It’s hard not to be in an Olympic mood these days. The passion and excitement of the competition and spirit of the games is hard to ignore. It’s hard not to feel that deep sense of National pride and throw on some red and white’s while we cheer from our couches for our favourite athlete’s in Beijing. The Olympics just have a way of suckering you into cheering through the wee hours of the night for some obscure fencing hopeful that you never ever heard of before.
What if there were a Recruiter Olympics? What events would there be....and what would a gold medal performance look like? Purely for fun of course, but let’s get Olympic!
Recruiter Olympics Events
1. Archery – Ever post out a requirement to a couple of job boards and get 500+ candidates to review for your troubles? A gold in recruiter archery would be hitting the bulls eye and finding that perfect candidate against all of the odds
2. Boxing – think salary negotiations with that tough to close candidate your client absolutely just needs. Sometimes you have to go a couple of rounds and take a pounding, but in the end you need to persevere. A gold in recruiter boxing is signing that candidate up without giving away the farm
3. Cycling – ever wish you could just bike away from pesky recruitment vendors and agencies? Gold medalists realize that vendors add value to our profession, and build partnerships as opposed to putting up walls
4. Weightlifting – sometimes you just have to throw your weight around to win the gold. The best employers out there leverage the heck out of their employment value proposition and employer brand to attract the best talent
5. Diving – scared to take that leap into uncharted waters? Advancement and progression comes from taking risks and making a dive into new pools of talent. Want to win the gold? Try something new and don’t be afraid to take a risk
6. Basketball – think of that recent Applicant Tracking System RFP your company ran. There is a clear cut favourite in the field, but we all want to go with the underdog for some reason. A gold medal performance means selecting the best system for your organization. Don’t just pick the favourite because everyone else does (go Spain!)
7. 100m dash – only the fastest and the strongest survive this turbo charged sport! Think candidate experience, where speed and efficiency are critical to acquiring top talent. A gold medal performance means you got to the best talent the fastest
8. Marathon – building a long term and future focused Recruitment Strategy and plan. Sure, the 100m dash is the sexier sport, but the organizations that can build a long term and sustainable strategy win out over the long run. Winning a gold in the recruiter marathon means not sacrificing long term success for short term glory
9. Triathlon - are you a recruitment 1 trick pony? Gold medal recruitment triathlete's have a rounded background, and are very comfortable with recruitment operations, leadership, and strategy. Try your hand at all three if you want to master this sport
10. Equestrian - Alright. I think I may have gone a little too far this time. I have no idea how horse riding has anything to do with recruitment!