Some Things are Worth Repeating

A coworker of mine absolutely detests the phrase, "Recruiting is a lot like dating." She says it's cliche and trite; and she is right. The problem, though, with cliches and all things trite, is that they are true.

Why is bears repeating that Recruiting is a lot like Dating:

There is the obvious "courting" that occurs in both dating and recruiting, with recruiters often serving the role of "Match Maker" between candidates and companies
Dating and Recruiting have both changed drastically in the last 10 years:
1. Both have developed a huge online presence. With sites like eHarmony, Match.com, LinkedIn, Facebook, BullHorn, even World of Warcraft and countless other ATS or PMTS (Potential Mate Tracking Systems), it's easy for anyone to expand their "network"
  1. But Be Warned: that easy access comes with a price; applicants and singletons alike are often afraid to make the leap because they get a case of the "what-ifs." What if job #5 or the Red-head on the next page is the one that's actually the right fit for me? What-if's can kill the best of job matches and relationships since what-ifs are uncertain and hind-site is always 20/20.
2. It's no longer strictly a one-and-done game. No one is particularly shocked if a person dated someone other than their current partner and it's no longer the norm to stay at one job for 10-15+ years. This may or may not be a symptom of the aformentioned "what-if" syndrome.
And the whole point of this post: Dating and Recruiting are remarkably similar in that, no matter how you connect with someone, it's the phone time and the face-to-face interaction that makes a connection stick. Even people who meet on World of Warcraft or Second Life eventually have to meet in person (if for no other reason than to make sure the person they're pining for isn't a psycho) and it is that human interaction where the magic happens.

Bottom line: In recruiting or dating it's time to get over your fears, quit hiding behind your computer with Pintrest, eHarmony, InMails, Pokes and Winks and pick up the phone. The dating analogy aside, you're a recruiter for a reason, now go out there and make some candidates and companies fall in love!

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Comment by Ryan Leary on October 29, 2012 at 2:39pm: Great posting.

Comment by Andrew Rehn on October 29, 2012 at 5:09pm: Hmmm....interesting.

Comment by Steve N Odell on October 30, 2012 at 11:29am: Sure is.

Comment by Katie Bauer on October 30, 2012 at 11:51am: Thanks for the comments everyone!

Comment by Noel Cocca on October 30, 2012 at 5:39pm: Good post. Most of us spend a lot of time in the courtship of our candidates and like most business relationships, they become a marriage of skills. Nice.

Comment by Martin O'Shea on November 1, 2012 at 2:09am: Couldn't agree more Katherine. I tell a lot of young professional who are either in recruitment or thinking about it, that when you are speaking to a candidate try and think of them as one of your friends and this will create a friendly/relaxed conversation which hopefully leads to a trusting relationship. I don't really have any real responsbility with deal with our clients but I don't think i would approach it the same way.