When I first entered the recruiting field (with CNC Global and now Randstad), I was lost.
Although I had been successful in sales and management in the past, I had been laid off in the early 90’s recession. I tried a few entrepreneurial ventures but with no success.
I was walking down the street and ran into Jeff Stober (now owner of the Drake Hotel group of companies) and we started talking about Montreal, the computer industry etc. He mentioned that his company (CNC Global, then Saber) was looking for.
When I first entered the recruiting field (with CNC Global and now Randstad), I was lost.
Although I had been successful in sales and management in the past, I had been laid off in the early 90’s recession. I tried a few entrepreneurial ventures but with no success.
I was walking down the street and ran into Jeff Stober (now owner of the Drake Hotel group of companies) and we started talking about Montreal, the computer industry etc. He mentioned that his company (CNC Global, then Saber) was looking for salespeople, so I decided to give it a try. Frankly, I really didn’t understand the value recruiting could bring, as all my previous experiences with recruiters had been bad or, at best, superficial.
CNC Global had some excellent leaders and they provided us with all sorts of selling tools and scripts to use but I was barely average in my performance. I felt like I was bothering my clients and not really adding any value to their lives.
A few of the senior executives wanted to fire me…and they wouldn’t have been wrong. My commissions weren’t covering my draw and I owed the company money.
I’m not sure why, but the CEO saw potential in me and provided me space and time. She saw something in me that neither I, nor the other executives saw, and allowed me the opportunity to figure out my ‘noble purpose’. It was to really help people find great career paths and help companies find great people. Really, it was to make a difference in people’s lives.
I know that sounds trite and it’s totally obvious as a recruiter, but it wasn’t clear to me how I could accomplish it. Once I figured it out, I never had to look at my numbers again. We used to have a huge board in the office that showed everyone’s sales metrics each month. Things like the number of job positions that we were working on, the number of resumes that we sent to clients, the number of candidates that were being interviewed by clients, the number of placements that we made etc.
None of that mattered to me, as it wasn’t what drove me. What drove me was helping people find great careers and helping companies find great people. And I’m happy to say that I was very, very good at it.
It’s 27 years later and I’m still doing the same recruiting and still not looking at the numbers.
So let me make a suggestion. Go out and get the book ‘Leading with Noble Purpose‘ and ‘Selling with Noble Purpose’ by Lisa Earle McLeod, and follow the steps in the books.
When you find that purpose I promise that you’ll soar!
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