Do you like or love your job?

Job satisfaction is so important.

Not only does it enable us to feel fulfilled in our everyday lives, but it can inspire us and, in some cases, make us better as people.

We spend the majority of our lives at work, so liking your job is pretty important.

But, what if we told you that liking your job is way more important than loving your job (especially in recruitment)?

Let’s break it down.

In recruitment, especially the ‘old school’ firms who operate with infinite KPIs, toxic cultures, and unrealistic expectations, have unfortunately left a lasting impression on today’s firms and how recruiters should feel about their jobs.

In essence, consistency isn’t necessarily something that is rewarded. 

Instead, the extreme highs are recognised over the ‘steady cruisers’ who may still be top billers but aren’t producing crazy numbers once in a blue moon.

For example, a recruiter who bills 50k in a month but fails to bill the following two will (based on what we’ve heard) often be celebrated more than a recruiter who consistently bills 15-16k a month consecutively, despite their billings averaging out to be the same across the quarter. 

There are plenty of firms that don’t operate in this way.

But there is still a culture of rewarding high one-off performance instead of taking a leaf out of consistent billers' books. 

When you constantly reward one more favourably over the other, you create an environment whereby praise is only going to be given to those who chase that high and are then often cast to the side when they hit a low.

This creates a love-hate relationship with your job. 

Like anything with extreme highs and lows (your work, your friendships, your relationships, your finances), it breeds toxicity and eventually leads to emotional and/or physical burnout. 

You slowly start to work more hours, you struggle to bill consistently, and the journey to success becomes a toxic love that takes over your life!

This may sound dramatic, but I know for a lot of recruiters, this will be a current reality for them or something that they may have experienced in the past. 

I have heard too many stories of people who reach their ‘peak’ in recruitment and are so burned out that their love for the job turns into hate, and they eventually quit or let go.

Nowadays, I think agencies operate in a much more wholesome way. 

They are more focused on creating consistency for recruiters and teaching them that you can still be an incredible biller without a toxic working model or being addicted to your job.

The best recruiters - and you may argue with me on this - are the ones who can consistently bill all year round. 

These consultants, even if their billings aren’t mind-blowing, have achieved being able to generate business for themselves successfully every single month. 

Sure, it may not be your biggest biller - but these people often slip under the radar as ‘average’ or ‘not working hard enough’ even though they have better consistency and better client relationships than your biller who had a 150k quarter. 

He hasn’t done anything since.…

I believe four key things contribute to what I like to call ‘silent successful consultants.’

1. They’ve created habits that are sustainable for them AND generate results consistently. 

Your biller, who is consistent on a monthly basis has already created habits that have built strong foundations for them to work from. 

These foundations have guaranteed them results every single month, regardless of how much £ it is, these habits are working, and they should be noticed.

2. They’ve invested in the quality of their work first.

Recruiters who chase a high of the biggest placement or numbers that are egotistical, I can guarantee, aren’t primarily driven by the quality of their work first.

 Silent successful consultants would instead bill consecutively over a quarter and build a great client instead of having a monster month and having their billings fall off a cliff for the rest of the quarter. 

They value quality over quantity.

3. They’ve removed themselves from chasing the highs and have a better work-life balance for the majority of the time.

If you sit and think about who your silent successful consultants are, are they the first in and last out, or have they created a working model that works for them? I can guarantee the latter. 

Of course, you'll naturally be working longer hours in the first year or 18 months of recruitment. 

Silent successful consultants are very quick to create a working model that enables them to enjoy their life outside of work instead of chasing the high that comes with unpredictable (but high value) placements.

It’s also important to note that you won’t have perfect work-life balance all of the time, because let’s be honest - who does? However, silent successful consultants have this for the majority of the time, which is the key. This is because, over the long run, they have figured out what works for them over the long run to get consistent results.

4. They like their job, but they don’t love their job.

The key is that these consultants enjoy their job. They like it; it fulfils them, but it isn’t their source of emotional happiness. 

You’ll notice that silent, successful consultants have created peace instead of fiery passion in their jobs as recruiters. 

Stability is something we are so quick to shy away from in the crazy world of recruitment. 

We chase chaos and numbers and status and success, but at what cost? 

The modern recruiter is balanced. 

They like their job, show up, and do their best, but they also focus on creating balance and consistency so they can show up in other aspects of their lives.

No one is going to like OR love their job 24 hours a day. I guess the point I’m trying to make is that you’re not living and breathing it 24/7, it’s not your identity, so when you struggle you don’t associate it as the core source of failure.

I want this edition to be some food for thought: Are you someone who likes their job? Or, are you someone who loves their job? 

If you’re the latter, think about why you’re struggling to create balance in your career as a recruiter and what you can do to change it. 

Creating habits and investing in the quality of your work incrementally instead of just striving to be the ‘biggest biller’ or the ‘best salesperson’ will actually give you longevity and enable you to build a much more lucrative career instead of chasing the highs that recruitment can offer you.

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

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