June 16, 2016
Recruiters are some of the most versatile people out there, tasked with identifying and inspiring others to join their cause. It is the combination of leadership, communication and technology that allows recruiters to be successful in their field. That’s why exceptional recruiters gain knowledge from many different industries and draw inspiration from a multitude of thought leaders. In the spirit of learning from diverse sources, we’re sharing three TED Talks that inspire us as recruiters.
Get the latest career-focused blogs and more by joining the WilsonHCG talent community here.
10 Ways to Have a Better Conversation
Recruiting is all about conversations. A recruiter’s day is filled with consulting hiring managers, navigating candidates and collaborating with coworkers. So it may feel like you have the art of conversation mastered, right? Maybe not! In this TED Talk, radio host Celeste Headlee shares insightful and thought-provoking advice on how to have more effective conversations. She throws out all the old adages that say make eye contact, nod, rephrase what they just said, and instead she has one simple rule: actually listen. Of course, recruiting comes with some level of structured conversation, but don’t be afraid to go off script. Asking genuine follow-up questions can help get to the core of the conversation quicker and make for a more productive discussion. Plus, more efficient conversations means time saved that would have otherwise been spent dancing around the subject, and what recruiter couldn’t use more precious time?
a 12-Year Old App Developer
Thomas Suarez is a self-taught app developer, and he’s also 12 years old. The connection to recruiting might not be as immediately obvious in this talk but there is a very important lesson to be learned here. Thomas had no formal training on developing apps when he first created one. Instead, he had to find his own resources and use his own ingenuity. Then, once he became successful, he decided to pay it forward by creating an app club at school. Whether you are in the learning or paying-it-forward phase as a recruiter, knowledge is the most important tool you have. Almost anything can be learned by self-teaching and that information is made to be shared. So if there’s a recruiting technique you don’t understand or a strategy you’d like to master, just follow Thomas’ lead.
How Great Leaders Inspire Action
For any individual in any profession, you need to have a reason to get up and go to work in the morning. It might just be for the paycheck, but the most successful people do it for the bigger picture. Simon Sinek explores the idea of “why” throughout this TED Talk and how it is the most important factor in success and leadership. He addresses the fact that “If you hire people just because they can do a job, they will work for your money. If you hire people who believe what you believe, they will work for you with blood and sweat and tears.” This statement is inspiring for us recruiters in two distinct ways. First, that as an individual, you will only reach your full potential if you work for an organization that truly shares your values. Also, as a recruiter, this suggests that maybe we should be speaking to candidates less in terms of “what we do” or “how we do it” but "why we do it." Why does your employer do what they do? Why does the candidate do what they do? Why do they belong together?
Now that we’ve shared our favorite videos, we want to know what inspires you as a top recruiter! Let us know in the comments section below what videos and articles have had an impact on your career.
