Rightey-dokey you bumper crop of talent acquisitioners! Whats the hardest role in Recruitment?
In my view, it's the Recruitment Lead.
You’re running a full req load.
You’re coaching the team.
You’re managing stakeholders.
You’re probably knee-deep in some project work, maybe an ATS implementation or an EVP rollout.
You’re expected to lead by example, which means your work has to be flawless. You’re the standard.
And yet… whenever I check Amazon, theres is no book titled “How to lead a team, crush your own metrics and deliver a project without shattering into million blobs of insane confetti.”
(if any L&D professionals are out there want to collab on the above book, hit me up.)
It’s overwhelming.
It’s exhausting.
But I have to say, it’s also where some of the most rewarding work of your career will happen.
Why the hell is it so hard?
Ive been thinking about this alot, I reckon it's because recruiting and project work run on opposite logic:
- Agile Projects are time-boxed with flexible outcomes. Recruitment is output-driven with flexible timelines.
That means a single candidate rejecting an offer could derail your entire project plan, and no one above you truly sees the hidden cost of that.
So here are three tips to help you stay out of the busy streets of burnout city
Time management is the difference between drowning and swimming.
Decide what actually matters and block time for it. Be.Fucking.Ruthless.
- Monday morning: sourcing + 1:1s Tuesday afternoon: project work only (Slack off) Thursday: all your calls, back-to-back
Batch your tasks, set rules for when you do deep work, and don’t let your calendar get filled by accident.
Study
Nobody is coming to your rescue. You need to invest your own time to develop your knowledge, mindset and business vocabulary. You don't need a fancy course. One good thing about nobody coming to your rescue is that there's also nobody chasing you. Just go online and buy course material.
Learn about:
- Time management (Deep Work by Cal Newport) Operational frameworks (The Lean Startup, The Change Managers Handbook) Project delivery (Making Work Visible, Agile Handbooks) Leadership (Transformational Leadership, The Tao of Coaching)
You’re no longer “just” a recruiter. You’re a coach, a project manager, a translator between the business and your team.... You currently know about one of those things.....Study.
Be Grateful
This is the most intense phase of your career. But it’s also awesome!
You get to:
- Make hires that still feel personal Build credibility with execs Help a recruiter grow and succeed Ship projects that make things better
It won’t last forever, you’ll either step into pure leadership, or shift back into IC work at a higher level.
So take some time to step back and really feel the exhilaration of wehat you are doing. you have a lot to do, so if you're doing it well it also means a lot to celebrate.
So take a second. Look around.
It’s hard.
But it’s awesome.
Well... that's issue forty seven! If you have any questions about it, or any feedback on this issue of The Data Driven Recruiter, grab me on LinkedIn for a chat.
I'll see you next week!