2020 has been a major year of change for me in a lot of areas. Career-wise, after 3+years of being a co-founder of a recruitment startup, I moved in-house. In the old days, moving in-house means that you are burnt out (or can’t bill) and are seeking the comfort in a job with fewer demands. However, while the billing pressure is no longer there, being in-house is not all rainbow and unicorn. Indeed, you will be facing a lot more challenges (and opportunities!) there.
While it is probably only the beginning of my in-house career, I want to recap and share some of my discoveries and learning (for both the good and the bad), and I hope that would be useful for those who are facing a fork in the road.
I know that many people would say that the above is not true, especially the negatives — I can already see how many people would believe that it’s more a fixed mindset thing etc..
Being a realistic optimist, I believe that knowing where the current boundary is will be more conducive to make positive changes and gradually push the boundary than ignoring the negatives entirely. Also, the above experiences are all mine and it could be different from yours. By being candid, I am hoping to help people make the choice to move in-house, because it is the right place and path for you, not because it is the easy way out.
I always like to start with the bitter and to end with the sweet, so let’s start with the negatives first…
It can feel lonely
When you are in a recruitment agency, you are surrounded by people who are doing similar jobs and who can understand, empathise with you and relate to your ups and downs/ empathise with you. In an in-house setting (unless you are in Google, Amazon, Facebook, etc..), you are likely to be the only talent acquisition (TA) or even HR person, even if there is other HR/TA, their focus is likely to be different to yours.
Remember those days where you have a (lot of) drink with your colleague after a tough day or a big deal? Those were the days. While wins will still be celebrated and losses will be mourned with the team, the reality is you will be less likely to have the camaraderie.
You are no longer the centre of the universe
While I think no one should ever feel like the centre of the universe, for the lack of better term, let’s put it that way.
While you are in an agency, you are the bread-winner of the family. Ideally, everyone’s contribution to the team should be measured fairly, and valued equally. The reality is you are not part of the “core business” like you had been.
In a good team environment, people would appreciate everyone’s effort in pulling their weight to keep the company afloat/moving. That would depends on your luck. In any event, you will need to adapt to moving from that forefront to the backstage.
You may feel out of touch
One thing that I missed the most being in a recruitment firm is being updated with the market situation.
A company is hiring like crazy? Another one going bankrupt (had witnesses some spectacular fails in my careers which to this date still amaze me)? Someone from A is bringing everyone to B? Which company has a strong product vs which one is just faking it?
Probably no one would be more informed than a (good) recruitment agent. After moving in-house, your focus would likely to be narrower (as fewer candidates would be relevant to your team), and candidates will be less likely to share intel/ gossips with you or to speak with you in the first place. You can always rely on old connections to get updated and you will still be able to build your network, but chances are, you will be much less connected/ updated.
On top of that, being a trusted recruitment partner of your clients, you will also learn so much about different verticals / domains, business model, market, and how they operates. This is something you will not get from being in-house.
You are stuck with selling one company
I think that this is the biggest fear of any recruitment consultants moving in-house. When you are working for a portfolio of clients, you can pick and choose (mostly because of fit, occasionally, because of favourism). Having only 1 team to pitch means that you are repeating yourself a lot, and it is a lot more likely that the person you are speaking is not a fit for the role.
On the bright side though, you will have more materials to pitch and will be able to perfect your pitch via the many practices.
Things/People can be more complicated
While a recruitment firm is definitely a battlefield, not a lalaland, being in a sales organization is likely to be simpler, and people’s motivation and energy are more devoted in making sales. Oftentimes, you are also “selling” what you found (both candidates and clients) which reduce dependencies.
While you are in a more complex organization (not necessarily bigger), the type of people you meet will be quite diverse and different teams/unit/individual’s motivation would be different. It would take more time to understand and navigate your way around.
The neutral — You job does not end after the new hire onboard
Many recruiters enjoy the feeling of closing a deal, while some feel a bit of loss like they are saying bye to something/someone they have worked so closely on/with. Even though many recruiters take pride in being relationship-driven, the truth is with your billing target and the speed of others, you will not have the chance to nurture relationship as much as you’d like.
In an in-house setting, TA is usually also handling onboarding, so you would have the chance to impact on your new recruit’s time with the organization beyond their first day, and helping them to succeed in their role.
This truly depends on how much you enjoy making a match and grooming a person — you can do a bit of both in both environment but the proportion of time you are devoting will definitely be different.
Having list out all the cons though, I would say I would not regret the decision of moving in-house. The 2 roles are suitable for different types of people and I personality just prefer longer term relationship over transactional ones. And here are more positives on moving in-house —
Control — change how recruitment is done
When I was an agency recruiter, I always heard candidates complain about recruitment processes, HR, interviewers and such… As an ‘agent” sometimes I was also dismayed by how my candidates were treated.
While there are good, open-minded clients who are very willing to take feedback and work with you to make the interview experience better, it is not always the case.
Being an in-house TA, you have a lot more influence over the process and opportunity to give feedback to, or even to coach, interviewers / hiring managers. You have a lot more control to shape the candidate experience and turn the “would have been” and “should be” into reality.
Stay focused
Closely related to “neutral” working only with one company gives you the luxury to focus and really to get more involved / informed on the role that you are working in.
There is a lot of benefit in doing one thing really well (instead of doing multiple things not so well). Of course, this would probably be related to whether you are becoming a TA generalist or staying focused in your “desk”.
Even if you are becoming a generalist, you will also have the benefit of knowing really well about your company and also to spend time to research in the area.
Exploring new areas and picking up new skills
In an in-house environment, there are more needs and potentials for you to pick up skills/ explore areas both ancillary to and totally unrelated to recruitment. If you want to be a good TA, it will be of paramount importance that you understand how things work. This gives you the perfect opportunity ad reasons to be involved in different areas or just to get to learn more.
The career path you take will also change a lot with much more choices (of course, you can also always stay with TA, stay as a strong individual contributor, or venture into training or take up a more strategic role.
Some people are born to be sales or born to love sales, but if you don’t think that could satisfy you, in-house maybe a good opportunity to diversify.
Make a bigger impact
Lastly, something that really speaks to me (and help me through most of the down times) — making an impact. When I first move into recruitment, I was hoping to foster changes through connecting the right people with the right team, this is something that has never changed.
As my journey went, there are both times where I believe that I have made something possible by recruitment, and, a lot other times, it feels more like I help a (decent) company find someone, without a strong sense of doing good/making an impact. On top of that, having very little influence after the candidate is on-boarded takes a big toll on how impactful your placements could be.
While being in an in-house settings, there are still a lot of things that you could not “control” and barely “influence”, there is invariably a lot more that you can do compare to being an external partner— you can take it on yourself to provide information to the new hire, to help them to assimilate into the team, and to change the team via hiring. Most of these are (very) slow yet very impactful.
If you are contemplating a move in the area and want to speak to someone about that, I am more than happy to share — connect with me on Linkedin!
