When it comes to recruitment, more often than not it’s not what you know but who you know. Having a little black book of candidates can certainly make your job easier, but how do you grow your network?

The answer’s simple. To grow your network you need to network. Attend relevant industry events, sign up to seminars and workshops and do as much as you can to meet new people.

Earlier this month, Mairead Moore, one of our partners in Northern Ireland represented KnownFour at Digital DNA, a leading business and technology event held annually in Belfast.

With the strapline ‘inspire, engage, grow’ Digital DNA offered over 65 speakers, 50+ exhibitors, 18 workshops and five stages to help delegates understand and implement digital technology into their business.

Not only did the event serve to help businesses develop and grow their offering but it was also a fantastic opportunity to network with other like-minded people and businesses. In fact, Mairead, our partner managed to walk away with two potential candidates to place in current roles alongside a whole host of new contacts.

These events can be hugely motivational and rewarding and as well as all the knowledge and expertise that you’re exposed to, you can also share your experience through social media, connecting with those around you and the influencers you meet along the way. Again, a fantastic way to grow your network on a digital level.

Social media has a huge role to play in how we run our daily lives and can be hugely beneficial for businesses, so utilise every opportunity by sharing content with followers and fans.

Live tweeting from events, sharing what you’ve seen or heard is a great way of keeping your followers up to date with what you’re doing and shows that investing in development is key to your business, which could make you a more attractive option.

Facebook Live even gives you the chance to give your own opinion or summarise what you’ve seen, heard and learnt, so again, placing you at the forefront of client’s and candidates minds.

The Digital DNA event is just one example of how effective networking events can be but there are literally hundreds of similar events out there, as well as networking groups that you can join and do business with on a monthly basis.

Recruitment is all about who you know so maybe it’s time to get yourself out there and network to improve your net worth.

It’s no secret that the recruitment industry is a tough nut to crack. You’re constantly working, networking and connecting clients and candidates. Your levels of success hang on the decision of one person who can completely make or break you.

When it’s good, working in recruitment is great. When you place a candidate you feel on top of the world, your riding on the coat tails of success and feel empowered and motivated to continue to succeed and celebrate with your teammates after hours.

But then at the other end of the scale it’s all too easy to get stuck in a rut and spiral out of control. You work longer hours to find the ideal candidates for your clients, your tired, frustrated and your working on an incredibly short fuse.

So what gives? We can pretty much guarantee that it’s quality time at home with family, friends and loved ones.

Work-life balance soon becomes work, work, work with a bit of life thrown in for good measure. This can easily and quickly lead to resentment from loved ones, arguments and relationship breakdowns.

When you work so hard to make a success of your career you can often be doing so to the detriment of everyone around you.

Take Mitesh Parikh as a prime example. Mitesh is a recruitment specialist who had to turn his own life around when his job started to take over his life and affect his relationships. He was so busy celebrating success and chasing the high that brings that he didn’t realise how he himself was changing, and not for the better: https://www.morganmckinley.co.uk/article/fitness-recruitment-importance-work-life-balance

There’s no denying that there are incredible highs in recruitment but there are also some really dark lows, some that need addressing before drastic action needs taking.

Recruiters put immense pressure on themselves both physically and mentally and this can quickly escalate into career burnout. But would you know what warning signs to look for?

And aside from all the obvious reasons why you should have a better balance between your career and your family, you also need downtime to spend time on becoming a better person, learning a new skill or further developing your career.

I fact, how can you perform at your best when you’re tired, stressed and feeling under pressure. Time away from work is healthy as you can relax, get creative and enjoy the rush of ideas that come flooding into your head when you’re least expecting it.

When life is all about work then you’re not really working to live, it’s no longer a necessity but a need.

The subject of Work-Life balance is calling a lot of employers into question, putting the onus on them to provide everything their employees need to feel fulfilled in life; from the time they spend in the office to the down-time they should be enjoying at home.

Technology has enabled us to stay connected to the outside world 24/7 and allows us to be contactable at a time when perhaps we shouldn’t, but this should be the exception and not the rule.

It’s not as easy as being black and white. Work sometimes gets in the way of family life and family life often gets in the way of work, but as long as we all work harmoniously and feel fulfilled with our achievements then there’s no reason why we can’t have it all.

So if you’re stuck in the office after hours reading this blog when you should be at home reading your kids a bedtime story, or having dinner with friends then now’s the time for an intervention.

After all, if you’re too busy working towards creating a better life then it may just pass you by.