Faith and Trust!

This episode dates to October 2007. Sometimes at around 7:00 PM on one of those busy evenings, I was heading back to my room, riding as a pillion on my friend’s bike to pick up my baggage to go to Nagpur, my hometown. Although the train was scheduled to leave the central station at 10.10 PM, the city traffic was making me nervous. On the days that are important to us, when we expect things to be alright, Bangalore woes can unexpectedly disrupt your expectations. While the home-going exhilaration was seemingly turning numb, many inexplicable worries were gripping my mind, including one genuine worry of not achieving my target for the month was surfacing at the top. The interrelated anxieties, reminding me of the theory of relativity were putting me into an awkward jinx.

Suddenly the phone rang and a very familiar voice at the other end said, “lucky you…you are going home”. That was my manager, who hesitantly approved my leave. I call it as a hesitant and a conditional approval, because I was short of my target offers for October and my manager expected me to add one more offer to my kitty from any of our client list, before I head out. The call skipped my heartbeat for a while since everything was set for my travel with the festivities of Diwali around. “You know, Kiran is selected for an offer by X company and he just received the confirmation communication from the client. Enjoy your holiday” he cut the call off. I was ecstatic while I was also relieved that now nothing can stop me from boarding the train, except the Bangalore traffic.

 “You know what, it’s faith!” my friend who overheard my conversation with my manager made the statement, while we opened the door of my room. “It’s all what you do matters. From understanding the client requirements and carrying out the role mapping, from calling the candidate to selling the job description – you did all that a professional headhunter is obligated to do. You matched the candidates’ interest, you did a rigorous follow up and in the whole process you built a rapport, hinging the relation on a very strong foundation of faith. In no time, the candidate looked up to you as a trusted partner and pledged his career to you, to be taken to the next level. Also, in the whole process, you too discovered that the candidate has what it takes to crack the interview.”

My friend’s words made me connect the dots. I simply looked at him with profound glee in my eyes and faintly smiled. That night, even the city conspired to clear off the traffic and let me board the train with zero hassles. Of course, that year was one of my best Diwali vacation.

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During January 2008, Kiran and I agreed to meet at a coffee shop, closer to his new office. During our meeting, he thanked me profusely and told me as to how much he is truly liking the work assigned to him and the overall work environment. It was one of the rare moments where I could realize as to how important it is to have a good combination of a right candidate to be intersected with client’s expectations. I increasingly realize now that recruitment is not a one-sided effort. You need a good candidate, as much as you need a good company. More than anything, one needs to establish a foundation of mutual trust. The most effective way to build trust is to be open and honest with both parties. And the best way to do this is to be and become one of them. Whatever it is you recruit for; you need to get inside their field of work. Understanding their world of work is important; their skills, their nature of work will help you not only understand the new terrain but also empowers you to make them feel that what you are sharing with them is not just the industry jibe and some keywords – but you know what you are talking about and how it eventually impacts their career.

Now I understand, the importance of trade journals that I read to keep myself abreast with the industry that I recruit people for. Keeping constantly advancing our understanding about the world of hiring- fosters strong, trustworthy communication with our candidates as well as our clients.

Now I understand, why being trusted is a greater compliment than being loved.

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Jayant Joshi