Food for thought ...

I’ve concluded that I’m as addicted to Recruitment (and all things recruitment) as much as I’m addicted to all things food.  Yes, and I’m finally admitting that both get under my skin although in different ways!  So, before we continue with this, let me explain that my love of food isn’t just about eating – over the past six months I’ve recognised that it’s also about preparing food and learning about food.  And all that without mention of journals and magazines or books and TV programmes.  Although I have my limits, some of the TV coverage is quite simply “tacky”.

By now you may be wondering how I came to compare these two quite different topics and perhaps even, how they sit together.  Well, Recruitment has been a longstanding passion, whether that’s finding wonderfully talented people to join the organisations I’m associated with, the partners I collaborate with or the mechanics (or systems) of the process.  And then of course there are all the fabulous people who throw their hats in the ring – the candidates!  Yes, it’s fair to say that candidate experience is of necessity high on my agenda … always.  My love of recruitment is as strong as my love of food.

Right now, I’m putting both in the spotlight and following on from my posts in June about decluttering and destressing, I’m still promoting the wonderful benefits of detox.  In this sense it’s cut down on the food you don’t need to eat and don’t make recruitment too complicated.  Go back to basics.  Try to understand the actual purpose of a recruitment process and make it fun for all that are involved.  It’s not that difficult.  Similarly, I’ve found it much easier to stick to my food lists (what’s acceptable and what’s not) by thinking that food (though glorious to learn about and prepare) is simply fuel.  And the less processing and additives the better.  But that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy it.

Beginning to get the picture?  There are always those who try to overcomplicate recruitment and they’re often the same people who say that “it’s broken”.  That’s often because they make it far too challenging – just like their interview questions, but I’ll spare you that soapbox rant this glorious sunny afternoon.

Recruitment is all about opportunity.  It’s a chance to showcase your business and encourage an audience to engage with your values.  In this recruitment context I think of the additives as the bits that find their way into the recruitment process to satisfy a whim.  Come on, don’t be shy, we’ve all experienced them, haven’t we?  The phrases that get added to interview questions without foundation or need.  And it’s the meetings with a few more stakeholders … just in case.

I can’t imagine that I’ll ever get tired of making jewel packed (fruit) wedding cakes or creating magical decorations from sugar paste, but I’m grateful that I don’t have a sweat tooth.  I find baking so calming and I love the concentration it demands.  Like recruitment, it’s a process and open to interpretation as well as experimentation, although let’s be realistic – the old recipes (tried and tested) are the best.  Best not to overthink it eh?

So, here’s my Recipe for the best recruitment (sorry no cakes today)

·       Remember to really understand the job and who is most likely to succeed

·       Be open-minded about where that person may have worked previously

·       Focus on individuals, their strengths and what they offer (avoid the cul-de-sacs of omission)

·       Create an atmosphere of mutual respect and trust – get the conversation to flow

·       Remember that recruitment shouldn’t feel like an assault course

·       Enjoy the experience of finding out about other people and … smile (you may be on video)