Hiring Top Talent Is Tough

I have recently taken on a new role at Treeline, Inc. I am still an executive recruiter, building long-lasting partnerships with companies and strong partnerships with sales professionals and my mission has not changed. I still help companies find and hire top sales talent and assist sales professionals in their job search.  The new aspect of my role is that I am now building out a team of my own, and let me just say it is way tougher than I thought it was going to be.

I am a consistent top producer with Treeline, earning “#1 Recruiter of the Year” multiple times.  Recruiting is what I do for a living and I’m good at it, so how can this be so difficult? I have been actively looking for a few weeks and I have not found the success that I initially thought.  And it is only recently that I have realized why. It is something I correct salespeople on every day which is Sales is NOT Sales, meaning it is not a one-size fits all.

I have to remember, as I tell candidates and clients alike, not every sales model works for every salesperson.  There all different types of ‘sales species.’ There are outside and inside opportunities, strategic and transactional, hunting and farming, products and services, etc., and there are many combinations of all of these.  Through my hiring efforts, I have completely forgotten of all the leg work that we do for our clients.  Everyone in my company meets at least 10 candidates per week.  This means that we meet more than 100 people per week. We build relationships, make recommendations and work very hard to find the right fit for both our candidates and clients. I have taken this for granted and forgot that finding the “right fit” is very challenging and time-consuming.

Now I am not only the hiring manager, but I am also my own recruiter.  I still have to get through the 100+ candidates to find a pool of talent that will be a good fit for Treeline, just like I do for my clients on a daily basis. I am very thankful and fortunate to have a high volume of candidates at my fingertips, but I still recognize how challenging it is to hire the right person for my team. I have to make sure that not only are they the right culture fit for the team, but I also have to qualify the person, setting accurate expectations around the job itself.

So as we approach the end of the calendar year spending out our budgets to hire talent, I remind all of you Hiring Managers to not get discouraged if you are not finding quick success.  Keep in mind that hiring is hard work. When you are growing as rapidly as we are here at Treeline, expect to work long hours to hit your revenue numbers and headcount objectives. After all, this is an activity game and the more people you meet, the better your chances are of meeting the right people.  If you do not feel like combing through 100+ candidates to meet the right one, call Treeline, I feel your pain.