At its core, Recruiting is Sales. Technically it may be a function of, or department within, Human Resources, but if you analyze the duties and desired results of Recruiting, it looks a lot more like Sales than we often acknowledge.
I began to think about the connection between HR and selling when reading Daniel Pink’s book, To Sell is Human (as an aside, there were so many useful tips, anecdotes and summaries regarding the art and science of sales that we recently purchased a copy for everyone on our team).
Pink cites a study by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics that states one out of every nine American workers works in “Sales”. However, Pink takes it one step further and persuasively argues that so do the other eight. Though the other eight may not work in traditional sales, they are very much involved with “non-sales selling” in almost everything they do.
He gives some examples: “Physicians sell patients on a remedy. Lawyers sell juries on a verdict. Teachers sell students on the value of paying attention in class.” And I’d like to add one more: Companies sell job applicants on why she or he should work for them.
From the second you post a job through the hiring of your next employee, every interaction between your company and a job seeker is Sales masquerading as Human Resources. You are selling your company’s culture, its vision, its values and its mission. You are often asking individuals to give up what they have (a current job) to accept what you are offering (a job with your company). You better be persuasive and authentic.
So if your company is having a difficult time Recruiting, perhaps viewing your strategy through the eyes of an applicant would help. Would you, the hypothetical applicant, be sold? If not, altering your approach may lead to greater success in your Recruiting efforts.