Most sales jobs, and recruitment is no different, are very much about the art of making the impossible look easy. Swans, ducks and icebergs come to mind. That's why people pay our bills when hundreds of man-hours, behind the scenes, miraculously produce the right candidate at the right price, writes Clive Jefferys, JMA Network.
However, there are far too many employers out there that persist with the notion that recruitment agencies have a stockroom of candidates in some kind of cryogenic stasis, ready for their call. These are the companies that ask us to do on-the-spot recruitment, without any warning.
Inevitably, this means making the best of who is available just at that moment, but not necessarily the best person for the job. This is particularly prevalent among companies that want to hire a lot of sales people at one time, with a kind of built-in 'survival of the fittest' attitude to success rates. Another adage about buying in haste comes to mind too.
Well that kind of works, but it's not the best way to recruit key skills in a consistent, successful manner.
The other kind of client, the ones we have greatest success with, are those that realise they must always be on the look-out for talent. These companies make a point of explaining what they need and ask us to keep a watching brief.
Over the space of months, even years, we can do what we do best and keep surveying the market and our black-book. We only introduce people when the time is right for them and us.
The correct analogy for a good recruitment agency is set in a busy mainline railway station.
We develop a perfect knowledge of the timetable for arrivals, departures and delays and keep a vigil on the thousands of people crossing the concourse. We make it our business to know who is coming in today on long distance journeys and meet them at the ticket gates. We can show them a better way to get to their ultimate destination.
The worst recruiters don't have such a plan - they have to rely on quantity alone. They are easy to spot - they just wander around with a huge sign on their back saying 'stop Me and Buy One!'. Now, they really are trying to pull a rabbit out of a hat!
The coming year will be key for the UK economy as we pull out of a truly awful recession.
So the moral of the story is that when it comes to your staff needs - get looking now and keep on looking. Be ready to act promptly when the right person comes along!