The Bloodhound Pup - A Niche Recruiting Fable

The Bloodhound Pup

A Fable (for Recruiters)…

One day there was a young bloodhound pup who wanted to become the most successful bloodhound in the world. He dreamed at night of rescuing lost children, sniffing out drug smugglers in international airports, tracking down escaped fugitives through rivers and fields…

This bloodhound pup was so determined to be the best that he would wake up every morning and work on something new each day. He would sniff and smell all types of scents: illegal narcotics, exotic birds, human scents, animal scents, things buried in the snow, dirt, and ice.

When the young bloodhound pup was ready to make a name for himself, he left his home and headed out into the world, searching for people who needed his nose.

On one call to find a missing girl in a big city, the young bloodhound pup took off into the streets. He sniffed animals, he sniffed people, all of the things he trained to sniff for so long came rushing back from this direction and that… he felt overwhelmed, sat down in the middle of the city park, and howled in frustration.

Over the course of the next year, the young bloodhound pup met with people from all over to offer his help. He sniffed to help hunters, he sniffed for luggage and babies and crime scenes. Most of the time he could get close but never seemed to get the job done.

During one such search for a missing jogger, the young bloodhound pup slumped down near a stream – he kept ending up in the same clearing, confused and disoriented. All of a sudden he heard something come crashing through the underbrush.  It was Ace, the world-renowned search & rescue bloodhound, hot on the jogger’s trail! The young bloodhound pup barely had time to run after him.

Charging through the river, through thickets, down a rock slide, over a barb-wire fence, Ace was nose down, making a beeline towards a dark corner of the forest. A large cave loomed in front of them. Ace bayed and a cry for help was audible. He found the jogger who was injured and was unable to move under his own power, but otherwise safe.

As Ace stood guard until help could arrive, the young bloodhound pup gazed at him in admiration, still trying to catch his breath from the search. “How did you do that?” he asked his new hero.

“Kid, it’s simple – the only thing I do is find missing persons in a temperate forest. I don’t search for narcotics – I don’t track animals; I am the best at what I do because it’s the only thing I sniff for…”

The light bulb went on for the young bloodhound pup.

Ace continued, “If you want to be the best, pick the one thing you’re good at & stick to it. I can’t help everyone, but I can help the ones that I’m specialized in helping, each and every time. When a nose is needed to sniff out this exact scenario, they call ME!”

Find your specialized niche, immerse yourself in reaching the right candidates & clients; become the “Ace” of your niche market and don’t lose focus!


Questions/comments are encouraged below. And while you’re at it, be sure to connect to us! TWITTER, FACEBOOK, LINKEDINGOOGLE+

Visit this article at its original location on our website by clicking - The Bloodhound Pup - A Niche Recruiting Fable

Views: 350

Comment by Bob Sharpe on June 27, 2012 at 8:36am

Good advice.  Like it or not, business continues to become more specialized.  We forget that at our own risk...

Comment by stephenbooth.uk on June 27, 2012 at 11:48am

But as soon as people stop getting lost in temperate forests Ace is out of work and heading for a kill policy shelter. 

The problem with specialism is that the world doesn't stand still and it's very easy to find yourself out of work because what you specialised in has dropped from favour.  Alternatively you can find your competition drastically rises due to new entrants under cutting you.  You need to keep an eye out for changes in the market.

Comment by Todd Wilson on June 27, 2012 at 5:12pm

Bob - thanks for the comment. We see it every day in our line of work. A rookie comes on board & jumps from one area to the next until they disappear due to failed efforts.

Stephen - Excellent point you make about staying in-tune with the market. An "expert" recruiter that is immersed in his niche is one that lets his niche 'find him.' When talking to industry leaders each & every day, you get a sense of where the market is going to swing next well ahead of your "generalist" recruiter competition. This is what keeps an expert ahead of the curve and in the game for a long time.

Thanks for the comments!

Comment

You need to be a member of RecruitingBlogs to add comments!

Join RecruitingBlogs

Subscribe

All the recruiting news you see here, delivered straight to your inbox.

Just enter your e-mail address below

Webinar

RecruitingBlogs on Twitter

© 2024   All Rights Reserved   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Privacy Policy  |  Terms of Service