‘Oh my god where has the time gone’ is a sentence you will hear uttered from the mouths of every working professional, especially recruiters. With a million things to do jammed into one day, a thousand phone calls to make and hundreds of emails to send, it’s no wonder we’re constantly wondering where the day, afternoon, or the week went. But instead of wondering where time has mysteriously disappeared to (we still think it’s hiding somewhere in the back of the wardrobe, possibly in Narnia), a better use of your time would be to hack your way to productivity so that no matter how fast the clock ticks, you’re still getting everything done.
In case you’re already wondering how you’re going to fit everything into your days, here’s a few hacks to help you out:
Monday is better than Friday
While we would all like to be superhero’s that can run on endless energy, the sad truth is we can’t. Although the minute someone, probably Elon Musk, comes up with something, we’ll be the first to let you know. Given that we’re all human, make sure you front-load your week. It’s a scientific fact that we’re more productive at the beginning of the week, so set yourself all the difficult tasks. The long conversations, conference calls, closing pitches, and anything else that will take up huge amounts of your energy should happen on Monday and Tuesday. You should always preserve energy for the biggest battles. Mike Tyson never got into the ring with no sleep or energy, and that’s a fact.
Never work for your CRM
Like we said, it doesn’t matter what recruitment software you use, but it should be working for you, not the other way around. For example, Access Recruitment CRM is designed to get candidates to interview and offer acceptance faster so you can secure more placements, without spending your entire life in the office. With candidate portals, direct in-software communication, diary coordination and access to documents, you’ll be making placements quickly and efficiently. Templates, mobile apps and single screen interfaces will also help you make the most placements, in the least amount of time. If you’re staring at your recruitment software waiting for it to load, while simultaneously wondering if it has the functionality to fulfil your requests, you don’t stand a chance. You never did.
Do not heavy lift
There is absolutely no need for you to run around breaking your back trying to do everything. Let someone else do the heavy lifting and running around. For example, with Text Marketer you can automate and bulk your SMS messages to candidates to keep your audience engaged with you. It also integrates with Access Recruitment CRM which means everything is working together as it should be. It doesn’t matter what software options you use to make your life easier, ensure they integrate with your CRM and sit back while someone else takes the load for a while.
Move your body
Okay, so we might have just told you to sit back, but actually stand up. No seriously, get up. Research has found that sitting down all day long at desks is actually bad for our bodies, as well as our mental health. We become stagnant and stale, a bit like the weird white stuff that floats on the top of ponds (seriously what is that?). Walking while being on the phone, taking the time to walk around the office as well as standing desks all keep our brains more focused and keep us from falling into periods of inactivity. Obviously standing up all day isn’t good for you either, but definitely make sure your body is moving throughout the day.
Ask Charlie
You’re wondering who he is, but he’s actually your new best friend. How many times have you ran into a meeting with a prospective client with five minutes to spare and a quick printout of their LinkedIn profile that the receptionist hurriedly printed for you when you ran past his desk? Charliepulls together over 100 sources online and using social media to collate every bit of information about your client into a one pager for you to quickly scan. You go into your meeting totally prepared, reeling of loads of facts that make you look like you’ve done hours of research. Just ask Charlie.
Find out more about how to improve your productivity in our resources hub
