Every person, every candidate, and every applicant has value. I have yet to meet a single person in my career who does not have within them an intrinsic value or skill that offers benefits.

Although the majority of candidates may not be the right fit for a role for a multitude of reasons, they should still be contacted. I prefer to give a personal call to all candidates I engage, explain who we are and what we do, and more so why we do it. This is not realistic to do via a phone call or personalized email in all cases, and I understand this, but wouldn’t it be nice if you could?  keep reading…

My philosophy is that the best candidate is the one who is not, and does not need to look for a position. I am finding that in the past 12 months, there are fewer and fewer candidates who are not in the market for a position. People are more willing to speak with a recruiter, there are fewer objections I need to overcome, and it has been easier to reach people. I am sure I am not alone, and that these previously “passive candidates” are also speaking to the other recruiters reaching out to them. The data supports this; the recent Careerbuilder 2012 Candidate Behavior Guide showed that 74% of currently employed individuals are looking for a position in one form or another.

There are a few reasons for this: keep reading…

• 1 cup attitude
• A  tablespoon of hope
• 1 pinch of luck

Let me start with a short story on luck, and what I feel it truly is.

I had a coach in high school, who always said “luck is when preparation meets opportunity.” At the time it meant nothing to me; however, as I progressed through life it became my definition of what “luck” really is. I found that if you do the right things, be persistent, and prepare, good things tend to happen. People who are lucky are just that. They put themselves in positions that produce positive results.

Recruiting is no different, if you have a positive attitude, hope that tomorrow will be a better day, and know that you are preparing to create your luck for tomorrow, you will find that Purple Squirrel. I am a firm believer that I can fill any position, in any geography, in any industry. I feel this is a self-fulfilling prophesy. Furthermore, another self-fulfilling prophesy is when someone believes that they “can’t.” This goes for everything in life, not just recruitment.

I have been a recruiter for nearly a decade now. Being a recruiter is not for everybody; however, for me it is a way of life. I truly enjoy it, and finding this pure enjoyment in what I do professionally has made what seems like a difficult profession to most become relatively seamless to me.

Don’t get me wrong — I have my days. There are the standard frustrations, ups and downs, and the things that happen that make me take a step back and say “ the candidate did what!?” We are dealing with human capital, the most volatile and important resource known to man, and there is a certain degree of absurdity you need to work within from time to time.

I was doing some reflection the other day, as to why things seem to just come together for me so often with passive candidates, hiring managers, and other areas within recruitment, and I found one simple trend. keep reading…