Recruiting is a game of failure.

Ike Davis, 1^st baseman for the NY Mets hit his 2nd home run this year, a 3 run homer against the Atlanta Braves last night, possibly reversing a “slow start” to his season in grand fashion. To wit, Gary Cohen, one of my favorite sports announcers of all time commented (paraphrase here) “Ike handles both his successes and failures the same way, his demeanor does not change, he’s got the perfect personality for Major League Baseball”.

He went on to say “After all, baseball is a game of failure!”

Shocked at the statement at first, I quickly recognized how true it is. Get up to bat 3 – 4 times a game, swing the bat a minimum 12 but more often over 20 times a game, get 1 hit per game, and you are on a hitting streak to the joy of your team and fans alike. 1 Hit in 20+, IF you’re doing well!

That’s a “hit” mind you, not a home run.

The parallels’ to recruiting are obvious. Barbara Bruno (renowned recruiting trainer) uses a ratio of 20 conversations per day equals a productive day when starting out in recruiting. That’s “conversations” not calls. For 20 conversations, one could make 100+ dials in a day.

That’s “every day”.

Those outside recruiting, if they knew the “ratios” we live by would call us “crazy”, asking why would you do that… why (or how) could you stick with it, with a “failure” ratio like that?

At 4:30 AM this morning, while laying in bed awake pondering my children’s future, the bills I had to pay, the candidate I was interviewing at 8, the client meeting at 12, and whether I’d ever have enough money to retire some day, (I’m guessing I’m not alone in this ritual these days) that little voice in the back of my head reminded me, …with 1 swing of the bat today, you could change… “Everything!”

One good swing today could be the difference between a banner month, or a flop. One good swing today, could be the difference between another Disney Vacation, or a weekend at the in-laws (how’s that for incentive).

One good swing today…

Of course, we take steps to mitigate the peaks and valleys, and it’ll take more than “1 good swing total”, to close a deal, but truth is, few jobs I’ve had in my career (and I’ve had more than a few), offer the “subtle rush” locking in a solid appointment, or “adrenaline rush” closing a big deal brings.

Few jobs anywhere, offer the employee the opportunity to change “everything”, on any given day.

All you have to do, is bring with you the demeanor of a Major League Ball Player, recognizing, you’ll need to “swing, swing, swing” each and every day, knowing you will not get a hit with each up at bat, and knowing (viscerally) that that’s OK!

If you ask me, Recruiting is a game of failure, same as Major League Baseball. Like Major League Baseball, not many have the skill to survive the cut, with fewer the skills to play with the All Stars. Nor do most have the demeanor to “turn” a slow start to a season (or quarter) knowing, success can only be achieved, if you are willing and able to keep getting up to bat each and every day accepting the seemingly daunting ratio’s, and “swinging” through the blisters, and the years, till you get to the point where you really “know your pitch”.

For then and only then, will you be able to consistently “hit them out of the park”.

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Comment by Vaughn Welches on April 18, 2012 at 11:20am: Thanks for your reply, Mitch.

All your points are well taken and appropriate with me. But, the kind of guarantee I value most is the trusting relationship I work very hard to build with my clients. They know when they give me an assignment that I will be very competitive with any other recruiting agent out there to find the best and most qualified individual for them.

I know the risks (very well) involved in a contingency search, but I think that when your client knows you are willing and ready to perform in a very competitive environment to find the best for them, this will only add to and strengthen the trust factor in the relationship. A headhunter in his/her first year will probably not know what I am talking about because this kind of relationship takes time and a whole lot of effort, but, very gratifying!

Comment by Vaughn Welches on April 18, 2012 at 11:34am: 1st basement is the position played by Who!

Comment by Mitch Sullivan on April 18, 2012 at 11:59am: I get that Vaughn, I really do.

But if the relationship is that good, they'll pay to retain your exclusivity. It will strengthen their reputation with their target candidate audiences too because they too much prefer working with agencies who aren't competing to get it filled.

The problem with 'trust' relationships is when something goes wrong, it's personal. When they've paid some of the fee and something goes wrong, it's business.

Anyway, far be it for me to tell you how to run your business.

Have a great day Vaughn.

Comment by bill josephson on April 18, 2012 at 12:21pm: Mitch, what I'm seeing today is difficulty knowing, no matter what's expressed verbally from any level of the company, whether there's a real need/urgency to fill a position.

Can't take anything said to the bank. Goal posts start moving at any time, post your initial discussion, where interview/hiring process groundwork/expectations are founded. Is your client serious, or not? Money up front, as you mentioned, is one sure fire way to answer the question. If you can do it.

Comment by Vaughn Welches on April 18, 2012 at 12:57pm: Thank you, Mitch. I know you understand . . . my initial note was only to respectfully challenge your statement that if one was not getting some of the fee up front, he/she is not a headhunter. There are several legitimate ways to be successful in this business, and I believe a contingency search agent competes very well for that title.

Comment by Kerris Hougardy on April 18, 2012 at 1:01pm: Love it! Thanks :-)

Comment by Edward Nau on April 18, 2012 at 6:12pm: I like this a lot and rings so true especially as someone new in the field. Great analogy and if your hitting .333 your doing a good job.

Comment by Nick Lagos on April 19, 2012 at 8:18am: Thank you everyone for the congruence. I found MLB a nifty analogue and appreciate the input all-round-

Comment by Christopher Lyon on April 19, 2012 at 8:33am: Wow this actually gave me a little more motivation to work on a few "purple squirrel" reqs today. Great job Nick!

Comment by Nick Lagos on April 19, 2012 at 8:53am: My pleasure Christopher, happy if this helped. But heed Dave’s earlier comment warning about “knowing when to lay off a pitch”(which I’d extend to include crappy job orders in addition to un-placable candidates).

Might be better to uncover an opportunity square in your “sweet-spot” (“know your pitch”), then to go chasing “purple squirrels”.

Good luck today!

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