I am reading a very interesting book right now called “Who” by Geoff Smart & Randy Street. Wonderful read, relevant and current information about using scorecarding and sourcing. I’m only 50 pages in and I hit a sentence that inspired me to write an article. It just hit me. In a chapter discussing using external Recruiters to source talent, they offer this: “Think of recruiters much the way you would think of a doctor or a financial advisor. The more you keep them in the dark about who you are, what’s wrong, and what you really need, the less effective they will be.” Simple and obvious right?
This inspired me because I’m actually at this stage with my clients right now. One of my favourite parts of the job of Recruiter is getting to know the company whose hiring project(s) I have taken on. I’m talking about really getting to know them, at a personal level; this is a special privilege that I hold very sacred. Part of these initial critical conversations often involve having honest, no holds barred discussions with Business Owners & Leaders whom I invite to share with me what may be broken in the organization and in need of some improvement. During the Recruitment Planning phase, we talk about hiring habits and practices prior to my involvement, their best hires and the misfires. I ask about their interests, their goals for the business, what they worry about among many, many other things. These are candid free flowing confidential chats. I asked pointed questions for a purpose. My projects are diverse, across many industries due to my decision not to specialize. In each case, I pick my clients because they will teach me something new. Like taking a course, each hiring project exposes me to new markets, technologies, management styles, business philosophies, systems and processes and I broaden my knowledge base each and every time. My clients are often my teachers; another privilege of running my own Recruiting Consulting business. The advice and guidance I get for my own business from my clients whom I develop true personal relationships with is an unexpected privilege.
When my clients are truthful with me about the inner workings of their business, good, bad and ugly, this provides a true “lay of the land” which is used to spot their talent and effectively market and pitch the opportunity to prospective A players on their behalf. Knowing how my clients think, how they rationalize, how they manage and lead is the stuff that motivates me to be the best Recruiter they have ever had and their first call when they need to hire again.
This career has allowed me to develop and fine tune my listening skills and my ability to be intuitive when it comes to the matchmaking element. I love being a matchmaker, a connector of people. It is who I am and gets me up out of bed every day with challenges to tackle. Let me tell you, people are super complex and figuring my way around the truths and lies when sourcing and interviewing is the downside, negative as that may sound. Being a Recruiter is a very interesting professional that truly offers continuous learning and development. A job well done is the goal, measured by great connections made, careers built, businesses made better as a result of great people connected at the right time.
