For Recruiters & Staffers: Building A Financial Strategy

When you join the recruiting and staffing industry, you're immediately saddled with considerable responsibilities. As a recruiting professional, you're the bridge between jobseekers and a career that could change their lives, and it's up to you to make sure that change is for the better. You must manage expectations, negotiate demands, and juggle several different strategies and methodologies to keep everyone happy. Every client counts you to ensure their future success and happiness, but as a recruiter, who do you count on?

The recruiting and staffing industry is often characterized by promotion-based income, flexibility, and a far-reaching potential for growth. However, this freedom often comes with consequences, and recruiting professionals can find themselves in mercurial and volatile environments with large disparities between paychecks. When managed correctly, a career as a recruiter can help you pave the way to your financial objectives, and grant you some serious earning potential. In the meantime - you've got bills to pay, debts to worry about, and goals to reach.

Here at The Piedmont Group, we were interested to learn how recruiters are unique when it comes to holistic financial strategies. That's why we asked financial services professional Ian Carbone, who loves working with professionals in the staffing industry, exactly how he designs financial strategies that work for them. He was more than happy to tell us how recruiters are specially positioned to create and protect their wealth, and outlined his process for developing and taking advantage of this position.

Cash Flow/Debt Reduction

Regardless of profession, student loan debt has had a severe impact on America's workforce, with more that 44 million borrowers owing $1.5 trillion collectively.[1]Of those in the class of 2018 who took on student debt, the average student loan balance was a hefty $29,800.[2]Although this crisis effects the entire country, it can present a unique challenge for those reliant upon bonus-based or commission-based pay structures, such as recruiting and staffing professionals. Additionally, with student loan payments looming over their heads, it can be a slippery slope into using credit cards and personal loans to make ends meet.

When Ian sits down with recruiting clients, he places cash flow management at the forefront of the conversation. If a client has found themselves in a debt cycle that they seems inescapable, he helps them map their earning potential and design around the potential for promotion which can often be common in the recruiting industry. He informs them that preparing for an increase in their base and commission income can help ensure that they're using their resources properly, and could possibly give them a jumpstart on their debt once they have the money to tackle it.

Short-Term Goal Setting

After learning about their income to debt ratio, Ian asks about short-term goals. Clients discuss their basic needs and necessities, as well as what they'd like to afford in the near future, such as a new car or new home. Once the basics are covered, clients are encouraged to plan for their disposable income as well. They discuss their retirement goals, where they'd like to travel, and what they like to do for fun.

For short-term strategies, Ian likes to focus on guaranteed income, setting the foundation for broader financial strategies. Still, he reminds his clients that remaining in the staffing industry has the potential to reap sizable benefits, and that with determination, recruiters can make commission-based income work in their favor. Meanwhile, he helps them build their current income, with methods such as exploring options for savings and budgeting.

Long-Term Goal Setting

Once immediate goals are established, Ian guides his clients to look at their financial aspirations from a long-term perspective. At this point, clients are encouraged to discuss their future in the recruiting and staffing industry. Ian emphasizes the importance of prioritizing happiness, while being diligent in preparation for the future, even if that means taking a pay cut in exchange for job satisfaction. He asks his clients: "Is your current company the right fit for you? Are you growing there? Are you happy there?"

Because recruiters can work across multiple industries, developing a variety of skills along the way, they often have the option to adjust and tailor a career that suits their lifestyle. If a client is concerned about their future as a recruiter, Ian can help them explore decisions that reflect their financial goals, even if that means moving on to a career in a different industry.

Emergency and Risk Preparation

When the best case scenarios have been discussed and prepared for, Ian brings his client's attention to the contingencies of life. Depending on a client's needs, wants, and lifestyle, emergency fund saving is situational and varies from one individual to the next. Clients will be asked to calculate their living expenses per month, which can range from essentials such as car payments or daycare, to extras such as gym memberships. Ian recommends that single clients have at least 3 months of emergency reserves saved, and at least 6 months worth for clients who are married.

In addition to those fixed expenses, Ian encourages his clients to prepare for surprise expenses, such as needing a new car. Then, as a clients begins to earn more or their way of life changes, they are encouraged to adapt their emergency reserves to support their new lifestyle.

Conclusion

Growth in the staffing industry has averaged twice as fast as the economy since the end of the Great Recession.[3]Staffing and recruiting professionals are keeping up with this growth by focusing on retaining and attracting valuable employees, managing the turnover rate, and connecting jobseekers to the employers that most closely match their goals. In other words, staffing companies are growing quickly and steadily[4], making room for the growth of the recruiters that they employ.

This can be good news whether you're an established recruiter or new to the industry. However, it can be difficult to look out for yourself and your recruits at the same time - that's why careful financial strategies and preparation can be essential to helping you achieve your goals.

If you're as curious as we were about financial services for recruiters, or you're ready to get started designing your strategy, contact us at here at The Piedmont Group. A special thanks to Ian Carbone for his insight!

[1]1. https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackfriedman/2019/02/25/student-loan-debt-statistics-2019/#2f9bb5ae133f

[2]https://studentloanhero.com/student-loan-debt-statistics/

[3]American Staffing Association, Staffing Industry Playbook 2018http://www.asa-digital.net/amstaffingassoc/2018_staffing_industry_playbook/MobilePagedArticle.action?articleId=1427156