“You can put lipstick on a pig but it’s still a pig” - Greg Savage 2011

Greg was ripping into a Discussion I had proposed with the above comment. Charming Australian directness I thought but in fact it struck me as very apt in another way: Lots of recruitment is dressed up to impress but ultimately some deliver less than they promise.

I’ll add the normal caveat and say there are many exceptional recruiters who do deliver what they promise but there are probably as many who do not.

So why is the word “promise” used in the above description?

Well it’s because recruitment is a process with uncertain outcomes. If you pay an Assassin to kill someone he might get hit by a bus before completing the mission! He might shoot the wrong person…it happens. There are no guarantees.

If however you pay the person who brings you the head of the intended target, there is no uncertainty. This is the basis of our proposition at Vacancy-Clearing.

So next time you listen to a “promise” ask yourself the question… why?

The Russian sniper and The British spy.

The Russian sniper and the British spy…a modern tale of in-house and agency recruitment in a snowy setting.

I remember being told this story as a boy and it’s one of those that attached itself to my consciousness for no apparent reason… that is until today! I realise that it’s a metaphor for the struggle between the forces of in-house recruitment and agency recruitment. As with the story the outcome is by no means certain.

The story is set in the snowy Alps. The British spy (Agency) is being chased on cross-country skis by the Russian sniper (In-House). The Russian is faster downhill but slower than the spy going uphill. The spy is forced to climb higher and higher, knowing all the time that eventually he will reach the top of the mountain.

The moral of the story is that the spy cannot keep on running and must eventually face his adversary. In order to prevail he must hand over the secret documents/market territory or fight/compete with the sniper.

How do you see the outcome?