Careers In Retirement: Few Match the Rewards of Executive Recruiting!

If you’re ready to retire (or newly retired) and have been thinking about full or part-time work, recruiting may deliver the challenge, income, and excitement you’re after. As a recruiter with experience in a specific area you have established contacts. Recently I wrote a post on a blossoming recruiting niche: The SME. SME is the acronym for Subject Matter Expert. About 10,000 people a day are retiring. Business and industry need you!

Recruiting is a sales position. We find the exact candidate our client (who pays our fee) requires. Sound simple but it’s easy to get off track and lose a deal if you don’t know the recruiting process. The great thing about headhunting is it’s a soft sell. We’re matchmakers. We ask questions to determine what our client needs and wants in a candidate. Next, then over the course of screening 10 – 15 candidates we find a good match.

We schedule interviews, de-brief all parties after the interview, prepare candidates for an offer, acceptance and walk them through their resignation. When they start their new position is when we invoice our client and get paid for our efforts.

There are several traits that make good recruiters. The ability to work on commission is one. Other signs a person may be a good recruiter is they are methodical and willing to follow the recruitment process. We are consultants. Successful recruiters are selective about the candidates and employers with whom they choose to work. The ability to ask questions and dismiss, in a kind manner, those who don’t meet our criteria is essential to making consistent placements.

Some in-house recruiters never reach out to candidates over the phone. They use social networking sites and want ads to generate traffic flow of incoming candidates. The problem with this approach is 80% of the population is not looking for a job as they are employed. The ability to truly ‘Headhunt’ incorporates the ability to pick up the phone and make direct contact with candidates.

Fortunately there are recruiter-training programs that spell out exactly what to say and how recruitment conversations will unfold. Training prevents painful mistakes (and new recruiters still make their fair share!) and enables one to sound like a pro.

Per the US Department of Labor Statistics, executive recruiters earn, on average $130,000. A year. If one prefers not to work from home there are contract positions, search firms and agencies everywhere. Recruiters can work in teams and split responsibilities and fees.

Recruiting can be stressful. The best way to manage stress is to build a pipeline of deals. When recruiters focus on send-outs (scheduling interviews) and not put all their hopes on one big deal, placements will be made on a consistent basis. A great thing about recruiting is the better one is, the less they talk. Great recruiters become adept at listening and asking questions. Questions are how we manage the process.

As consultants, we speak up and change minds by asking questions. If you’re familiar with the Socratic method, you’ll catch on fast. Recruiting is an art. It is intellectually challenging, stimulating, frustrating, exciting, fun, maddening, and mundane. We help companies and people. Clients and candidates often will remember you for years.

Use your experience and talents acquired over decades to create a life/work balance in retirement. Few retirement jobs deliver the benefits and pay potential executive recruiting offers. Get some recruiter training, assess your abilities and desires, and get to work!

by Kimberly Schenk, Author of the 'Top Recruiter Secrets' eBook, Headhunter, and Recruiter Coach.