Since moving into a full desk role, I’ve been struggling to figure out what a realistic monthly placement target actually looks like. Some months I’m slammed with client work, others I’m deep in sourcing with no placements to show yet. I don’t want to set myself up for disappointment, but I also want to aim high enough to push myself. How do you set goals that make sense when you’re handling everything from start to finish?
Been there. When you’re doing both sourcing and client management, it’s easy to overestimate what you can close in a month. I remember reading about this in an article on full desk recruiting — they talk about factoring in the longer timelines of the full cycle. I started tracking my own average time-to-fill and built my goals around that instead of just picking a number. It made my targets more grounded and helped me avoid chasing unrealistic deadlines.
I’m not a recruiter, but in my sales job, I learned quickly that setting impossible goals just kills motivation. Better to start with something achievable, hit it consistently, then adjust upward once you’ve nailed the process.