As all Recruiters know, this job isn’t easy and comes with demands from many angles. Your customers (‘clients’ and ‘candidates’ in old school speak) and, of course, the demands of your companies managers. This really does tend to be a ‘top-down’ industry where the demands of your managers (whether you are an internal or external Recruiter) affect you. The market conditions will also have an effect of course.
If you are an internal Recruiter the amount of days a job is open is often a metric used to measure your performance. In external / agency recruitment it will often be in terms of revenue.
There is a horrible term in this industry still being used today by many: “you are only as good as your last month / quarter”. I am an external Recruiter so I have heard this a lot. I also know that similar things are said in internal recruitment.
So let’s assume I had a good quarter followed by a not so good quarter and then and even worse quarter. Does that mean that, well after a decade of doing this job in the same market, that I can’t do it anymore? I have ‘lost it’? No, of course not.
Let’s go back a bit. Recruitment definitely isn’t for everyone and many are just not prepared for the initial steep learning curve. Lots of rookies just don’t like it. I have not heard of any recruitment sector that doesn’t have this steep curve (if you have then please let me know!). Nonetheless, if you get over the steep learning curve and learn the skills required to be a good Recruiter and enjoy the job, this can be a great career if you choose the right path and the right people to work with.
If I am being completely honest, I have probably met an absolute maximum of 10 recruitment managers (out of 100’s), who I would ever discuss a mental health issue with. It’s just not done in many companies. Some companies will listen and then quietly ‘sweep it under the carpet’ and, at worst, some will openly shame you and tell you that you haven’t got what it takes anymore. There are others, like GxPeople Global who treat mental illness the same as physical illness. There are not enough companies thinking like this at all though.
As we come towards World Mental Health Day on Sunday October 10th can we, as Recruiters, think just for a few minutes, about the HUMAN BEINGS we work with. That person who has gone quiet for a while and normally isn’t, the one who seems unusually nervous, the one who has had some bad quarters when they normally don’t. Unless you are genuinely best friends and share everything with each other, you do not know for sure what that person has happening in that wonderfully powerful computer called a brain.
The brain is a wonderful thing. It allows us to experience all the positives the world and beyond can offer yet can also disable you completely with no physical symptoms. If you broke your leg many people would sign the plaster of Paris cast. It’s not the same with mental illness at all. It often comes with stigma and discrimination.
According to the UK NHS, 1 in 4 people will suffer from a mental health issue EACH YEAR! (COVID era data not included; the avalanche approaches). Long term / life time conditions are also on the rise.
So what is the point of writing this when I have some recruiting to do?
I would like to say to any of my Recruiter industry colleagues who are suffering with any mental illness and keeping quiet about it to JUST STOP. The job that has been open too many days, that candidate not taking the offer (and anything else we deal with in this industry) is not worth you suffering. If you are not in a company that you feel you could talk to your manager about this then leave that company.
Great news! The industry is crying out for good Recruiters right now! (internal and external).
We all have the right to expect from our managers and employers:
- To treat mental health the same way as physical health.
- Normalise conversations about mental health.
- Offer quick support based on a clear and compassionate company policy.
- Tackle the causes of stress and mental health problems (such as unrealistic targets and crazy working hours).
Please refer to these sites for more information and support:
World Mental Health official website