As the days go by, it appears I am going crazy (crazier). But with crazy comes creativity and the need for a laugh. My days have started to blend into one, but one thing is for sure, I pass that fridge about 100x a day and open it even more. While I sit here speaking to candidates, clients, and my colleague’s day in and day out, I’ve come to realize…recruitment is like my fridge!
- Even after the £60 shop, there isn’t much food in there
I’m sure everyone is feeling this right now…extra hungry, two breakfasts, dessert before dinner. I’m also sure many people are seeing a lack of jobs, especially in the world of recruitment. Candidates are coming in fast, but jobs are slowing down a bit. It is easy to open the fridge and think “nothing is in here, boring”. However, you can also open the fridge, get your creative cap on, and use that broccoli to make some soup. I personally immediately think of Deliveroo, but my pots and pans have seen the light of day over the past few weeks and it’s been a nice change. This (thankfully) leads me to my next point…
- You need to (try to) make something out of nothing
I’ll say it once I’ll say it again, we need to stay positive and get creative (hence this magical post) in the current situation. It is easy to fall into the hole of anxiety and negativity, but while we may not be placing as many people in jobs right now, or speaking to as many clients with hot roles, this is the time to network, to gain trust, to show our expertise (go crazy and use that mayo and ketchup together) and educate ourselves on what is really inside that fridge! Staying ahead of the curve, finding that new hot sauce, and continuing to build our relationships is crucial.
- The Condiments always save the day
I love condiments. Ketchup, mustard, mint mince, soy sauce, hot sauce…you name it. Avocado and cream cheese, marmite and butter, yum! I like to think of condiments as candidates. Sometimes we are so focused on the main course, we forget about what really gives us the flavour! While recruiting for jobs is essential for us to do ours, without the candidates, we wouldn’t be able to do anything, and everything would be so plain. Our candidates provide us with market knowledge about new roles, new companies, changes in the market, and most importantly – trust us to represent them. Sometimes it takes a few days to build this trust (a green banana that turns ripe 2 days later). Candidates are the peanut butter that holds the bread together…
- It gets warm if you leave the door open
Being proactive is essential in recruitment, especially right now. So many times I stand in front of the fridge staring into the glorious light and then “beep beep beep”, it’s getting too warm and I have to close it for a minute. By being open to new conversations, learning about new markets, speaking to hiring managers, candidates (junior and senior), and “leaving our doors open” (good one, I know), we are building these foundations, and it will pay off.
Now to provide some insight and give you a bit of clarity, I have created an appendix of different types of candidates, ergh, condiments below!
| English Mustard | Uncompromising, hard to get off of you, leaves a distinct smell, kicks you in the face, ruins most things but makes some things incredible. |
| Brinjal Pickle | The mac daddy. Underappreciated, relatively unknown, not what you’d expect given where it comes from but an absolute blast on most things. |
| Hot sauce | An acquired taste. Not for everyone, but if you like it, it will change your life. You never know when it’ll hit you and always keep you on your toes. You may think the taste has gone, and BAM, it’s back! |
| Mayonnaise | Not much fun to look at, bit greasy, always smells a bit funky but is essential for living your best life. A great all-rounder, a good one to have available, but can be a bit wet. |
| Barbecue | Combination of mayonnaise, onion, and mustard all in one. Bit more of a special occasion kind of guy. Easy to talk to, difficult to shake, worth the wait. |
To be serious for a second, I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t ask…what condiment are you? Feel free to mix them together and create your own! If I don’t hear from you, I’ll assume you’re NOT miracle whip.
