Watching paint dry
Recruitment musings from a week off
When I started writing on LinkedIn a few years ago, I made an agreement with my wife that I’d never divulge certain things.
Family life. Our challenges. Anything identifiable about our children.
So, in a sense, while I’m 100% authentic in everything I write, it’s only a narrow slice of who I am.
I missed an opportunity to announce my week off work with a steaming selfie – oops.
And if you follow my LinkedIn content, it may have seemed like business as normal, despite the many smears of paint tattooed across my arms and face.
Yet you’d have no idea what was going on behind closed doors.
I think that’s such an important lesson in how we deal with the people around us, and it’s something that’s informed how I work with readers, applicants, candidates and anyone else that has an experience in recruitment.
This morning, I opened up my DMs to see an annoyed business development message from a VA asking why I didn’t have TIME to reply to her message. Why would I?
So busy have I been getting the house ready for new carpet, and painting the walls, that I’ve defaulted to reposting 4 posts from last year and occasionally checking in for a break.
(That’s a good posting hack, if you are interested – go to analytics on your profile, then ‘post impressions’ and filter the last year of posts. Guaranteed good performers if you reuse without abuse)
It makes me think of two things – how busy, distracted or affected people can be when I try and contact them; and the hidden things that might force what appears strange behaviour.
Recognising people always have a hidden context is a key part of how I’ve evolved as a recruiter.
It’s why I try to make my messages talk to aspirations and start conversations, rather than pitch slap.
How can I engage people, who may feel they shouldn’t be engaged, even if that conversation can improve their lot?
It’s why I reply to every applicant, even a landscape gardener who thinks a CEO job is worth a punt.
How many replies have I received from them, from highly stressed-out job seekers grateful for a small and unusual validation of their difficult times?
Even from those it may feel have wasted our time by clicking EasyApply.
A response that reciprocates their level of care in applying isn’t hard and can make an impact.
Making my work about ‘them’, rather than me, has made me a better recruiter. I fill more vacancies for longer, as a result.
It makes me conscious too of that VA just trying to make a living by contacting me. What challenges does she have in her life? What harm in a short, polite reply, when I have time?
Painting in itself, the walls-kind not the selfie portrait, also got me thinking about recruitment.
It’s the one job we’ll always do ourselves. Because it’s enjoyable, hard work and we do it well.
But it’s always so much more work than you remember.
Most people start out thinking it’s just slapping some paint on, falling for the illusion of explanatory control.
Select the right paint and finish, based on light at different times of day. Repair the cracks, sand the walls, clean them. Cut in carefully – I do it without masking tape, which can otherwise encourage sloppy finishes. Then the rolling which takes maybe 10% of the time, yet is the majority of the Impression.
Another sand, another coat. Final touch up today.
Yet it’s that Impression we always think on, when looking at quotes for decorators, and we wonder why they are so expensive.
Much like in recruitment, where a good outcome comes from all the prep work.
Rather than the visible part of sending the CV, it’s more about the process that led to that point.
You might have noted that I mentioned the hard work, as a reason I enjoy painting, and it is.
That focused attention allows my subconscious to go off in many directions. And as I’m boringly obsessed with recruitment, it’s given me great time to reflect on my business, and the meaning it may have to others.
So while I’ve regurgitated several LinkedIn posts this week, I’ve also written two fairly involved posts about me and my process, which took me a total of 20 minutes to write, and thought of a good, simple message, to carry out some research with my contacts.
You can read the posts here:
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7052211786967572482/
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7052580387952193536/
Of course, while I’m happy to spend many hours prepping and painting, carpet laying is another thing entirely.
Sometimes you just need to get the professionals in to execute a job well done. And yes you pay for it, but what’s the cost of it going wrong?
Stay tuned for next week’s newsletter in which I ruminate on mowing the lawn.
Thanks for reading.
Regards,
Greg
p.s. While you are here, if you like the idea of improving how you recruit, lack capacity or need better candidates, and are curious how I can help, these are my services:
- commercial, operational and technical leadership recruitment (available for no more than three vacancies)
- manage part or all of your recruitment on an individually designed basis for one client
- recruitment coaching and mentoring
- recruitment strategy setting
- outplacement support
Just hit reply to check if my approach is right for you.