I've got some interviews coming up. Just trying to determine if the lifestyle is what I want. I think for my current situation, it is. The alternative is to stay where I am and that is not optimal for my happiness.
What would you say are the top 3 good / bad things about the profession? It seems rather rewarding from what I can tell.
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Good luck with the interviews! My answers will be geared toward 3rd party recruiting, which is agency staffing/recruiting/headhunting.
Pros:
You can make a lot of money. Positions are typically commission based. If you are good, look for 100k+. If you are good and lucky, 250k+. If you meet expectations, you'll probably get 150% of median area pay rates. If you don't perform, you leave, place yourself into a job, go into internal recruiting, or get fired.
You get the chance to talk with a lot of people and get to know a market or industry pretty well. You will get to a point of knowing what is happening with companies or employees before anything is made public. The rumor mill runs strong. You may find out about upcoming layoffs or a large contract that is being signed. From a personnel perspective, you may be working with an executive that is confidentially looking to leave, or hiring a SVP without the current person knowing that their position is on the chopping block.
There is a sense of accomplishment with helping someone with their job search, or finding the perfect person to start working for one of your clients. For the most part, when you are working with someone, you have just found them a position that is better than their previous role. You may have shortened a commute, found someone a promotion, or moved someone to a flexible, work from home position. You will probably change someone's life at some point.
Cons:
This is sales. Every bit of it is sales. Selling your service to companies. Selling to people to convince them that they want to change jobs. Hell, just getting someone on the phone is difficult. This is a job that is heavy on cold calling and you should expect a lot of rejection, ghosting, no shows, and following bad leads. Your compensation is also based on your ability to sell. If you don't pick up the phone, don't network, or have a bad month, your salary will reflect this.
This is a cutthroat industry, you will get lied to constantly, and you have to be a psychologist. Your competitors/other firms will constantly try to take your business. They will undercut your bids, embellish their results, or spread rumors about your service. Employees that you are representing will lie to you. They will drag you through weeks of work for a client of yours, only to tell you, "thanks, but I only needed to get an offer so that I could get my current company to match or counter." Companies will lie to you, not pay you for your services, and blame you when things go wrong. You will get used to being the scapegoat. Companies will send you on wild goose chases just to benchmark you off of someone else or their own teams.
The internal politics can be horrendous. As I said above, this is sales. And some of your coworkers will do nothing but claim credit on your accounts, your recruits, and your efforts. You will get thrown under the bus by these people. Be weary and be careful who you trust. Most coworkers will be great to work with. But those few that are backstabbers can really burn you.