Paul Clark’s Post

Bee Wilson writes a regular column on food for the Wall Street Journal. Her column this week -- "Why Cooks Shouldn't Fret About Substituting Ingredients" -- made me think of job search, oddly enough, and how job seekers, recruiters and hiring managers should think more broadly about the process. Recruiters and, more specifically, ATS systems, can think very narrowly about candidates. "The job description says X, so we need to look for X, and no substitute will do." What they may miss by only looking for candidate X is that candidates Y or Z may end up being excellent choices to meet the organization's needs. The goal of a recipe is not to rigidly find and use every ingredient listed, no matter the time or cost. The goal is (or should be) to create a meal for family and friends. The same with a job opening. The goal shouldn't be to fill the role with the candidate who ticks off every requirement in a job description, no matter the time or cost. The goal should be to find the candidate that will further the organization's goal for success -- whether it is increased market share or furthering the organization's mission or something else. Job seekers fall into the same trap. "I currently do X, so the next thing I do should also be X." What they may not realize is that the skill set that made them successful doing X may also apply very well in the fields of Y and Z. (I learned this several years into my career when I pivoted from one industry to a different one.) To paraphrase Wilson, "Cooking ... or filling an open position ... or looking for your next role ... gets so much simpler once you give yourself license to substitute ingredients ... or job candidates." https://lnkd.in/gxFZ3ZfA #jobsearch #recruiting #skillsets #onions #wallstreetjournal