How my 15 year sales career translated into my new journey in recruitment

May 14, 2023

For many professionals, making the transition from sales to recruiting can be a daunting task. However, my 15 years of sales experience has proven to be a valuable asset in my new role as a recruiter. In this blog, I will be discussing how my sales skills have translated to my new position and have helped me excel in recruiting.

One of the biggest challenges I faced when transitioning to recruiting was understanding how my sales experience would apply to this new role. However, as I gained more experience in recruiting, I began to see the similarities between the two positions. Both require strong communication skills, the ability to build relationships, and the persistence to overcome setbacks.

Here are some specific ways that my sales experience has helped me in my new role as a recruiter:

Relationship-building
In both sales and recruiting, building relationships is key to success. My sales experience has helped me develop the communication skills and emotional intelligence needed to connect with people and establish trust.

Persistence
In sales, you often deal with rejection and setbacks. This mindset has served me well in recruiting, where I often must reach out to multiple candidates and follow up consistently in order to fill open positions.

Understanding the customer's needs
In sales, it's important to understand the needs and pain points of your clients to tailor your pitch and close the deal. In recruiting, I apply this same principle by understanding the needs and goals of the companies I work with and matching them with the right candidates.

Closing the deal
In both sales and recruiting, closing the deal is the goal. My experience in sales has helped me negotiate offers and objection handle candidates to accept positions, just as I would close a deal with a client.

In conclusion, my background in sales has been an asset in my transition to recruiting. The skills I have developed over the years – relationship-building, persistence, understanding customer needs, and closing the deal – have all been instrumental in my success as a recruiter. If you are a candidate or a company in need of top talent, please don't hesitate to reach out to me. I would be happy to assist you in finding the perfect fit for your organisation.

You can contact me at rhiann@people2people.com.au

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In business since 2005 in Australia, NZ, and the United Kingdom, people2people is an award-winning recruitment agency with people at our heart. With over 12 offices, we specialise in accounting and finance, business support, education, executive, government, HR, legal, marketing and digital, property, sales, supply chain, and technology sectors. As the proud recipients of the 2025 RCSA and SEEK Outstanding Large Agency Awards, we are dedicated to helping businesses achieve success through a people-first approach.

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