Considering a career in recruitment sales? Four members of our recruitment sales team share their experiences in the sector:
- JM – Joe Moore, Sales Executive (Bulletin, Midwives, Community Practitioner and Mental Health Nursing)
- EN – Emmanuel Nettey, Senior Sales Executive (Public Finance, The Actuary and Podiatry Now)
- KE – Katy Eggleton, Senior Sales Executive (The Planner and The Environmentalist)
- EP – Emma Phillips, Recruitment Sales Manager (responsible for the day to day running of a team of 11, including junior and senior sales executives and sales administrators).
Q1: What’s a typical day like for you?
JM: The first thing I do when I come into the office is sort through my emails. Then I get straight on the phone to clients and pitch. I also email proposals and chase-up potential leads based on their urgency to advertise and the magazine deadlines.
EN: I normally spend the first half an hour or so on admin tasks (e.g. making bookings, proposals etc), then I spend the rest of the morning making outbound calls. After lunch, I have telephone meetings with current advertisers to see how their campaigns are running and book external meetings with existing and potential clients.
KE: A typical day includes making outgoing calls to potential advertisers. I also deal with incoming calls and emails. As a senior member of the team, I give advice and support as needed to ensure our targets are met.
EP: A typical day managing the recruitment sales team usually starts with revenue updates, for both individual members and the team as a whole. I then set out our plans and targets for the day. The things that make up most of my time include dealing with our institute and membership clients, selling to direct employers and recruitment consultancies, running reports, organising everybody and drinking copious amounts of coffee – I’d be a bit lost without caffeine and a couple of spreadsheets!
Q2: Why did you choose a career in recruitment sales?
JM: Initially, I wanted to be in display sales. I was not actively seeking out recruitment selling as it’s a very hard market, but I’ve made the best of it and have surprised myself with how well I’ve done.
EN: My first media sales job was selling classified ads on a horticultural magazine. When the magazine was sold to another company, I was transferred and offered a job in the recruitment sales team.
KE: As with most sales people I fell into this job by accident, and then found out that I enjoyed it and was quite good at it.
EP: I fell into recruitment sales whilst looking for a job after finishing my degree in English & Linguistics. I’ve worked in recruitment sales for over 6 years now and I can’t imagine doing anything different.
Q3: What’s your favourite part of the job?
JM: Going out to exhibitions and shows – I love networking!
EN: The people – both my clients and my work colleagues.
KE: The best part of the job is working with companies on campaigns.
EP: The variety we face each day, both in terms of the eclectic mix of characters on my team and the wide scope of titles and sectors which we work on.
Q4: What’s your least favourite part of the job?
JM: Having to get up at 6.30am! Although that’s my own fault, it takes time to get ready. *Chuckles*
EN: Dealing with client issues for production and accounts.
KE: The worst part is when campaigns are not successful and you have to speak to the advertiser about why.
EP: When members of my team don’t hit their target, especially when I know how hard they all work to get there.
Q5: What expectations did you have of the job before you started and how have these changed?
JM: I expected to be out of the office a lot more, attending shows and exhibits. I prefer to have face-to-face meetings, unless of course it’s more cost effective to communicate via email/phone.
EN: When I first started, I thought I’d just be selling over the phone, but now I have to be more knowledgeable of marketing and communications, especially when working with editorial and presenting to clients.
KE: I didn’t really think too much about recruitment advertising before I was working on a recruitment team. I expected it to be hard but fun at the same time. I never expected it to be as busy as it can be especially towards a deadline.
EP: Moving to Redactive meant a step into the unknown in many ways – it was my first official team management role and my first foray into print. Selling print solutions and managing a team now feels like second nature, and is something I truly enjoy. I’m sure the team would have something to say about my expectations – they’re certainly high, but more often than not achieved!
Q6: What advice would you give to someone thinking about a career in recruitment sales?
JM: It’s tough, however, if you have the drive, determination and passion for what you’re selling and the clients that you’re representing then it is great fun. I have gotten to know my products and markets over the last 8 months and I have developed a good relationship with regular advertisers. If you can do that, you have cracked it!
EN: If you are willing to work hard and enjoy working with people, this is the job for you.
KE: Whether you are looking for a career in recruitment sales or media sales as a whole you need to enjoy talking to people and helping them find solutions to their advertising needs. The rest will fall into place.
EP: The best piece of advice I’ve ever been given about my career in recruitment sales is that recruitment advertising would be nothing without the candidates, and this is something I always keep in mind when I’m selling to clients. If you enjoy a fun, challenging and ever-changing environment to work in (and aren’t afraid of hard work!) then recruitment sales is definitely the right choice for you.