The early years of a recruiter can be a turbulent time. It can be a massive learning curve with lots to learn about your role while at the same time having to hit targets as you begin to carve out a career for yourself.
SThree works hard to give everyone the support they need but there’s plenty you can do for yourself as well, we asked Vince Siau, one of SThree’s most successful young recruiters in Brussels, to explain how he’s made such a successful start to his career and share tips on how to set yourself up for success.
What has kept you motivated in your job as a recruiter?
I believe there’s nothing more rewarding than finding the right job for the right person. My approach is simple, it’s about identifying and understanding my clients’ needs and appreciating my candidates’ skills and goals, then I put forward the candidates whose profile best matches the role. It sounds easy but there’s a lot of research, communication and meetings that go on behind the scenes.
I also love to learn so I enjoy the challenge of making sure that I’m a real expert in my industry and market. That is invaluable in helping my candidates reach their professional goals or business objectives. There’s always something new to learn and I’m developing constantly.
Personally I find targets to be a great motivator. I was recently promoted to Principal Recruitment Consultant and I’m very excited about this as it’s a reward for me hitting my targets. I’m good at setting myself ambitious career goals and following them through and I’m now trying to reach my car target and I’m aiming at becoming Perm Top Biller of the Europe region. I won one of the organization’s Rookie Awards last year and want to take it one step further.
What development opportunities do you see in your job?
I honestly see the career options as limitless at SThree. I’ve already made good progress and taken advantage of the opportunities available to me. My job really changed when I switched from business development to managing key accounts that need your services on a regular basis.
This kind of flexibility gives you the chance to develop new and more consultative skills. It also feels really rewarding to be training new people and take on new exciting responsibilities.
What support do you get from SThree?
Obviously there’s the training when you first start your role but once that’s over you get all the tools you need to succeed in our job. I find the IT systems are very efficient and easy to use. I’m looking forward to taking advantage of some of the other schemes that are available in the future such as the Mentoring Programme.
For me the way SThree is set up works very well, we benefit from a very transparent promotion structure and clear commission scheme. There are great financial incentives such as a car target that is achievable after only 6 months with the business. We’re also supported outside of work with benefits such as health insurance.
What do you expect from the 2016 Recruitment market?
The market has really been picking up lately and we’ve noticed that it has become more candidate centric. That’s why I’m focusing on giving my candidates and clients the best service I can. The market is competitive and this is where the technical support we receive at SThree with the commitment to provide us recruiters with the latest technologies and systems (speed, less admin, efficiency) give us a competitive edge in the market.
As the market changes it’s really important to be able to follow it and that’s another areas where SThree scores highly for me as we have the autonomy to take the direction we want. We can build our own business and focus on the markets that suit us best.
What advice would you give to someone who’s new to recruitment?
The main tip I would give to career starters is to focus on the right clients and candidates and provide a first class service; the rest will follow with time and more experience. Additionally, every time you have a challenge learn from it and change your working style to make sure you can deal with it in the future, keep going, pick up the phone and take things that might have gone wrong as a chance to improve.
A big thanks to Vince for taking the time to speak to us and sharing his insight on how to create a great career in recruitment.
If you’ve been inspired by what you’ve read and think you have the characteristics to succeed at SThree, then get in touch with our Talent Acquisition Team or browse our most recent jobs in Belgium.