A lot of my friends ask me what I do every day, it must be so easy, they say, meeting candidates, having long client lunches, coffee dates, long meetings, walking blissfully into the sunset…(I wish) So let me outline a day in the life of a recruiter.

6.00am: Wake up and immediately check email to ensure that candidate who you placed last week has not woken up with food poisoning.

8.00am : Arrive at the office and open outlook. An inbox full of emails from hiring managers and candidates and a calendar full of meetings, interviews, and tasks which need to be actioned. We begin to action the emails, a candidate’s cat has run away, they will be late to work, call the hiring manager and let them know, other hiring managers call in with immediate needs, begin waking candidates and filling immediately available jobs. Everything is important and everything needs to be actioned immediately.

10.00am-12.00pm: You have a meeting with a hiring manager on the other side of town but you have been on the phone with a last minute client need, now you need to rush as quickly as you can so you’re not late.

12.00pm-2.00pm : Back to the office for back to back interviews, candidate’s car has broken down, they will be late, and other candidate arrived 45 minutes early and is waiting at reception. Meet, greet and interview .

2.00pm-2.05pm: Lunch

2.05pm – 4.00pm: 1424 applications for your administration position, carefully review, phone screen and book interviews for all the candidates with matching criteria. Calling candidates, preparing them for interviews, calling hiring managers to obtain feedback on candidate’s interview. Business development, always filling your pipeline, calling prospective and current clients, reviewing on line job boards, Linkedin and Seek Talent Search.

4.00pm – 6.00pm: Calling clients, checking in with candidates, interviewing, filling jobs, completing administration, taking calls, responding to emails. Then diverting my landline to my mobile, so I am contactable after the close of business. And the best part is… no two days are the same!