand out against their competitors? [YES/NO]

8. Is the Interview process a good number of steps? [YES/NO]

9. Is their Benefits Package competitive/unique in the market? [YES/NO]

What are the benefits of creating a tiered system?

• You will feel more in control and have complete clarity on what you should and shouldn’t be working on

• You can manage candidate expectations better and avoid disappointment

• You can see which clients you need to work on harder - whether that’s getting terms signed or qualifying a job better

• You will be able to see patterns with clients, and consult them on how to give you better information, so you can make their roles a priority

How can you get clients to commit? 

In his session, Ben explained that if you are unable to get commitment (from a permanent perspective) for a retainer, or an exclusive role (from a contract perspective) then a small alarm bell should ring.

The lower the client gets down on the scoring system, the less of a priority the job is for them, and the less of a priority the job is for you.

This doesn't imply that you should write off a client if they are unable to give you all the information, instead, you need to highlight to them why you need the information to make their role a priority.

If a retainer is out of the question, can they commit there and then to exclusivity, interview slots, and terms? These are all questions that must be asked before you proceed, also known as a Service Level Agreement.

A service-level agreement is exactly that - consent between you and the client on how the process is going to go, and set slots for interviews and feedback to ensure a smooth process.

Exclusivity means nothing until you have a process mapped out and booked in the relevant diaries, so keep this front of mind when you are trying to lock in an  SLA.

In conclusion, creating a tiered system and rigorous qualification process will only benefit you in the future.

Not only does it allow you to develop your business development skills, but it enables you to filter out the clients who may be paying you lip service, and instead, focus on clients that you can form a true partnership with.

Here is a Service Level Agreement template that you can use to shape your own.

Focus on prioritising clients who prioritise you!

We continue to hear how buoyant the market is across multiple sectors, and now is the time to act and sharpen up your skills.

The best recruiters right now will be spending their time in the places that will warrant the best possible return. This will all likely start with the client you're supporting and the jobs your working on.

Get this part right, and you should be absolutely flying.