Recruiting Without Experience

I love hiring people with no experience. I’ve had more success molding, mentoring and coaching people with no experience than I have with veteran recruiters. This article is written for the people with no experience. I wish you all the success in the world.

I don’t hire you for talent. Possibly because I really don’t believe in talent, not the way we’ve been taught. I hire for attitude and raw potential. What the world calls talent, I think is a mix of potential, mental management and hard work. Inevitably, the new hire faces a trial by fire.

It’s tough. I’ve been there. I remember thinking, “How can I compete with these experienced professionals.” Most new recruiters believe that they need to trick clients into thinking that they are expert providers. The problem is that your clients have access to LinkedIn, so when you pretend to be an expert, your client knows that you aren’t being authentic. Lack of authenticity and empathy are sales-killers.

Empathy

Quit pretending. Your clients won’t believe that your experience is stronger than a competitor with 10 or 20 years, because you say so. The first step is to put yourself in your client’s shoes. If you were her, would you be concerned about your experience level? Step two is to acknowledge your client’s concern with radical candor and honesty. Tell her that you don’t have any experience. Ask her if that is a concern. When she says that it is, tell her if that if you were in her shoes, you might feel the same way.

What Do You Bring To The Table?

In a word, heart, enthusiasm, hunger. You aren’t afraid to do whatever it takes. Your word is your bond, and if you say that you will do something, you will work day and night to make it happen. If they don’t use you, it will be a mistake, because you are on call 24 hours a day. You will run into traffic for your client. Here’s the thing, it can’t be just words. You have to mean it. You must be willing to sacrifice, really sacrifice for your clients. If you really mean what you say, she will believe it.

Vulnerability and Passion

My experience with young people is that they spend a lot of time on what they should say. The focus is on tactics. Tactical communications are very important. It is especially critical to refine and simplify. Once your spiel is perfect though, don’t be surprised when your clients are unmoved. Are you telling a story, or spitting out a dull pitch? How personal is it? Do you share any vulnerability, or do you make-believe that you are perfect? Have you explained what gets you out of bed, or how seriously you care about their problems?

The more personal your story, and the more passion that you communicate, the more effective you will be. Quit trying to be someone you are not. Work hard for your clients. Make them proud of their decision to have faith in you.

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