#12: Why I’m not a recruiter anymore

Sep 29, 2023

When I was in school, I never guessed that I would become a recruiter.

I hardly ever saw any Asian female recruiters at career fairs, after all.

And yet, my first two jobs after college were in recruiting.

It’s interesting how your preferences and passions can end up leading you to something unexpected.

Now, even though I’m no longer a recruiter, I still work very closely with them and use my experience as a recruiter everyday.

The part that I miss the most was the satisfaction of delivering the good news of a job offer to a student and hearing their excited reaction.

But being a recruiter isn’t for everyone, and I knew that I wouldn’t do it long-term.

I definitely liked it, but there were a few things about the job that I knew weren’t the best fit for me.

I even distinctly remember a VP of Talent Acquisition telling me something interesting during a coffee chat.

We were talking about personalities, specifically the DiSC assessment, which is commonly taken in corporate trainings.

He said that the best recruiters scored high on the D of DiSC.

My heart dropped because I had just taken the test and it showed that I was a low D.

“Your low D is concerning for recruiting,” he said, as he looked over my results.

After that conversation, I continued working in recruiting for less than a year, but then ended up transitioning into a different field.

Looking back, here’s my breakdown of what I liked and didn’t like about being a recruiter:

✅ THE PRO’S OF BEING A RECRUITER:

It’s very rewarding: Giving someone a JOB that could literally change their LIFE and CAREER is an incredible feeling.
It’s fast-paced: The faster you are as a recruiter, the better at your job you’ll be. I liked working fast and being rewarded for it 😆
It’s task-oriented: You get immediate gratification after filling each role.
You get to listen to people’s stories: I enjoy asking questions, and I enjoy listening. Hearing candidates’ stories is a fun experience.
It’s fun to be a decisionmaker and evaluator: I did make the decisions on whether or not a candidate passed the phone screen.
There is good earning potential: Did you know that some recruiters at FAANG companies make over $150,000? It’ll take some time but it’s 100% possible to make good money if you’re good at recruiting. Plus, you don’t need technical skills to become a recruiter!

There are a ton of meetings: I would have 4-5 phone screens a day, on top of 1-3 meetings that I would have with my team. My calendar was always full.
You’ll be talking a lot: It’s true that plenty of my recruiter friends are introverted, but it definitely makes it easier to be a recruiter if you’re extroverted.
It’s a rollercoaster of emotions: As a recruiter, I had to get used to rejection quick. I would feel sullen when candidates rejected or reneged offers, but I would feel ecstatic when candidates accepted offers. The high’s are high and the low’s are low, but oftentimes the result is not in your control.
It can be monotonous: Because the job is so task-oriented, it can get pretty repetitive. The only variation is if you recruit for different types of roles. I would always have projects on the side which helped me stay engaged.
Too many messages on LinkedIn: Being a recruiter puts a target on your back for candidates. I don’t miss the avalanche of unsolicited messages on LinkedIn from candidates asking me to help them find a job (that’s YOUR job, not mine 😖).
Recruiting is an unstable market: Recruiters might be hot in demand one year and then experience waves of layoffs the next year. It’s a strange industry to be in.

Based on these thoughts I’ve shared, would you ever consider becoming a recruiter?

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Until next time, stay healthy, wealthy, and wise!

Sincerely,

Sarena

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