Do you love what you do for a living? I remember hearing this quote when I started out as a recruiter, “If you love what you do, you’ll never have to work another day in your life.” I recall feeling drawn to those words but not knowing exactly how to apply it to my work life.
In my work as a coach and business consultant, I’ve noticed that a consistent theme with high performers is that they love what they do. Meaning they follow their bliss. They love their niche. They love their clients. They love the process of recruiting.
Consider this quote from Joseph Campbell:
If you follow your bliss, you put yourself on a track that has been there all the while, waiting for you. When you can see that, you begin to meet people who are in your field of bliss, and they open doors to you. Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls.
When I started in the business, I worked in Los Angeles for a firm that did contingency IT recruiting. I noticed that when I went on client meetings, I’d often find myself yawning uncontrollably when my clients talked about various aspects of their information technology goals and needs. It was boring.
Then by accident, I began doing some searches for large law firms. I found that when I went to meet with department heads within law firms, my ears perked up and I was very interested in learning about their business. To this day, I’m not really sure what the attraction is. I just know that I enjoy working with them.
So after several years of being bored by IT searches, I decided to take a stand and declare my firm a firm that works only with law firms, and on a retained basis. This seemed like a bold move at the time, but it was where my passion was leading me and I felt excited by the challenge. My billings and enjoyment of the business skyrocketed when I finally decided to follow my bliss and work the way I wanted to and with the clients I wanted to.
How to apply this to your desk or office:
1. Follow your bliss when selecting the clients you’ll work for.
2. Follow your bliss when deciding what niche or subniche to focus on.
3. Follow your bliss when it comes to the parts of the recruiting process to focus on vs. the parts you’ll outsource to others.
4. Follow your bliss when it comes to the new projects, strategic alliances, or business relationships to take on.
5. Follow your bliss when deciding what terms you’ll accept.
6. Follow your bliss when setting goals and deciding how large or small your business should be.
7. Follow your bliss in regard to work/life balance and time off.
Gary Stauble is the principal consultant for The Recruiting Lab, a coaching company that assists firm owners and solo recruiters in generating more profit in less time. Gary offers FREE how-to articles, tools and special reports online to assist you in building your firm. Learn more now at www.therecruitinglab.com.
