The Recruiting Animal Show: The Minnesota Headhunter

Introduction

Hello everybody, this is The Recruiting Animal. You know, I'm generally a pretty happy guy but like everyone else, I've known bad times too. So, today, my introduction is dedicated to the down at heart. It's dedicated to every sourcer who's ever been hungry for a name. And to every recruiter who's ever needed a candidate more than he's needed anything in this world before.

I'm here to tell you there's hope, recruiters and sourcers. There's hope. And I know. Because I've been down there too. Believe you me.

But you know I had a vision the other day and it told me that there's good times coming for ALL recruiters. Not corporate recruiters — but all recruiters. Not retained recruiters — but all recruiters. Not sole practitioners working in their underwear in their living rooms — but all recruiters. And not just American recruiters — but all recruiters! Yes, there's good times coming for recruiters in Toronto. There's good times coming for recruiters in San Francisco. You might be in Atlanta or you might be in India. You might be in New York or Shanghai. There's good times for coming you and for me!

But there's one more thing I've got to tell you. It's something every recruiter should know. It's something every candidate should know. It's an old lesson for everyone in every corner of the world. Not just the free world, but the unfree world. And not just the rich world, but the poor world too. And the lesson is this, recruiters and sourcers, it's this: There's no such thing as a really free lunch. If you want a sandwich, you've got to pay the piper.

Do you know what am I saying? I'm saying when promises seem too good to be true, there's always a catch. It might be Catch 22. Or it might be Catch 23. It might be Catch 24 or it might be Catch 25. But whenever you hear a promise there's always a catch. For things are rarely as simple as they seem.

So, yes, there's good times coming for all recruiters. I'm quite willing to say it again. But first there's going to be a catch, recruiters and sourcers. And that catch is going to be a judgment day. There's a judgment day coming for all recruiters. It's coming for you and it's coming for me. And in our business we've got a name for that day. We call that day the R-word. The R-word. Because it's just too terrible to say out loud. It's just so horrible we turn our eyes away when we see it in the newspaper. It's just so horrible we change the channel when we see it on the TV. But the R word 's coming whether you like it or not. It's coming as sure as the day is long.

And what's it going to do recruiters and sourcers? It's going separate the sheep from the goats. It's going separate the wheat from the tares. It's going to separate the faithful from the faith less. Because that's what you need to succeed, recruiters. Faith that tells you there are good times ahead. For as Billy Joel says, only the faithful survive.

And I'm not talking about blind optimism here. I'm not talking about the faith of an internet sourcer who has dislexia and will never learn how to spell. And I'm not talking about the faith of a telephone sourcer who was born with an very bad lisp. I'm talking about something substantial. I'm talking about quick witted people. I'm talking about hard working people. I'm talking about people who have spent a lifetime honing their skills. They will suffer bad times too. For no one is immune.

Since Adam was kicked out of the garden, recruiters have had to suffer bad times. But all they need to survive is faith. Faith in the face of no clients. Faith in the face of no revenue. Faith in the face of uncertain times. Yes, that's what they call the audacity of hope! I know you're saying it's the audacity of dopes but in the end, that's the bedrock of this business, recruiters. A belief that there are better days to come though they are, as yet, unseen.

Say it with me now... no don't say it. It's time to move on to my guest. He calls himself the Minnesota Headhunter and we're going to see if he has the faith to succeed. And just in case you tuned in late, I want you to know that I'm the Recruiting Animal and this is The Recruiting Animal Showwwww!.