With recruiting facing more outsourcing as talent management changes, many legal recruiters are coming to term with the fact that they need to begin to operate their careers as if they are entrepreneurs even if they are in-house recruiters. And what does a legal recruiter/entrepreneur need to know about the business of recruiting? Let’s take a look at just a few of the basics:

1. Legal recruiters must know how to sell. No, we’re not talking about the “used cars” sales; we’re talking about the business of selling yourself and the company for which you are sourcing. The ability and confidence to sell yourself, your clients and the candidates you ultimately find, will be a defining factor in your long-term success as a recruiter.
2. Legal recruiters must know how to network, market and remain on the “front burner” when dealing with both clients and top performing candidates. The market is crowded, although it has thinned just a bit during the recession, and the success of a recruiter will be partly determined by how aware the market is of their value. Make sure you not only know how to “toot” your own horn but that you have enough satisfied customers that they also are willing to advocate on your behalf.
3. Legal recruiters must understand and have the best tools for proving that they are bringing value to a client. Analytics are becoming increasingly popular and many employers are using analytics data to determine how a new hire and by extension, the recruiter, has impacted the bottom-line of the company.