Mastering a Career in Recruitment: A Guide to Success

Our Top Tips for Kickstarting Your Recruitment Career

Recruitment is a dynamic and rewarding profession that demands a unique blend of skills, strategic thinking, and industry expertise.

Tom Harris, one of our senior consultants, has achieved remarkable success in his first year. Last year, he broke the record for our best first-year performance. Having built a thriving desk, earned two promotions, and formed valuable connections, we asked Tom to share his top tips for laying a solid foundation in recruitment.

1. Have a Passion for Your Market

Tom specialises in recruiting within the agricultural technology industry. His strong passion for the market has allowed him to build meaningful connections with clients.

Being passionate will help you:

• Become an industry expert.
• Cultivate authentic and meaningful relationships with clients and candidates.
• Love the work you do!

Tom says: "Having a genuine passion for my market has allowed me to develop my knowledge through curiosity. Additionally, it enables me to genuinely love what I do, and that positivity rubs off on my candidates and clients."

2. Become an Expert in Your Industry

Recruitment is not just about filling roles—it’s about adding value. By specialising in a market, Tom has worked on building trust in the industry.

Here are some ways to build expertise:

• Stay informed about industry news, trends and challenges.
• Engage with thought leaders and attend industry events.
• Speak with professionals in your field as much as possible; having industry-based discussions helps you to gain new perspectives.

3. Build and Maintain a Strong Network

Your success in recruitment depends on the relationships you build. A strong network allows you to:

• Gain access to exceptional talent your clients could otherwise not source.
• Increase your credibility in the market.
• Generate referrals and new and repeat business.

Actively engage with both clients and candidates and cultivate long-lasting relationships.

4. Focus on Client Retention & Utilisation

You can build a thriving desk from 3-4 clients, so ensure you take care of your client base and current projects as a priority, as well as prospecting and new business development.

5. Commit to Learning & Development

Prioritising learning and development is essential to develop quickly within recruitment. You can do this by:

• Cultivating a growth mindset.
• Investing in professional development through workshops and training.
• Have regular check-ins with your manager.
• Observe your colleagues and adopt their best practices.
• Ask proactive questions to accelerate your growth.

Tom says: "Being willing to learn and observing those around me was brilliant for my development. At MBI, we have incredible leadership through our business directors and L&D team. Utilising these resources allowed me to develop quickly, to which I credit my performance. I prioritise development—I think a growth mindset is essential!"

6. Have Faith in Your Ideas

It can be hard to build the confidence to try new things. However, thinking outside the box is what leads to success.

Tom says: " In my first year, I made some of my innovations to some of MBI’s processes and trusted my ideas. Some worked, some didn’t, but I learned a lot. In some cases, I had incredible success by going against the grain. It’s a fine line, but I’d always encourage people to approach recruitment on their terms and implement their ideas – this is how you create new results."

7. Stay Organised

Recruitment is fast-paced, often requiring you to juggle multiple roles, clients, and candidates at once. Without proper organisation, things can quickly spiral out of control.

Tom’s top organisation tips:

• Keep a role tracker to manage your job pipeline.
• Prioritise your time effectively.
• Set clear daily and weekly goals, and stay on top of tasks.

8. Prioritise Well-Being

Recruitment is a high-energy, demanding profession. Focus on mental well-being in the workplace to ensure you can continue to perform.

To assist well-being, MBI provides:

• 1.5h lunch if you go to the gym.
• Monthly team activities.
• Access to counselling, coaching and mental health tools.
• Monthly gym credits.
• Regular workshops.

Tom says: “I always utilise the 1.5h wellbeing lunch to use the gym. This breaks up the day and keeps my mind fresh for the afternoon. MBI are flexible and actively prioritise my wellbeing, which has helped my professional and personal life.”