Recruiters & Sourcers Need to Stop All This NOW For 2017

As a long time part of the recruiting and sourcing community, there have been a lot of things that I have seen come and go, tools, products, promises, lies, stories, and people just to name a few. The one thing that has been constant (please know I am looking directly in the mirror on this one) is that we whine and complain when something is not working just so.

As a big, large, extended family its time that we make 2017 the year in which we:

Don’t complain every time a tool goes down. You are a PROFESSIONAL – find a work-a-round. Your hiring managers could care less that your ATS isn’t working or that (insert tool name here) is experiencing difficulty. Find a solution and deliver – that’s what you get paid for, isn’t it?

Don’t cry every time a tool changes it features. It happens, figure out how to make it work like you like or find another tool to use.

Don’t lose it when you lose a tool. Tools come and go, and the need to seek alternatives when one is not renewed or goes away will be something we are always challenged with.

Don’t go berserk when a candidate backs out on you at an inopportune time. You are in recruiting / sourcing; you deal with people. People are going to do what people are going to do. Find another candidate.

Don’t act like the world is ending because of your ATS / CRM system. They all have imperfections – deal with it or get into a different industry that is ATS / CRM free. If you know those systems so well please go out and create the perfect one and then retire in five years.

Don’t say that you have tried every tool under the sun but am still not finding anyone. You have not, I promise. There are as many tools for us to use as the day is long. Move away from lazy and start going crazy learning as many new tools and tricks as you can in 2017.

Don’t complain about recruiter spam. FYI – it’s not going away folks, said so about a year ago and its only getting worse. Instead of burning calories complaining about it why not burn them teaching those that do spam a better way.

Don’t treat candidates badly. If you can’t figure why this one is here, you deserve to lose your job right now.

What else do we need to shelve in 2017? What can we collectively do this year that makes us a much better function, industry, and partner? I am looking forward to what you have to say.