Risk...is it worth it?

One of the main things people say to me as a specialist legal recruiter is ‘should I take the risk?’

Whether it is a candidate contemplating whether or not to accept a role or a client looking at taking someone on in an uncertain market, risk plays a major part in my day to day role. However I now know first-hand just how much of a role risk can play in your career and I feel that the past few weeks have opened my eyes, to the point where I can fully empathise with a nervous candidate or reluctant client. Leaving a large business and setting up by yourself is not for the faint hearted! It is a risk, there’s no denying that! Having been there and done that I feel that it makes me even more well placed to assist my clients and candidates when they need it most. I know how it feels to argue with yourself until you’re blue in the face about the pros and cons of staying or going. Likewise I am very familiar with the sleepless nights once you’ve made your decision, where you go over and over in your mind whether or not you’ve done the right thing. Yet on the other hand I also know how rewarding it is to know that you were right and that you had the courage of your conviction. The knowledge that you have done the right thing, after so much soul searching, is priceless!

I get asked a lot about risk in recruitment. As a specialist in temporary recruitment I speak with candidates all the time who are tempted by the locum market. The flexible hours, competitive hourly rates and exciting roles are attractive to many who see working as a professional locum as the change that they want. And yes, locuming does offer flexible hours to fit around home life, it does offer excellent remuneration and it does give you complete control over the work you do and who you do it for. However this is not without risk. There may be a month where you work for two weeks and then have two weeks free or you might find that the market becomes a bit quieter than you would like. When this happens do you ask yourself, was it worth the risk? Well yes it was if you are finding that your work life balance is fantastic, you’re earning more money than you did before and you have finally escaped the office politics that you experienced in your permanent role. Sometimes the market is quieter than we would like, but the main thing to remember as a locum registered with Temporis is that you have a dedicated consultant who is fighting on your behalf so that those two weeks that you had free in July are now a distant memory as you find you have work every week until Christmas.

The same can be said of clients whom I have worked with, particularly in the temporary market where using a locum is sometimes seen as a risk. Some clients may have heard horror stories about locums and as such are unsure as to whether getting someone in to cover a maternity leave or sick cover is worth it. All it takes is one good locum to prove that it is definitely worth the risk! I pride myself on the fact that I have been able to change many clients’ minds about locums to the point where a locum is now their go to method of covering a gap in a team. Again, if the client hadn’t taken a risk and recruited a locum they would never know just how valuable a resource a locum is.

Without risk there is no reward. If we all kept doing what we were doing, day in day out, life would be very boring! That’s not to say that I would ever encourage candidates to leave their permanent role for the promise of a locum job, nothing is certain after all. However what I would say is how do you what opportunities are out there without taking the risk and finding out for yourself? At Temporis Legal Recruitment we are always here to support you in any decision you make, be that as a client or a candidate. We pride ourselves on building a relationship with you so that you know you can speak with us about anything. We take the time to get to know you, and you us, so that when we speak about making that big decision and taking that risk, you know we have your best interests at heart.

At the end of the day, I’ve been in your shoes and if I can do it, so can you!