When a life-changing event like the birth of a child happens, it often forces us to re-evaluate our careers and lives. That’s exactly what happened to my special guest, Enric Miquel, the founder of Pharma New Talent, a life sciences recruitment firm.
After becoming a father, Enric embarked on a new journey from pharmaceuticals to recruitment, and in this episode, he shares the highs and lows of starting his own recruitment firm. We also delve deep into the world of international recruitment as Enric shares his experiences with hiring a virtual assistant. He discusses the pros and cons of such a move and offers insightful advice for recruiters considering the same path.
Finally, we explore the hard-earned wisdom Enric has gained from his journey. From building confidence as an established leader in the recruitment industry to dealing with the challenges of raising his fees, Enric’s story will show you the value of resilience and dedication.
Prior to launching his recruitment company, he was an International Brand Manager in charge of the Middle East and Asia Regions, having launched medical products in 8 different countries. Growing with the company from 500K € in 2014 to 10 million in 2021 I’ve worked with Enric, as a member of our coaching program and he is a massive action taker who has implemented many of the strategies we teach.
Episode Outline and Highlights
- [01:52] Inspiration to start a recruitment firm.
- [10:40] How Enric propelled business growth through investment in training and self-improvement.
- [13:49] Forgoing consultancy safety net and transitioning to 100% recruiting.
- [16:45] Recruiting internationally and embracing new markets.
- [26:16] Hiring a VA for sourcing and recruitment.
- [30:34] Challenges and rewards of pivoting from contingent to retained recruiting.
- [36:00] Why Enric started a podcast and how it contributes to his business.
- [42:02] Overcoming impostor syndrome is the biggest challenge.
- [48:25] Discussion on tracking metrics and KPIs.
Inspiration to Starting and Growing a Recruitment Firm
Enric had no recruitment background when he decided to transition into recruitment. What prompted him to jump out of his comfort zone was when his daughter was born which made him rethink his priorities.
“One of the most important to think about when starting the business was the date of giving birth, or my partner giving birth to my daughter Olivia was to me a way to rethink priorities. What did I want it to do in life? Especially, this came after COVID. Also, this was a period of long reflections on what would I want it to do next. But you are right, I didn’t have any recruitment agency background. I haven’t been a recruiter on my own. I was a product manager.”
There were at least three key factors that propelled Enric to his success:
- He can spot opportunities and connect the dots. Enric shared how he was able to close out big placements through his network.
- He invests heavily in coaching and training. Enric approached me back when he was just starting his recruitment firm. “I need to train my skills 100% to keep growing the business, and also not only when you are a startup. It’s tough, but especially if you’re a solo recruiter, you need to be part of a wider community, you need to be part of the crowd, and joining the Inner Circle group gave me that. So, even though it was a big investment because if you look at the percentage of investment in my year plan and the part of the revenue that was taken from my investment in training was very big and very representative it turned out to be the best decision I could make because I more than doubled my revenue in the next year.”
- He is a strong implementor. Enric is a role model in implementation. He can implement critical elements in our coaching group which has contributed to success. The implementations include hiring a VA, creating value-adding content via LinkedIn and other platforms, marketing through podcasts, and pivoting from contingency to retained.
Business Development Implementations
Enric and I covered topics on implementations that would resonate with a lot of recruitment business owners. Given that he has no recruitment background, Enric sees things from a fresh perspective. He is aware that for his recruitment startup to succeed, he must compensate for the lack of experience by working hard and smart. Some of the key takeaways we covered are:
- The importance of hiring a VA: he shared how hiring someone from Venezuela greatly helps in his North American expansion.
- Creating value-adding content and running a podcast: Enric said, “I had this first experience in 2019 with podcasting. So I thought it was a great idea to build networking, and then you put the idea into my mind to start with that. So to me, podcasting is a way to build a network among candidates and clients.”
- Transitioning from contingent to retained: Enric lost some clients when he had to transition to retained search. However, he believes that this is one of the best decisions he made as it brings him more joy and is best for the business in the long run.
Enric also shared how he had to let go of the safety net of pharmaceutical consulting so he could focus all his energy on recruiting to make it work. Enric believes that mindset and consistent effort led to his success.
Overcoming the Challenge Imposter Syndrome
When we delved into what he considers his biggest challenge, Enric revealed his challenge that a lot of us can relate to.
“I guess I felt kind of the famous imposter syndrome of who are you to become a recruiter overnight and that led to, you know, begin with low fees what I consider now low fees. So overcoming this syndrome, let’s say, has been the most challenging… This has been probably the most challenging part that’s interesting.”
Enric took proactive steps to build his confidence. He elaborated on his approach to KPIs and metrics and how it gives him confidence by objectively understanding the value that he provides to his clients.
