Are you on a roll with recruiting and enjoying the positive feelings of success? Or are you beating yourself up because you haven’t made a placement in 2 months and are feeling so discouraged that you can’t get out of bed without 3 coffees in the morning?

Recruiting is an up and down business and learning how to ride the roller-coaster of the highs and lows is key to long term success. Part of successfully riding the ups and downs is learning how to change our inner and outer dialogue. If you are struggling and beating yourself up at the same time, you will dig a deeper ditch for yourself to climb out of to get back on track. Words like “I can’t get a placement” or “nothing is working lately” will only serve to reinforce the negative results. Instead of wallowing in the pits of despair try a new approach when you are in a recruitment slump.  

TIPS FOR GETTING YOUR SUCCESS TO STAY ON TRACK:

1. Acknowledge the emotion you are feeling-Emotions are like messengers. They will keep knocking on your door until you acknowledge them. They serve an important purpose in helping guide you and denying them will only serve to keep them bugging you. There are no “bad” emotions. Both positive and negative emotions exist for good reasons. You cannot FAKE a happy state and nor should you. But to transition to a more positive state you first need to honor and acknowledge your negative emotions like frustration, anger and disappointment so you can transition to a new feeling. 
2. Change your self-talk from defeat to hope or even victory. Instead of saying “it seems like I will never get a placement” say to yourself and out loud something like “I haven’t got a placement in a while and it has been frustrating, but I know that it will come soon” 
3. Look at your habits carefully and make changes-Do you get up late every day and run out the door stressed and frantic? Do you find your energy dipping throughout the day and grab for sugar or caffeine only to find it makes you grumpy and irritable? Does your focus wander when you try to multi-task? Does your output suffer at times throughout the day when you lack energy, focus or enthusiasm? The list could go on and on…When you feel like your work is not at its best, be your own coach or hire a coach. Upgrading your habits will help create more success. As Aristotle once famously said “Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”
4. Build your Emotional Intelligence muscle- Do you create animosity unintentionally with candidates or clients that you aren’t aware of because you are not paying attention to what is going on around you? Getting more placements simply by listening better, acknowledging others emotions and managing your own emotions is not only possible but probable. According to Dan Goleman, the man who brought EI mainstream attention with his many books “If your emotional abilities aren't in hand, if you don't have self-awareness, if you are not able to manage your distressing emotions, if you can't have empathy and have effective relationships, then no matter how smart you are, you are not going to get very far.”
5. Renew yourself with a break-If you keep getting the same results despite a consistent effort, you may need to step back and take a short break. If you can’t afford a week away at an all-inclusive, consider a day off to get a massage or even stay home with a book to reflect and recharge or even a long hike outside. To break a pattern sometimes you need to stop for a moment and focus on something different. Many great scientists found that when they kept dwelling on the problem in their workshop, they remained “stuck” but simply by taking a long walk or even going to bed, the solution or a new idea would appear spontaneously in their minds or even their dreams. We are capable of much when we allow our creative brain to help problem solve and stop relying only on our rational mind. Even a short break to mediate and get calm and centered can inspire new success. 

The reality is that no recruiter has constant success. With all the uncertainties of finding the right candidate, successfully working with the client to generate a winning offer and closing the deal, much can and will go wrong. The trick is the minimize the scary downward ride by learning to recruit more effectively and more wisely (using both technical and AI skills and people management and EI savvy) so you spend more time celebrating success. Some inspirational quotes below to write down or read when you need encouragement:

“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it." Maya Angelou

"In the realm of ideas everything depends on enthusiasm...in the real world all rests on perseverance." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up." Thomas A. Edison

"The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack in will." Vince Lombardi

"Champions keep playing until they get it right." Billie Jean King

"Perseverance is a great element of success. If you only knock long enough and loud enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody." Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

"Courage is not having the strength to go on; it is going on when you don't have the strength." Theodore Roosevelt

As a special bonus, It is my pleasure to offer one recruiter a free seat in my upcoming 6 week on-course called THS (Transformational Health and Success) starting Friday April 27th and continuing with a 1 hour group coaching call for 6 learning filled sessions. This course will teach you how to get more energy in your day, build more confidence so you can ask for more retainers, learn tips to focus better and manage your stress, learn how to communicate more powerfully and positively with Emotional Intelligence and create a life with more purpose and success. Simply email me at patricia@globalconsultinggroup.ca and the first person I hear from can be added to the next group session as my guest!!! Even the simple action of registering for this course, might give you a tip that will help you turn the corner for more success or keep your success rate peaking longer!!

Join me at an exciting conference in California with CSP in June!! www.cspconference.com

Patricia Conlin is a recruitment firm owner (20+ years building success as President of Global Consulting Group Inc.), Speaker, and Coach. A passion for health and leadership development led her into international public speaking and coaching. Conlin is a Certified Emotional Intelligence Trainer, Registered Holistic Nutritionist and Black Belt Martial Artist. She is the author of ABCs of Food: Boost Your Energy, Confidence, and Success with the Power of Nutrition. Visit Conlin’s Coaching website, , ABCs Health 2 Success to check out her amazing on-line course or group coaching programs for Recruiters or click here to subscribe to her Global Consulting Group Inc. email newsletter and updates (including events) GlobalConsultingGroup.ca.