Confessions of Passionate, Eternally Disorganized and Never Lazy Recruiter Confession #5: love the way you lie…

11 Love the Way You Lie, Pt. II

There are so many reasons I like the song by Rihanna and Eminem “Love the Way You Lie” and most of them have nothing to do with recruiting… That being said when I think about this song in terms of recruiting there are parts that are very appropriate and speak to my inner laziness…

There are countless books, articles, blogs, and webinars discussing the virtues of ethical recruiting and berating those that go about causing a bad name for our industry. But seriously, who’s kidding whom? Do you really think that by giving a rogue recruiter an article to read he/she is going to change their wicked ways? Well, I guess somebody does because they keep writing articles about how to go from Dr. Jekyll recruiter to Mrs. Hyde …

Personally, and for those of you that are really honest with yourselves, I’m ok with having a few bad recruiters out there. Why? Why, would I possibly be ok with that you ask… Come on now… assuming your not the rogue, unethical recruiter referred to here, we NEED living, breathing, examples of why and how we are better than our “competition.” Sure, we all do things a little bit differently, have slightly different candidates but for the most part our clients choose to work with our companies not for the reporting functions we offer or just because we bring them the best price, they choose our agencies because of us, the “individual ” recruiter.

We may be able to clone a sheep named Dolly, but you can’t clone Dolly the recruiter and when XYZ client chooses to work with Dolly it’s because of her personality, industry knowledge, very specific skill set, and the individual characteristics that Dolly alone brings to the table.

There is a time to be proactive and a time to be lazy. Be proactive on knowledge of your industry, territory, and most definitely how your competitors do business. If they are the epitome of ethical, make darn sure you aren’t the one they are watching burn, if they are the ones crashing into tables and talking with gravel in their voices, then just stand back and watch them burn.

Sure, you have to come in and pick up the pieces, explain why you’re different, apologize for our industry and prove how your better. As long as you are different and better and you’re not a lier or a cheater then most of the time you will come out a winner. Think on this the next time you hear from your client that they just got a call from J.Dough Recruiting Firm. Don’t panic, sit back, embrace your inner laziness and think about what type of recruiter John is.

So, to those writing the self improvement articles I would never say to stop, but feel free to slow down a bit. I have embraced my inner laziness and when it comes to my competitors that you are writing those articles about I wouldn’t choose them for my friends and I would be a hypocrite if I didn’t admit I love the way they lie…

Accept Your Inner Laziness…Have Brain, Will Recruit

What happened to the good old days when we were taught to manage our priorities, to not overflow our plates, to say no to too many projects? When did saying no equate to laziness? Oh…dear skeptic (and I know you’re out there, I’ve heard from some of you) when was the last time you actually turned down a client or potential candidate and your boss or co-worker made a negative comment? Probably, you didn’t turn anything down because that little devil on your shoulder whispered “take the client, take on the new candidate, sure they’ve called you for work 15 times in the last 2 years, sure they never give you all the facts, sure, they always work with that other agency, BUT maybe this time it will be you…”

For those of you new to the recruiting industry there is much to be said about working with the disorganized and disloyal client/potential candidate. The few that will work with you will become some of your best and eventually most loyal folks! Those of you that have been doing this awhile I encourage you to accept your inner laziness and “Just Say No!”

Newbies to the industry I suggest you stop reading now and wait for the next blog in two weeks lest you start to expect things from your elders you shouldn’t. After all to be Truly Lazy is a badge of honor that is earned doing time in the trenches not just starting to dig them. (let the hate mail begin…see my home page for my email address).

Ok, for those recruiting for awhile, and awhile is an ambiguous term, I know. Awhile depends on where you work, for some places awhile means 6 months and others 6 years. Use your best judgement here. Do you really need to spend time with that same candidate who keeps calling you but never seems to accept any of your suggestions, jobs, or just accept anything (I’ve even had cards returned that I mailed marked “return to sender, not accepted by recipient”) Seriously! That happened.

Know what I learned from that experience? The candidate didn’t like working with women, I passed her (yes, I said her) to a male colleague and this has been one of his most successful, ongoing temporary candidates ever! You bet, my inner green eyed monster wanted to come out, but that little beast stays far away. Because what happened here? Was I too lazy to work with her? No, I tried, in fact I tried too many times, should’ve kicked my heels up on the desk earlier and shared her information with my coworker. I could have saved myself a lot of time grief and that awful paper cut on my tongue from licking the envelope on the card I sent her! My coworker? Super grateful and embraced his inner lazy man and shared a client with me. Wow! How great is that, kickin back in my seat and teamwork in one fell swoop. Oh recruiting Gods why didn’t you tell me this sooner?

There is a word of caution here, what some call teamwork, and I have dubbed The Laziness Project it doesn’t always work. Your type A personalities just won’t get this sort of thing, then there will be the client who just will never commit. You can’t change other people but you can change yourself.

For clients and candidates reading this….if you think you might be like one of these examples, it’s ok. Try accepting your inner laziness and let the recruiter do his/her job. Return calls, don’t say you’re committed when you’re not, share information. Be lazy, let the recruiter do the work for you, just be helpful when they need your help.

So, my ending thoughts are work smart. If someone isn’t working with you don’t let them work against you. There are 10 more clients and candidates just waiting for your expertise. Sit back and think about it the next time you get the call about or from the same old same old… Accept Your Laziness.

In a shout out to one of my longest working candidates and a throw back to the days when Westerns weren’t considered politically incorrect my new tag line: Have Brain, Will Recruit. Thanks El Hombre for reminding me how important it is to not waste time. Time is precious. Are you going to let someone waste yours today?

What does your desk look like?

Accept Your Inner Messiness

I’ve been accused of many things in my life, being organized and having a Type A personality were never among the accusations. So? Does having a messy desk or car make me a bad recruiter? Well, it can make for stressful moments during an unexpected client or candidate visit to my Beachfront Property Cubicle or last-minute site visit and I’m the designated driver, but seriously does it ultimately have an effect on my job performance?

Thoughts on the state of my overflowing desk and cubicle with its flow charts, competitive research, potential leads, broken pencils, last week’s coffee cups, and whatever else happened to make its home in my small but well used space abound. What does mine or your messy desk really have to do with work product and making a successful recruitment and placement? Many, including some I work with would say “You Bet it does and it affects me in a bad, bad, way” others and yes even some I work with would say “the messier the desk the better the sales person, in my case, recruiter.” What do I think? Somewhere in between there has to be harmony, I have just yet to find the right balance.

I am constantly able to make a case for my messy cube when I move my endless stacks of paper from one side to the other and suddenly find some information on the perfect candidate or client information that helps me close the sale within minutes. Hey, I respond to all the office naysayers and Martha Stewart like cubicle dwellers, if I had thrown out that paper or filed it under some obscure name I would never have closed that deal! Being one of the top producers only helps me in my oblivious and demented argument.

Still for every story of success there are plenty and maybe even more than equal stories of struggling to find that one piece of scrap paper I wrote the client’s cell phone number on and need to reach her before the competition does. By the time I find it under the last piece of paper in the last gigantic pile of “stuff” the competition got the best of me because they had it filed correctly in their online contacts… How many times has the “one that got away” been lost because of simple disorganization and laziness? I’m not answering that question, assuming my amazing and well-intentioned employer will read this blog posting.

So, what’s the point here anyway? This isn’t a blog about how to become more organized, I’m too far beyond helping anyone with getting organized that I am on the 12 step program times ten for underacheivers. If you want help, read someone else’s blog. This also isn’t about how not to be lazy. In fact when I refer to my laziness I am talking about my restrained refusal to act quickly on every piece of information I know about. Don’t get me wrong here, some items need to be acted upon swiftly and in a crisis I’m your gal! But just because you know something doesn’t mean you have to do something with the information right away. Recruiting is not a game of hot potato! Teaser alert…next blog posting “what does a hot potato and recruiting have in common?”

This blog is about using what you’ve got to the best of your ability, knowing who you are as a person/recruiter and making it work for you. This is no time for keeping up with the Jones’, know thyself, know thy client and know thy candidate and thou shalt make more placements… How you do it and in the midst of chaos or calm only depends on you. Yes, there is balance to being disorganized and what I refer to as being lazy, but there is never success in being what you aren’t.

So grab hold of your inner slob and couch potato. Let it shine! Be proud of the piles, the information scattered about the floor of your cube or office. For within those piles lies the next perfect placement, the just right piece of information to close the deal, and yes somewhere in there is your client’s cell phone number.