How to get your desk to 100 days within 12 months

As an education recruiter, getting your desk to 100 days is a major milestone. It takes hard work, persistence, and the right strategies. I asked my network of education recruiters to share their secrets to success.

Follow these 15 tips to level up your desk:

1. Follow up relentlessly – Consistency is critical. Follow up on every lead and be personable in your communications.
   
   
2. Use rejections as fuel – Don’t get discouraged by knockbacks. Use them to fuel your determination to succeed.
   
   
3. Market aggressively – Get your name out there through visits, calls, social media, and other marketing. Go heavy on recruitment activities.
   
   
4. Let your personality shine – People buy from people they like. Allow candidates and clients to experience your authentic personality.
   
   
5. Nurture strong relationships – Invest time in developing mutually beneficial relationships with clients and candidates.
   
   
6. Deliver on promises – Do exactly what you commit to doing. This builds credibility and loyalty with clients and candidates.
   
   
7. Know your clients and candidates – Make it your mission to deeply understand the schools and candidates you work with. This insight is powerful.
   
   
8. Stay balanced – Don’t get too high or low based on individual wins or losses. Keep an even keel.
   
   
9. Build a quality candidate pool – Focus on recruiting a strong base of candidates you can tap into and market proactively to schools.
   
   
10. Communicate transparently – Be upfront and keep schools/candidates in the loop. This builds trust.
    
    
11. Target multi-academy trusts (MATs) – MATs can provide easy wins and a steady stream of roles to work. Get to know the various MATs and build relationships.
    
    
12. Master the basics – Do the foundational tasks extremely well – writing good job specs, thorough screening calls, etc.
    
    
13. Trust the process – Consistently executing best practices will pay off, even when you can’t see immediate results. Stay the course
    
    
14. Get proper training – Having a great manager who provides thorough onboarding and ongoing coaching is invaluable. Take full advantage of any training offered.
    
    
15. Offer non-teaching staff – In addition to teachers, market your ability to source other key school personnel like admin staff, IT, etc.

Final thoughts…

Ultimately, consistent effort, specialised knowledge, transparency, and personal touches will help get your billings up and over 100 days. Implement these tips from experienced recruiters and you’ll be well on your way!