Every year for two weeks, the small English village of Wimbledon turns into a Mecca for tennis fans. During the tournament, known lovingly to tennis fans as ‘The Championships’, crowds play hide and seek with the vicissitudes of the weather, and aim to catch a glimpse of the players doing what they do best on the hallowed lawns. Every year, for 14 days straight, more than 10,000 fans join ‘The Queue’. These fans have no guarantee of actually getting to watch any live tennis at all, they simply join ‘The Queue’ without complaint, because they share the love of the game, and they all believe in a single mantra – patience is a virtue.

As a recruiter, I realize how much patience comes in handy and how effort is always not equivalent to reward. I am a recruiter who has helped numerous startups grow to the next level. During my journey, there is one mantra that keeps resonating in my mind: patience is virtue.

The Hiring Process

Hiring the right candidate requires diligence, thoughtful processes and strategy. Jim Collins , author of Good To Great and a thought-leader on what makes great companies tick says, “Great vision without great people is irrelevant”. The hiring process starts with clairvoyance on what type of talent the organisation needs. The recruiter then proceeds to find the right source, setting up parameters for hiring the right talent. Once the talent has been identified, the recruiter implements the hiring process by conducting skill assessments and interviews seamlessly. Finally, an offer is negotiated and the candidate is brought on board. These steps require copious attention to detail, time and persistence.

Effort vs. Results

Across various positions that I have recruited over a number of years, there are some roles for which I will have to invest countless hours, with very minimum results. Then there are other roles that require very little effort in order to fill them.

For instance, here are some examples from our internal database. When recruiting for a DevOps Engineer role, there are times where it has taken up to 552 reach-outs or more, in order to fill a position. On the other hand, there are occasions where a similar role is filled within 10 reach-outs. Similarly, on an occasion where we needed to fill a DevOps Manager role with a client, there were 35 candidates that progressed to an onsite interview. It requires us (and the client) to be persistent in the approach, whereas with a different client the same position might be filled within just two onsite interviews. In my experience with a DevOps Engineer role, it has taken anywhere between 1 and 95 business days to fill the position.

There are various factors in this equation that make each situation fall one way or the other. In spite of many years of experience in recruitment, it certainly isn’t an exact science, and it’s difficult to tell which position will take more time and effort than others. Hence, I make sure that I take each role at its face value and ensure I go through each and every step in the process diligently.

Good things come to those who wait

Often, as a recruiter, effort is not always directly correlated to the rewards. However, if you have the patience in going through the process, believing in both the entire organisational growth and their culture, you will certainly reap the benefits, just like those die-hard Wimbledon fans.

MitchelLake Onsite provides embedded recruitment solutions for high-growth technology & innovation. Partnering with our clients, we grow great teams that are out of this world. If you’re seeking talent, advice or you are interested in startups, scale ups and digital transformation, let’s chat.