5 Reasons to Be Thankful This Thanksgiving Holiday

Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday. Good food, cold beverages, and professional football wrapped in a single day of indulgence. Plus, no gifts to worry about giving or pretend you enjoyed receiving.

It’s also an opportune time to look at the business you’re in and give thanks to the things that make it so appealing. Here are five things in the recruiting industry that make me want to tip my hat in appreciation, in no particular order.

Startups. I’m a sucker for the guys and gals who set off for greener pastures and start their own companies. Sadly, most end up like Hirevisor, but enough turn into ZipRecruiter or Indeed to keep it interesting. This year in particular, startups like ZAPinfo, Uncommon, Canvas, Jobiak, Seekout, and VideoMyJob kept things fun and interesting.
The arms race. The competition certainly took notice when Microsoft dropped $26.2 billion on LinkedIn a few years ago. Now, Google and Facebook want a piece of the market, and blogging hasn’t been this fun since the mid-’00s when Indeed was giving Monster fits. Additionally, the movement at the top has sparked activity down below as Indeed, ZipRecruiter, and Monster all makes moves to remain relevant. Would I be surprised to see Amazon and Salesforce make moves in 2019? Please, lord!
The cash. Investors took note of all the activity in employment too. As a result, money is flowing like water into the talent-management space. George Larocque does a great job keeping track of all the dollars, so tune in if you’re into that kind of thing. Fortunately, money is going into established players like iCIMS and ZipRecruiter as much as it is into startups. For 2019, keep your eye on Slack, which is aiming for an IPO.
Economy. When you work in the employment space, your prosperity is largely determined by the economy and whether or not companies are hiring. When they’re not, startups go belly-up, investment dries up and recruiters have to update their resumes. Those times will return, eventually, but for now let the sub-5 percent unemployment good times roll.
The people. It’s cliche, but as people are a company’s lifeblood, so it goes with our industry. Recruiters are not only some of the most optimistic people I know, but they’re also some of the most creative and dynamic. Recruiters are the best of sales and marketing rolled up into one. And it’s no surprise the people who support them, serve them, and cover them are equally as engaging. It’s also worth noting that those in the recruiting industry tend to stay in the recruiting industry, even in light of the economic hurdles we encounter every so often.

In this season of giving thanks, I hope you too will consider all the good in your life and those who make it wonderful. Gobble! Gobble!