When I left my job in the hospitality industry to become self-employed 4 years ago with WIPS to recruit for top hotel brands and UNWHI, I honestly had no idea what I was signing up for.
Everyone thinks itโs so easy to just open a recruitment agency and to become a top-notch recruiter. WIPS was founded in 1988 so we had already a great foundation, yet there are 5 things that I experience until today and it completely baffles me:
1. The image and the reputation of a so-called โRecruiterโ is still damaged especially in the hospitality industry, the image people have of a recruiter still needs to metamorphose. ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ – We are working on it daily, providing industry insights and value to our network that we like to call community. We respond to each and everyone who seeks our help. We go the extra mile and produce for each candidate we represent a tailor-made video resume, to put the spotlight on their character, to give the presentation the human touch, it also saves everyone’s time.
2. Most recruitment agencies’ marketing strategy is to post jobs, no matter if these jobs are real or so-called fake, that has been their strategy to gain followers and attract business for years. ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ – Staying true to our values we donโt post any jobs we discretely contact prospect candidates that we have in the so-called pipeline and if needed we have a proactive strategy in place.
3. Many C-level candidates like CEO, Vice president, etc as well as General Manager knock on our door when they are desperate for a job, the day they find a job we donโt ever hear back from them, or very rarely – they literally don’t remember who tried to assist them, who spent time and effort on them. They don’t think of giving us business. They forget about give and take.
4. There are still hoteliers out there who ask for our assistance but are not willing to pay a small amount of down-payment – deposit, by the way – it will be credited against the placement fee once we place successfully. We know our value and before we give hope to potential candidates, we want to ensure we are working with a serious partner. Itโs a protection, we know the time and effort we put in each assignment, there are still people out there who want to use agencies just to gather resumesโฆ
5. Short term – thatโs often the mindset when candidates and partners reach out. ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ – In this new era, itโs about shared values and meaningful and lasting relationships.
Bottom line, we are going through a huge transition, the new generation’s voices are getting louder, the old way simply doesn’t fit anymore. Here at WIPS, we are 100% committed to continuing to serve this beautiful industry. In order to step up as an industry and fulfill the needs of sustainability, workplace wellness, we need to broaden our horizons and truly live the values that we so proudly share.