Your first months as a recruiter: from your first call block to your first deals.

On your first day, you don’t know the trade yet, and you don’t need to. What you should know is what those first months look like. Then you know what you’re working towards, and why it’s sometimes hard.

Two months of training in three parts

Recruitment has three parts: candidates, clients and the process from interview to first day. In your first two months, you learn them one by one. Each time, you first learn the theory, then apply it on the floor and get feedback from your manager. You repeat that until you can do it.

01Your first weeks: candidates

You start with candidates. You call through candidate lists, have your first introductory conversations and learn to gauge what someone really wants: their job, their salary, and why they’d move. After two to three weeks, you and your manager look at whether you’re ready for the next part.

02Then: clients

Next come the clients. You learn to find the decision-⁠maker, call a company with a strong candidate in hand and run an intake. Around week six to eight comes another evaluation: are you ready for the last part?

03The process up to day one, with your manager

In the last part, you bring candidates and clients together. You do every process one-⁠to-⁠one with your manager: the interviews, the follow-⁠up calls, the offer and the notice period. Together you see it through, until you can do it yourself.

Ernest, for whom the job was completely new when he started, was most surprised by this: “How well I was trained. That’s how I quickly found my way in a job that was completely unfamiliar to me.”

What your day looks like

Every morning, you sit down with your manager to plan your day: who you’re calling, which processes are running, and what to look out for. Then come your call blocks, feedback on your calls and a short wrap-⁠up at the end of the day.

It’s repetitive, and that’s deliberate: you practise one thing at a time, until you can do it. That’s exactly why you know around 80% of the job after two months, just when results are expected of you.

Next: your first four deals

After your training, you run your own deals, but you’re not on your own. Your manager still sits down with you every day: to plan your day, go through every process and make your calls better. After four deals, you become a consultant. By then you know the trade from A to Z, and you get your own market.

Even then, someone is always there for you. The more questions you ask, the more coaching you get.

Let’s not be naive about it

The first months are make or break. The theory is heavy going, the work is repetitive and the bar is high. There will be days when you have your doubts.

The first thing Maarten, a partner in Amsterdam, tells every starter is: “You don’t have to master everything straight away, as long as you have the drive to get better every day.”

And you’re not doing it for those first months. With us, a career unfolds in three steps: first you learn the trade, then you invest two to three years until you can do it with your eyes closed, and then you capitalise. You can do that as a partner with your own office or team, with a stake in what you build, or as an independent at Shortlist, where you keep up to 75% of what you bill. Your first months are the first step.

How to make it through

• Ask for feedback yourself. Let your manager listen in, especially on the calls that didn’t go the way you wanted.
• Call even on days you don’t feel like it. The people you call today are the ones you place in a few months’ time. You’ll find which numbers to track along the way in Three months without a placement.
• Note what works. An opening line that lands or a question that makes someone stop and think: write it down and use it again.
• Learn your market. Know the companies, the roles and what’s going on. Candidates and clients notice straight away whether you know what you’re talking about.
• Celebrate small wins. Your first candidate who’s open to a move, your first intake: share them with the floor. Every win counts.

Want to read ahead? You’ll find our training on the craft, from defending your fee to closing the offer, in Recruitment training: how a top biller works.

Keen to get started? Take a look at the sales consultant vacancies in construction, finance and engineering, or have a chat with us.

Frequently asked questions

How long is the training?

Two intensive months: first candidates, then clients, then the process up to day one. After that, your manager keeps coaching you, every day until your first four deals and then for as long as you ask questions.

When do you make your first placement?

After your training, you work on your own deals. As a trainee, you aim for four deals in your first six months.

What if you’re struggling?

Then your manager keeps a closer eye on you. Together you review your calls, your daily plan and what you still need to learn, and make clear agreements. That way you always know where you stand.

Do you get your own market straight away?

As soon as you’ve mastered the process from A to Z, you get your own market. Until then, you learn the trade on lists from a market that may not end up being yours.

You’ll find all the steps at a glance in our guide Becoming a recruiter in Belgium.