Finding a Hole In The Ground: The Best Part of Recruiting

There is a hole in the sidewalk , do you?
A. Look down and think, what the heck is all that stuff, pipes and what not.
B. Take pictures.
C. Think about recruiting.
D. All of the above.

The other day for me it was D.

On any given day, it would just be A.  I think it might sound silly to be amazed by a hole in the sidewalk or street. I realize it just requires time, a jackhammer and a dump truck to create a successful hole.  But after the hole is dug and you see the innards of the city, don’t you stop and think: wow, what is underneath my feet everyday for which I have no awareness?

In the city in which I live, signal lights operate properly, toilets flush, and homes are heated, along with many other things.  I have no idea how most of these things work and I take it all for granted.  But when I see a hole in the sidewalk, I usually think there is more going on this world than I will ever be able to wrap my head around. 

So on this particular day I took pictures of the city's innards.

And why think about recruiting?  Because it reminded me about the best thing about recruiting and how I miss it occasionally.

In previous jobs, I worked in a recruiting role that was more production-based.  It was about getting reqs. filled quickly and expecting there would always be open reqs. because someone would always need to be replaced.  In my current role, I’m still involved in recruiting.  But now I’m not in the trenches.  My office colleague is our recruiter and she rocks this better than I ever did.  Me, I get to play in the sandbox: working on this project; organizing a team; or just bending my director’s ear giving my opinion about this, that and the other thing.

I don’t miss the chase.  But I do miss meeting the vast number of strangers with life histories filled with stories of interesting jobs and professions that are unfamiliar to me. Most people have interesting histories or an interesting job story to tell.  Of course I would ask the obligatory interview questions about favorite type of boss, and situations when you saved your previous employer from financial ruin.

But what I am really curious about is when you played violin for the Moscow Symphony Orchestra for a year, or when you wrote a pilot for a television show, or about the time you volunteered at a pet shelter.  Some may ask, why would I care about any of this when it has nothing to do with the job?

Because:
1. It’s on their resume.  So they want to talk about it.
2. Because these are the things that truly make up who they are.  Most people don’t can these answers.  If they do, as an experienced recruiter, I pick up on signs of dis-ingenuousness.  If they are not genuine about their life, I am less inclined to believe they are genuine about the job. Some interviewees get nervous from these questions because I suspect they think there is a right or wrong answer.  They don't realize that I’m just genuinely curious.

The answers that they supply usually don’t apply to the KSA’s.  Which is o.k.  I already have those answers.  But the other questions give me the opportunity to meet another person and learn a little more about how this world works.  

To me, it’s going beyond just being a pedestrian in this world. It's about going underneath the surface of what is taken for granted. It's about taking a picture of a hole in the ground.