How to Succeed as a Recruiter: Lessons from Preston

Introduction

• Preston: 8 years in recruitment, 7 figures worth of placements
• Purpose: Share lessons to make 6-7+ figures as a recruiter
• Disclaimer: Not bragging, showing journey and strategies

Career Beginnings

• Started at a nationwide staffing agency in the US
  • Only stayed for a year
  • Biggest regret: Didn't stay longer to learn management skills
  • Built over $500K on personal desk
  • Paid only ~$30K
• Transition to internal corporate recruiting at a startup
  • Salary: $30K, short tenure (5-7 months), startup ran out of money
• Lessons learned: Importance of financial stability and organizational due diligence

Starting Own Agency

• Took the leap to start own recruiting business
• Worked 7 days a week, 8-10 hours a day
  • First year: Billed $500K on personal desk
  • Collected all earnings minus taxes
• Initial strategy: No VAs, no employees
  • Started experimenting with partners and VAs after 4-5 years
  • Recently made first full-time hire

Key Tips for Success

1. Hyper Focus

• Specialize in a specific industry, market, or job type
  • Example: Focused on product and UX in Tech, NYC
  • Built reputation, developed competence
• Expansion only after establishing track record
  • Added software engineering later
• Still maintains focus, 80-90% bandwidth on core positions

2. Reinvest into Business

• Kept spending low, reinvested earnings
  • Stabilizes business during tough times
• Invested in tools, products, and talent
• Avoided analysis paralysis by focusing on essential tools
  • Example: Used Google Sheets for tracking initially

3. Long-term Focus

• Entered business with a multi-year commitment
• Importance of relationships and networking
  • Positive client and candidate interactions can lead to referrals
• Developer strong professional ethics
  • Transparent and honest communication with clients and candidates
  • Avoids unethical shortcuts

4. Continuous Business Development

• Never stop reaching out and cultivating client relationships
• Importance of not depending on one or two clients

5. Work with Urgency

• Speed in scheduling and process management
• Shorten interview cycle times
• Quick responses to client communication

6. Sales and Entrepreneurial Experience

• Previous sales or freelance experience helps
• Awareness of mental challenges of running a business
• Understanding rejection and failure as part of the process

Conclusion

• Preston’s approach combines hard work, strategic focus, and ethical practices
• Encourages other recruiters to apply these principles for long-term success
• Emphasizes continual learning and improvement

Final Note

• Stay committed, build strong relationships, and focus on the long-term
• Transparency and hard work are key