Making the move to management?
For some, it’s the most natural step – you delegate naturally, can empathise with others and ultimately were born to manage others.
For others, it seems the natural progression – but there’s something holding you back. In terms of a recruitment career, management is certainly a fantastic path to take; you gain responsibility, some more seniority within the business and perhaps best yet, you get to impart your worldly recruitment knowledge and help shape the careers of others.
It sounds bloody lovely, doesn’t it?
And it is – or, certainly can be. Management is challenging but fulfilling and adds a whole new dimension to the job you do on a daily basis. But it’s not for everyone, and there’s a lot more to it than you may think.
Beyond the inevitable pay rise, new job title and props from your co-workers, here are some things to consider, and challenges you may face which you haven’t yet thought of, when making the move into management:
Temper temper
It seems an obvious one but, is your temper in check?
Management techniques are important – how to teach without telling off, how to mould without meddling, how to get the best out of your employees without just creating a legion of robots… And, unfortunately, sometimes temper does get the better of a person (speaking from experience, not saying any names *cough*).
Are you certain that you can deal with the pressures of helping others to perform, whilst the outcome ultimately lies on your shoulders regardless? It comes down to patience – it’s not okay to lose your temper, unless maybe under very specific/dire circumstances, and even then, remember – you’re in the workplace. Before becoming a manager, you should be sure that you can manage a temper, won’t be prone to outbursts which might make the newbies cry and, basically, make you look like a dick.
You’ll just have to be honest with yourself on this one.
The sales buzz
Now, in a lot of cases, you’ll still be managing a personal billing target as well as overseeing that of your team, at least in the beginning – but here’s something to consider.
It takes a certain type of person to be a successful manager in this game and embracing the unselfish nature of the role is key. Whilst it never hurts to close a deal here and there, ‘show them how it’s done’ to a degree – you ultimately have to be willing and able give away those deals, instructing, directing and managing them to a close vicariously through your consultant. You may not get the immediate glory of the sale, but you will be able to simply relish in their success, knowing that you played an important part in achieving that.
Are you really ready to give up ringing that old sales bell?
Hiring
It can be an exciting prospect, being given free-rein to go and build your own little team of like-minded minions. However, this is a huge obstacle people come up against whilst starting out in management.
There’s a fine line between building a team, and building a friend group.
Being a manager is about making the right hires for your team and agency, not just hiring people you like or see a bit of yourself in (though not to say that it’s not always a bad thing). If, six months in, you and the team have had four epic nights out buttt no ones actually hit target yet, it’s time to have a think. When thinking about moving into management, make sure you’re serious about it and have the right goals in mind.
The right reasons
Recruitment is truly one of the most rewarding, progressive and ever-changing job capacities out there and, fundamentally, you need to make this decision for yourself – not because your own manager/director/peers are telling you to.
It might be that you’d make a great manager – sure, you possess the skills and right attitude, if not the experience.
But is it what you want?
Staying motivated in recruitment is an absolute must in order to be successful, both for yourself and on behalf of your clients – and there’s absolutely no shame in turning down the promotion in lieu of a path which you know you’d be more passionate about, whether that’s sticking to smashing pure business development, going down the Principal Consultant route, or otherwise.
A good manager believes in what they’re doing so, for the good of your own happiness and that of your hypothetical future team, make sure you’re becoming a manager for the right reasons, and not thanks to outside influences.
Just because you’d make a good manager, doesn’t mean you have to be one.
Ultimately, if you’re already working in recruitment, the short and short is that you’ll never be far from a new route to progression, promotion or sunnier climes; management (and good management at that) is an extremely important part of shaping a young recruiter’s career, so if you know you can do it, get involved; just make sure you’ve considered all angles before taking that leap.
Good Luck!
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