Happy Valentine’s day! For recruiters, dating should be a piece of cake. They do it on a daily basis! Ok, maybe dating and recruiting aren’t exactly the same, and the outcomes of a successful date are quite different than those of a successful interview. Yet, there are some striking similarities between the two.
The first stage of the hiring process is much like a speed dating session. Going through a list of CV’s, or watching candidates who have submitted a video pitch, you are looking for qualities that match your company. You don’t want to waste time on candidates who are not the right fit, so your goal is to eliminate early on. Similarly, when speed dating, you are looking to find a person that matches your (team’s) personality and you don’t want to waste time on someone who talks about their pet fish all day. Unless you’re into that, of course.
It’s not difficult to see the similarities between the first meeting between candidate and recruiter, and a first date. In both situations, you are moving forward, you align your agendas and you plan a first interview/date. Their might be some nervousness, (candi)dates will dress up and try hard to impress you with their knowledge, personality and previous experiences. You will be showing off your best qualities to get your date to fall head over heels for you, the same way you want candidates to fall in love with the idea of working for you. When you think about it, strong employer branding is the corporate equivalent to telling someone “If you were a vegetable you’d be a cute-cumber”.
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After a successful first meeting, you’re going to be looking for the best possible match. You may have seen a few different people during the first round, but now you want nothing but the best. These are the stages where honesty and engagement are key: recruiters, candidates and people who’ve dated a few times really get to know the other person, and share their history and their expectations for the future. If there is a spark, the relationship needs to be maintained to be successful for the long-term.
This is when things are starting to get serious. After a while of getting to know each other’s history and setting expectations for the future, you started to trust each other. At this stage you are confident that you will be a good match, and you’ve agreed that you are not hiring/seeing someone else right now. Congratulations, you are “going steady”, or signing the first contract.
Are you reading this and thinking “seriously, is this guy still finding similarities between dating and recruitment”? Absolutely! Because if everything has gone right we arrive at the happy ending to this love story. The couple who’s gone steady has been proving to one another they cannot live without each other, in the same way that the candidate has proven themselves to be an invaluable asset to the company. It’s time to tie the knot and say “I do” to a permanent full time contract, or to the person you are going to spend the rest of your life with.
Unleash you inner Casanova and add a little love to your recruitment process. In the end, love is all you need. Lovely hiring!
