The Strengths of a Rookie

​Recently, a good client asked me for a copy of a fee agreement they signed six years ago. I opened up our database to find it; my administrative assistant was out and I hate not being punctual(ish).  As I sifted through emails, I read the messages that went back and forth between us and I began laughing.  Out loud.My (then) potential client had asked me to cut my fee. They said that recruiters were desperate, which is true. In 2009 recruiters were desperate, but I wasn’t. They said that employers everywhere were slashing recruiting budgets and they hoped, because I wanted the business, that I would cut my fee.I responded:“I know what you are saying about recruiters being hungry.  We have heard from our parent company that 50% of recruiters will disappear this year, because they aren’t very good and can’t make it in a tight market. However, I am staying just as busy as ever, and seem to be either lucky or good at recruiting!  I do anticipate banks trying to use fewer outside sources in business. Though, there are a couple of things that make me happy: I am finding gorgeous talent right now, talent that appears as diva behavior in a good economy; but they are easier to work with now.  Secondly, those people are good enough that banks make positions for them, because they pay for themselves. This is my main source of placements now. ”Yes, everything I said was true, but the gumption and conviction I had less than one year on the job made me laugh.  Once you do something year after year, you can wear out.  Things can become monotonous and you don’t have the same spunk and fight that you do when you were young and hungry.  I laughed because I was new when I sent that email, and yet I showed no signs of it.   In relation to the many various learning models and theories, the beauty of a novice is that one is context free, analytical, and detached. They are unaware of what they don’t know. I wasn’t overthinking anything!  I was simply doing as I was taught.  I was detached from fear of rejection.  I was analytical: I really was busy and pointed out why.   I was naive enough to believe that if I put in the hard work, it would pay off.  A newbie can avoid cynicism or over-thinking things if they acknowledge that they know nothing and can do the job with the right efforts.I had never seen a recession before, so I didn’t know we were even in one.  I really only had one slow year during the recession, and I was still better than the average recruiter.  I ended up being rookie of the Western United States in my first 12 months, and fourth globally.  I believed in my process, my value, and that I was good at my job. I wasn’t intimidated by titles. The recruiting world was my oyster.  My naivety worked in my favor. I was not hindered by the naysayers, the whiners, or other recruiters failing.  I put my head down and I focused on doing all the things I was told would make me succeed.Confidence is paramount to success, and as it happens, I was born a confident person.  My daughter mimics what others have called “my walk of authority.”  I can’t tell that I walk with anything other than one foot in front of the other, but my confidence is evident in ways I can’t observe.  I started this job thinking I would succeed, despite knowing that only 19% of recruiters finish their first year.  I have always believed I would not fail at anything to which I was committed.These days I have banks that I don’t want to work with.  If I somehow find myself on the phone with a bank I don’t want to work with, I don’t sell. I roll my eyes and will the conversation to end so I can move on to talking to people I actually enjoy. I don’t even try to sound like I am good at my job, because I know I don’t want to work with that bank. However, my attitude should be more like the rookie me. I should engage in reasoning and rebuttals.  I should not fail to point out my success.  I should act like that bank has every reason to want to work with me, even if I don’t want to work with them.  It is my reputation I am building, if nothing else.As I build my team, I listen to each rookie, to each team member and notice those moments of confidence that absolutely impress me and make me laugh. Rhonda, a recruiter who frequently gets gifts from satisfied business partners now, in her rookie year once said during a fee debate:“I charge 30% (listens).  Oh, 20%?  I can’t hear you.  Your fee is falling off my desk. (listens) 25%?  It is getting lost in all of the job orders I have  (listens) Oh, you can do 30% now? Your job is rising toward the top of my stack.”Rhonda was #2 rookie recruiter in the Western United States in 2012 because she aggressively did everything she was told. She didn’t overthink anything and it showed. What do you have to lose as a rookie?  Very little, which is probably why being so brazen comes so easily for those with natural confidence.  But rookies have everything to gain. Your rookie year tells you how good you can be in a new career.  People take notice of successful rookies.  Malcom Gladwell calls it accumulative advantage when high performing novices get more attention from those with more experience.  For example, kids who are engaging get more attention, and their social skills grow that much more as a result.I read the previously referenced email and said “I have to be more like my rookie self!”  Taryn looked over at me and said “I need to be more like my rookie self too!”Taryn was #1 rookie project coordinator last year and fifth globally.  We both had so much passion and excitement during that time.  Our energy was infectious and we celebrated everything. Taryn used to leave voice mails and upon hanging up say “Damn, that was a great voice mail.”  She did a dance to celebrate every interview she set up.  The excitement encourages us to do more positive activities, which gets you closer to closing deals.  Don’t get caught up  in the sphere of comfort and don’t forget how exciting it is to close deals.For those of you, who aren’t fresh in their career, think of yourself at your most successful moment.  What were you doing?  Probably exactly what you were supposed to: you were hustling.  What were you feeling?  It is likely you were enthusiastic, motivated, energetic, and eager. Do those things. Build those feelings again. Be confident. Do not overthink anything, just push through as though it will work. Your efforts will pay off.If you are a rookie now, make this deal with yourself: don’t over think anything, believe you can do it, put in the work, and don’t come up for air until you do. It is simple. It won’t be easy, but it should be simple.