Put a butt in the seat

At the end of the day recruiting is really about getting the right butt in the right seat.  But along the way the waters get muddy.  Isn’t that the way courting works?

Some people actually date in hopes of finding a spouse.  Crazy, I know.  But along the way you date a few people for other reasons… they make a lot of money, they are really good-looking, they were the last person at the bar when it was closing time, etc…  Recruiting and the job search is the same way.  We are all looking for that perfect job or candidate.  The one that is perfect and will create that feeling of nirvana.

But alas, you gotta kiss a lot of frogs to find the prince.  But if you just wait for a prince you might end up in your 40s living at home with job history that makes it look like you wanted to be an actor.  So sometimes, as a recruiter, we just want to get a butt in a seat.  Personally speaking I have never sent someone on in the hiring process that I truly thought was a bad match for the position or the company.  More times than not, I am rolling the dice.  Why?  Because I do not believe that you can TRULY know someone’s potential until they get in the position.  Also, they won’t know their own potential until they are in the driver seat.  We are so afraid of trying jobs/employees out.  There are lots of good reasons not to try out employees or jobs but it really would be nice if we could all do it.

You, as the candidate, have to take ownership of part of this process.  Do not leave it up to the company to decide if you are the right person.  You also need to decide if they are the right company with the right position.  At the end of they day if you two break up be sure to handle it professionally.  Don’t burn bridges… you may need to cross back over them in the future.

The Man

Common sense is like deodorant.  The people who need it most never use it.
Bill Murray