Jessica Miller-MerrellIt dawned on me last week, recruiting is just like condiments at your street corner hot dog stand. The end game is the same – hire a great candidate or eat a great hotdog – but the path and preference to that end game can be very different. You may like relish on your dog while I’m strictly a ketchup and mustard kind of gal (mostly because I am).
I’ve been writing for a couple months now for Smartrecruiters serving up bite sized tips, tricks, and insights for the recruiter, human resource professional, or small business girl or guy who is responsible for hiring, interviewing, and recruiting at their organization.
With recruiting there are so many paths to the end result and different options, tools, and methods to getting there. The key is to figure out what condiment works for you in the recruiting game really depends on a few simple things.
- Comfort Level. Maybe you’re open to new and interesting things. You like exploring and are willing to dabble in free job posting sites or erecruiting. What you are comfortable with is what you are drawn to. That’s why we stay with our old favorite condiment be it ketchup, onions, or chilli on our dogs. It’s familiar, safe, and previous outcomes have given us a satisfaction or outcome level that we are happy with and expect.
- Time. This is always a factor in trying and experimenting with a new as well as old tool when recruiting. While tools like Yahoo Pipes and other sourcing tools are great, they take time to build, develop, and execute. And why would we do that when I can tweet a job opening in 5 seconds resulting in a handful of top candidates?
- Culture. Maybe the status quo at your office is strictly a black suit and tie with sensible shoes. You don’t have the time or the comfort level to fight that battle. Adhere to company culture. Simply creativity and thinking outside of the box is something in your organization that causes waves, and maybe waves get you in trouble. Maybe you save that for the weekend where you can take photos or dabble in scrapbooking. Personally, I like to go where the trouble takes me especially when it comes to creative recruiting, but not everyone is the same way.
Truth be told there’s no right answer in recruiting which is what makes it so difficult. It’s the same reason why people swear by calamari on their coney. And it’s the reason why the New Jersey Hot Dog War between Rutt’s Hutt and Mutt’s Hutt keep on delivering scandalizing and delicious hot dogs as well as their condiments since 2009. There’s passion in a good condiment as well as recruiting. Find yours.
Jessica Miller-Merrell, SPHR is a HR consultant, new media strategist, and author who writes at Blogging4Jobs. Jessica is the host of Job Search Secrets, an internet television show for job seekers.
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