Going into my meeting with Joe Mecca, a recruiter for imagine staffing, I was pretty nervous since I had no clue what to expect. But thankfully, I was immediately put at ease when the tall man wearing a flannel shirt and jeans came out to greet me. Joe was extremely laid back and could be described as the typical “cool” guy. We talked about what he does, the perks, the downsides, and how to get to where he is now. Joe told me that in any job, but especially recruiting, you really need to find a way to get your foot in the door and work your way up from there. You can’t expect to land a glamorous, well paying job right off the bat, you need to start at the bottom and do the dirty work first. He told me that I should try to find a part time administrative assistant job somewhere, preferably in a recruiting firm, and learn all that I could from the professionals working around me. I learned that it is important to pay your dues before making it big.
When we started talking about what Joe actually does, it was hard not to get excited about what my future could possibly hold if I go in this direction. Joe’s first real gig as a recruiter was filled with traveling around the country, eating out at nice restaurants, and good money. His job now is not as glamorous but the pay is just as good and he said after a year of craziness, he was ready to have a more low key job. A downside to being a recruiter for a private firm is that you’re working off of commission and so you may have an amazing paycheck one week and a not so great one the next. You have to be extremely persistent and constantly be selling yourself, but if you can continue to refine and better your skills , then the job will only get easier. At the end of everything, Joe’s biggest tip for me was to network, network, network. He said that in recruiting it is all about who you know and the relationships you build and nothing is more important than that.
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