Start A Recruitment Agency

Your Existing Contract

You are probably employed in an existing recruitment firm and have a few years of success, preferably with supervisory responsibility, under your belt.

The first thing you need to consider is your current employment contract. If there is a restraint of trade – what is the duration and what restrictions will it affect?

One example is an Accounting Recruiter working in Insurance / Finance sector – is there leeway for you to develop a business in other sectors (e.g.: Accounting within ITC, Manufacturing, Government, etc.) while you wait for your no-compete to expire?

The most important thing you take with you from job to job in the recruitment industry is your integrity.

The last thing you want to have happen is to misjudge your current employer’s response to your plans and get into a brand slagging competition with your previous and potential client base. One way to get around this potential issue is advise your ex-employer that you intend to honour your employment contract. It is crucial to make sure that you have legal advice before testing any of the clauses in your employment contract.

Relationships are what keep recruiters in jobs.

As a side note:

‍Even if your lawyer says that your existing contract has more loopholes than grandma’s knitted sweaters you need to decide if it is the right thing to do to oppose it. Your work mates – the people you leave behind – are potentially people you may want to work with down the track. If you are perceived to act without integrity you can say bye bye to drawing on those relationships in the future.