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The Recruiter Rut: When Numbers Don't Add Up and Clients Want the Moon

 Ah yes, recruitment – the thrilling rollercoaster where one month you’re a sourcing ninja closing five positions in a week, and the next… you’re staring at an empty tracker wondering if your job is to recruit or just get ghosted professionally.

Let’s talk about the not-so-glamorous side. Because not hitting numbers is the recruitment equivalent of being stuck in traffic with a dying phone and no aux cable — frustrating, unproductive, and you start questioning your life choices.

1. The KPI Crisis: Not Hitting Numbers

You’ve been sourcing. You’ve been screening. You’ve done your part. But somehow, candidates drop, clients delay, and numbers just don’t add up. You refresh your tracker more times than your Instagram feed, hoping something magically changed.

Spoiler: It didn’t.

2. The Misalignment Menace

You're aiming for a role, but the JD says one thing, the client says another, and your instinct says, “Abort mission.” Misalignment can kill momentum faster than a candidate saying “I need 90 days.”

When recruiters aren’t looped in properly or the hiring panel changes their mind halfway through — we’re just left holding a pipeline of people who no longer make sense for the role.

3. Client Expectations: Wild and Heavy

“Can we get someone with 10 years of experience, from a product company, who’s okay with a 3-month contract, at 12 LPA?”

Sure. And while we’re at it, should they also fly and do taxes?

High expectations are fine — until they cross into delusion territory. We get it, clients want the best. But asking for a whale in a swimming pool? That’s just exhausting.

4. Contractual Roles with High Experience

These are the real puzzle pieces. You need someone with senior-level skills, willing to jump into a short-term engagement with average pay — and still be enthusiastic about it?

Convincing candidates for these roles is like selling salad at a barbecue.

5. Motivation? What's That?

You try to stay pumped, but the backouts, the silence, and the 20th “We’re reviewing internally” email chip away at your spirit. It’s hard. Especially when you’re giving your best and still end up chasing shadows.

6. So What Can You Do?

Here’s what I tell myself (and now you):

  • Breathe. You're not a failure. You're a recruiter in a messy cycle.

  • Talk to someone. Not just to vent, but to hear you're not alone.

  • Reset expectations — both yours and the client’s. Communication is your sword.

  • Celebrate small wins. Even scheduling a tough candidate = progress.

  • Disconnect to recharge. Seriously, your mind needs breaks too.

In Closing:

Recruitment isn’t always high-fives and offer rollouts. Sometimes, it's a battle of patience and resilience. And if you’re in that phase — I see you. It’ll pass. Your next closure might just be one email away.

But until then — keep sourcing, keep hoping, and for the love of caffeine, keep going

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