Transcript – Episode 012 – The Swipe Right Aim

Episode 012 
The Right Aim

When you meet me in person, you’ll very quickly figure out two things. 1) I’m an extreme extrovert. Seriously, a stranger is just a friend I haven’t met yet. There are very few people I don’t like, but there is a lot more that probably don’t like me. And 2) I’ll probably ask you a zillion questions about your job, what you do, what’s hard about it, and why you take pride in it. I’m a recruiter to the core.

Hi, I’m Daava Mills, The Rebellious Recruiter.  Total honesty here. COVID19 has got me twisted in every sense of the word. I had a different podcast planned for this episode, but that changed when I sat down to write this week. Locked up Extroverted Recruiters? We get philosophical. And today, it’s philosophical – using my favorite brand of mixed metaphors.

Pull up a seat, let’s chat.

Intro music…

As you know from previous podcasts, I have a child. Last year for Christmas was likely the last year we were going to get away with the magic of Santa. Last Christmas was the first time she was iron lipped about what she wanted from Santa. The school she goes to has a really cool integrative learning program centered around agriculture, and last year they were studying the medieval period. This came complete with building a castle, ping pong ball trebuchets to attempt to destroy said castles, sword fights while in costume, and archery. My kid wanted to go as an archer defending the castle. So, cannibalizing her Viking costume from the year before, and making a hooded cape… she was ready. I noticed how excited she was to pick up a Genesis Bow. 

A month later, I was at the local archery shop buying a 20lb starter recurve and arrows. Christmas morning came, and she was over the moon excited that Santa brought her what she asked for. I felt relief that I effectively pulled it off. Over time, she confided to me that she thought using sites to help aim is cheating, and absolutely did not want to upgrade to a compound type bow. And she started showing interest in a long bow. 

Enter formal instruction. I have a friend who is excellent with a long bow, and he’s been teaching her the basics. But some of the basics are different than what she, or I was originally taught. I recently brought out my recurve and joined her for some shooting. Here’s what I learned, and we’ll start applying it to a recruiting analogy.

First, using a traditional bow means you have to develop your instinct, and you have to release quickly. I was instructed to cant my bow 10-15 degrees, and basically use the shaft as the lineup for shooting, which forced my body into a different position. I was hitting the target at 20 yards pretty successfully in a row. Then I was told to lift, aim and shoot in one fell swoop. 

You see, I was holding the bow, and aiming for so long that I was starting to shake, how can you be accurate if you are shaking, right? In fact, that very shaking caused me to release the arrow wrong, the bow string snapped, hit my forearm and the next day I was sporting a perfect two-inch diameter purple bruise, reminding me I took too long.

Sure enough, the very next move – I popped the arrow on, took a deep breath, lifted the bow, exhaled as soon as it lined up with my eye and my finger touched the edge of my mouth to anchor… and release. All that in less than one second. BULLS EYE.

How does this relate? All the pieces were there, I just needed to put it together, trust the process worked, and not take a lot of time thinking about it. AND not be afraid of bruising myself again.

I hear a lot of people over the years talk about successful pick-up lines. Most start with “Hi.” In the world of recruiting, we demand that in order to even begin the conversation from the employer’s perspective that we basically ask the person for the balance in their checking account. Any google search right now talks about pick-up lines over various dating apps. And you know what? Very few of them are invasive. They’re playful, they are back and forth, and it’s a conversation. We’re expecting candidates to date us, when we only posted a blurry picture. We defend our need to know their inner most secrets, and then we hide who our company is from them. And basically, expect them to love us even though we were holding back.

So why, in recruiting, are we demanding that people dump their life story on the company, so we can judge their ability to break through difficult circumstances and their ideal vacation spots, just to determine they can do the job? Then we sit on their answers, for days and weeks, and finally make a decision, and we get upset they’ve moved on. And we do this all in the name of culture. 

We’re shaking as we hold the arrow in aim position, just trying to get it right, instead of releasing when it’s close enough. Because, when it’s close enough? They know you’re human, you’re not protecting yourself, and only then can you start the dialogue. And we’re afraid to let go, because we might get bruised.

We’re living in a swipe right culture. It’s found its way to recruiting. Nothing wrong with swipe right, but to get that swipe you have to show who you really are to the person on the other end. No filtered photos, no blurry pics, no bad crops of your photos. Trust that the person on the other end knows what they don’t want. Then start the conversation. Don’t get swayed by technological ideology that states using programs you’ll get a higher return of interested candidates. You know what drives interest? Being you. Showing your culture. Being unapologetic about what your company is about, what you’re passionate about, and what you need to help expand your culture. 

You see, you can’t keep your culture the same. If you’re a parent you know that each life you add to your family changes the dynamic, enriches is. But it certainly isn’t the same. It’s the same with company culture. You can keep what’s important, important and centered, but as you grow it will take on a different tone. You’ll learn to communicate differently, with multiple types of success. You’ll learn that you need to hire people who are opposite of you and people you don’t want to have a beer with. And that’s okay.

So, look at your process. What does your website say about you, that is uniquely you. Not the take your dog to work day type stuff. But how do you positively cause growth to your customers or positive changes to them. How do your people collaborate, it’s not about happy hour Wednesdays or free snacks. I guarantee when your employees are referring their friends for a job, they aren’t talking about the recent charity march your company participated in, and they aren’t talking about the oatmeal bar. BUT they are talking about how you manage, the pitfalls and the weaknesses of who they report to, what needs to be better, the pay, the schedule, how you handled the emergency with their dad when they had to fly out of town. They are talking about why they stay, not why they took the job. Those are two radically different ideas. 

Do you know why your people stay? Find out. Start approaching your ads and your interviews with what it looks like in six months, why that person will stay, and what you are going to do to make it happen.

You know that “What is your five-year plan?” question everyone is so fond of? Try asking it this way “What do we need to do as a company to keep you here for five years?” Put yourself on the hotseat for retaining the talent, make yourself accountable to their success. You know why? Because they are the lifeblood to your customers. I’m not saying let them walk all over you. But do establish a two-way communication of give and take. 

Don’t get caught up in aiming for a long time. Because you’ll shake. You’ll actually start to break the integrity of the process by over thinking. You’ll lose good candidates. And bruise yourself in the process.

My challenge for you is to come at this opening as your future self and have a conversation. A real conversation. Don’t just expect them to lay their emotions on the table waiting for you to come through.

Inhale, pick up, anchor, exhale, release. In one fell swoop.