Why do you all hate your jobs?

This might be a bit untrendy, and I’m not expecting to get featured anywhere for it, but I’m going to say it anyway. I think most Recruiters and most H.R. professionals do a pretty good job. I also think that most care about their candidates and clients and add plenty of value to the recruitment process.

I don’t think there is anything wrong in recruiters selling in order to get new opportunities or to get their candidates seen. I think there are plenty of H.R. people that have a level of influence and “get” social media.

I don’t think job boards are dying or will be replaced by Twitter or Facebook any time soon. There, I’ve said it.

For 27 years I have either worked as a recruiter or supporting Recruiters. I’ve also had some fairly heavy H.R. responsibilities in my last corporate role. In that time, the Recruiters I have come across have been mostly professionals that work more hours and go out of their way to find people work. It is how they make their money and they do it ethically and honestly.

I have heard the horror stories, and I’ve been equally shocked by them, but these on the whole have been very much in the minority. What concerns me is that reading the many blogs out there, it would seem everyone hates their profession and believes everyone in it (apart from themselves of course), have got it wrong. If you were in College and looking at recruitment or HR for a career, and read these blogs or blogging communities would you choose one of the professions, where the practitioners spend their time bemoaning their colleagues or their lack of influence? Probably not!

It’s said in the media that bad news sells, seems the same is true of blogging. No one wants to read how a recruiter got someone back in to work or how an H.R. manager solved a dispute where everyone was happy. Good news and good practice is just not interesting enough. Better to point out all the sharp practices and warn how the industry is going to die any day soon.

How about every so often we write something positive. A good news story or a simple praise of the professions that if we are honest, we all love doing. I was privileged to be a recruiter. People trusted me with their careers or important hires in their organisation. I was flattered by that and never lost sight of the responsibility and trust placed in me. I’m sure I was far from alone in that attitude. How about we see something positive for a change?

Be ambassadors for your great profession,

Bill

Comment by Peter Lanc on April 2, 2010 at 10:41pm: I am not a professional recruiter, but I do have to agree with what you say Bill. Much like the whole "HR"thing easy to pick apart and ask where is the added value.
It is clear to me that the profession has much to offer. The brokerage service is much like Wall Street you cannot distribute the wealth without having the processes and systems in place.

I raise a glass to all those recruiters out there, you are the glue or the elastic that brings the talent to the businesses.

Your specialist areas of expertise not only adds value but develops relationships which are long lasting.

Thanks for all that you do.

Comment by Randy Levinson on April 5, 2010 at 12:33pm: Bill, I think you make some great points. We, as recruiters, staffing professionals, HR, do what we do for the same reasons that engineers engineer. For the most part, whether we chose the profession or fell into it, we love what we do. We do get the change to see people's lives change because of our efforts and that does in fact make many of us warm and happy inside. On the way to making that happen we also have our share of frustrations and hurdles that make the work challenging, and yes those stories might be more engaging to tell, but in the end it is the rewards whether monetary or heartfelt that drive us to do the work we do.

I do think though, that anyone choosing to get into this business don't go by what they read on the blogs, they too must follow their passion. Think about this, if anyone based choosing a career in teaching by only talking to teachers we would run out of teachers pretty quick. But like in our line of work teachers have that one student in 100 that will come back years later with their own children and tell that teacher that they made a difference. Though those stories never get told, it is in fact why they do the work.

So don't despair that we bemoan some of our horror stories for a laugh or sympathy, it's the cathartic way that we exercise the demons so that we can get back to what we love.

Comment by Kathryn Knox on April 5, 2010 at 2:52pm: I rarely post on Recruitingblogs. This economy has been fairly frustrating for me - and many people in my situation. But I love, love, loved this post and I applaud your posititivity. Thank you for being part of the SOLUTION, which includes a continued focus on why we do what we do. At least that's what I took from your post. Much love to you.