On a recent show, Animal's guest, Rebecca Sargeant, created quite a stir with her methods and shared some interesting observations. Rebecca recruits recruiters and she has specific criteria that she adheres to when she is recruiting. One of her observations is that the best recruiters, that she has come across, held their first jobs when they were fifteen or younger. It was quite interesting to hear the response to this comment. Several listeners concurred and realized that they, indeed, had started working prior to turning sixteen years old.

I, myself, had several jobs prior to my sixteenth birthday. I took in ironing regularly by the time I was twelve and cleaned a house every weekend when I was 14. By the time I was sixteen, I'd had several jobs. Which might be explained by my ADD (another point she made about recruiters.) No, I have never been diagnosed, but let's just say that I have trouble only doing one thing at a time. I consistently feel there is not enough time in the day to get everything done that I think needs to get done.

I posed the "what age did you start working?" question to several recruiters and every single one of them had held a job when they were fifteen or younger. The man I am happy to call my boss was actually working full-time by the time he was sixteen and by eighteen was running his own business. The psychology of a recruiter is a very interesting thing and while there may be generalized similarities among them, it might be a dangerous practice - a bit Gattaca - to assume that certain traits or specific practices prove a recruiter capacity and ability to perform.

To be a recruiter is more than having a dad who was a salesman, though I did. So far, Rebecca has been right on. To be a recruiter is more than want to change people's lives (I will try not to gag.) The ability to quickly shift gears, to be strategic, to be able to read voices and faces, to scan a resume in seconds and see what needs to be seen, to coerce, cajole, convince, connive, and coax candidates and hiring managers, alike, to hear what is being sold said, to follow up and follow through, to negotiate and ingratiate, and to dig deeper while never leaving a mess...

A recruiter is in sales, a recruiter does have divided focus, and a recruiter understands the value of hard work. Chances are you have nodded your head once or twice. Me too. And while I don't get to recruit nearly as often as I used to or would like, I am glad to be here. This profession chose me, I fell into it, it wrapped its arms around me tightly and said, "Welcome home."

by rayannethorn