Recruitment. Consultant.
Developing your most valuable skills
If you want to really increase your value, you need to focus on the ‘consultant’ part of being a recruitment consultant.
The more consultative you are, the more your clients will treat you as an expert partner. You are more likely to get exclusive and retained business. And yes, your fees will increase.
In short, it pays to be a good consultant.
Here’s a useful exercise: estimate the amount you invest in personal development for the two sides of your role, recruiter vs consultant.
On the recruiter side, you might watch videos on Boolean search, read newsletters on candidate experience, and listen to podcasts about top billers.
And by the way, anything that is pitched as making you a more consultative recruiter still counts for the recruitment side of your role.
If you want to become a great consultant, don’t limit yourself to learning from the recruitment industry. I believe great recruiters can be as valuable as lawyers and management consultants… so let’s learn from them.
Here’s one example. In his book Million Dollar Consulting, Alan Weiss offers advice on everything from how to have difficult conversations with clients, to when you should discuss follow-up services.
If you can learn these techniques and then apply them to your work, you’ll become a true recruitment consultant.
As you develop your skills as a consultant, you’ll become worth more to your clients. Which means you’re ready to charge higher fees. And when you’re ready to do that, drop me a line.
Jon
P.S. Knowing how to act like a high-value consultant is critical to defining your worth.
Learning from experts will give you the confidence that you’re doing it right… and clients respond to your confidence by trusting you more.
As you develop your skills as a consultant, you’ll become worth more to your clients. Which means you’re ready to charge higher fees. And when you’re ready to do that, drop me a line.