The other day I was listening to a speaker at an EMA workshop and one thing he said stuck with me. “No one decides when they are a little kid that they want to be a Recruiter; most of us stumble into the profession.” He didn’t mean for this statement to be received negatively. Nevertheless it did get me thinking.
I am sure the majority of recruiters reading this will give a little chuckle and a head nod thinking about when they first became a recruiter.
BUT, is he right? If you really think about it literally is it true?
What do little kids want to be when they grow up? Doctor, firefighter, police officer, athletes come to mind immediately for me. Of course often some combination of firefighting doctor that plays professional baseball on the weekends may fit.
Now, as a recruiter, what do you do? Help people? Work as a team or find people to be on a team? I think you get the point.
By the way, I worked as a HR Manager/Generalist for several years; no one can dispute the point that I AM a fire fighter!
Thinking back to the literal meaning of the “stumbling into the profession” statement I can thank a tyrant boss for starting off my recruitment career.
I was in my early 20’s and worked for an internet company. After a few months on the job, the majority of the programmers took a mass exodus from the company. I looked up at my boss and said “Well, now what do we do?” He yelled “Hire people!” and I did. I never stopped from that day forward!
Back to the point that “No one decides when they are a little kid that they want to be a Recruiter; most of us stumble into the profession.”
I guess the speaker was right as far as I am concerned. I did stumble in and I am sure glad I am a klutz!
