What brought this topic to mind? Don Gorske, of course…he is the Wisconsin man who has consumed 30,000 McDonald’s Big Mac sandwiches. In fact, he has been eating them for 46 years. Usually two sandwiches a day and on occasion just one.
The reason this came to mind…he saved his receipts. He is going into the Guinness Book of World Records because he DOCUMENTED HIS ACCOMPLISHMENT!
In case you are worried for him, in 2003 Ellen DeGeneres had a cholesterol test done on Gorske and it was 140, within the normal range.
For recruiters and recruitment firms, it is important to know what you do well and to be able to document that to employers, candidates, prospective employees, lenders, or a future buyer of your business.
Whether you are competing for a new contract or want to convince a candidate that you are the best person to place them in their next job, it helps to have facts and documentation on your side. Banks, lenders and buyers all want proof of your success. Make sure you have captured the recruiter accomplishments of the firm. Have a good way to display what you have achieved.
Like Gorske, start with a paper trail. There will not be “recruiter success receipts” you can collect, but you can ask for feedback and testimonials from those you have served. It takes time to get the proof of success process started but once you have a process, it is easy to repeat. It is never a bad idea to collect feedback; you may learn something that is different than what you expected going into the feedback loop. Even if you are just capturing the “Challenges, Actions and Results” also known as “C.A.R.s” on your own formatted document or journal, you will have a repeatable process to make highlighting what you have done well easier as time moves ahead.
A positive track record will enhance your credibility with any audience and will boost others’ confidence in you and your firm’s ability. Make a catalog of your recruiter accomplishments that you can reference when positioning yourself or the business. Having a story well documented and ready to go will build confidence and minimize the time it takes to move yourself in a positive direction.
What is the best method for documenting recruiter accomplishments? You know yourself better than anyone. Pick a method that is natural and easy for you. For some this is a spreadsheet. For others it is an online document or a journal. Do what fits your work style.
Use power and action words to describe the result achieved. Remember to add enough detail to make it credible without bogging the reader down with too many facts or unnecessary minutia.
And a final thought…if you are a recruiter, get your candidates, clients and hiring managers to do the same thing. How many times would it have been helpful to deliver to a candidate considering a job, some of the client’s accomplishments, the department’s successes, or the hiring manager’s most recent accomplishment to make a YES much more likely. We are all impressed by success, accomplishment and results. Start keeping score if you want to win!
