How Recruiting is like Romance
If you’ve been through a job search from any perspective, you may have noticed some similarities between the hiring process and a romantic relationship. There’s the giddy thrill of finding out someone is interested in you and the devastation that comes with rejection. The butterflies-in-the-stomach excitement of prepping for a big interview and the punched-in-the-gut sensation of being ghosted afterward. For everyone involved, it can be an entire amusement park of emotions. But when things work out, the result is a long-lasting, mutually beneficial, fulfilling, and fruitful relationship.
If you’re directly involved in the process all the time, as we are, you get how painfully deep the analogy runs. At Spectrum, we refer to ourselves as “matchmakers”. We facilitate and promote relationships between job seekers and hiring managers with all the same enthusiasm we would setting up friends for first dates. In fact, we literally refer to initial interviews between candidates and clients as “first dates”.
In the unfortunate event that we have to sever ties with an individual or organization, it is referred to as “breaking up” with them. We’re not too proud to admit we occasionally get (professional) “crushes” on business partners and prospects. In the recruiting business, as in the real world, that love at first sight often fades too soon. We’re here to promote long-term liaisons rather than fleeting affairs.
We understand that, as is the case with many personal relationships, common interests, goals, and connections will help move things along in the hiring process. If things are ever going to successfully get to the next level, it is imperative that the relationship be based upon mutual respect, trust, and open communication from the beginning. First impressions, like first interviews, DO matter. In business and romance, most people know within a few minutes of meeting one another whether or not they’ll be a good fit for one another.
A lot of recruiters are like pushy, out-of-touch aunts, trying to set up their nephew (who has yet to graduate college and still has his entire life ahead of him, for Pete’s sake!) with every available company they come across. We’re the super cute, surprisingly astute, forever keepin-it-real, badass besties from your favorite rom-com. We know you better than you know yourself, we’ll always have your back, and even though we hate them as much as you do, we’ll stop you from trash-talking your ex (former employer) on your first date.
