Yesterday, we talked about how effective salmon fishing from anchor can be on rivers like the Columbia. Although this type of fishing often results in catching large, beautiful fish, it is quite boring and many people do not care for these techniques.
To contrast, let me share the type of fishing my sons and I enjoy. In Washington State, there are more than 2,500 lakes that are above 2,500 foot elevation. These “alpine lakes” have trout populations and can only be reached by hiking mountain trails for several miles.
Because the lakes are iced-over for about 9 months of the year, the trout have a short period of time to eat as much as possible. These fish will pretty much eat anything that moves! With a fly rod and a couple of enticing imitation bugs, we can catch a lot of fish. This is exciting fishing because it is visual—you can often see the trout take the fly right before you set the hook.
The problem with this type of fishing is that these fish are small. Most of the trout are only 9 to 12 inches long and weigh less than a pound. The Salmon caught on the Columbia using the anchor fishing techniques are quite large; they are over 25 inches long and typically weigh 10 pounds or more.
So, how does this apply to recruiting? The secret of salmon fishing from anchor is executing a well-designed and tested system. Eric Linde concludes his video by stating:
“This type of fishing is not difficult, and you will catch fish if you follow the system that I’ve described in this video. The variables are not that complex. Just follow the system, and you’ll be successful.”
The same is true for recruiting. The people who you’d most like to recruit (the big fish) are focused on doing their job and will not pay much attention to your recruiting efforts. There is often very little feedback offered as you try to interact with these candidates.
Success happens when you’re in the right place at the right time. When a candidate gets upset by something in their current job and decides to leave their organization, they typically move to an organization that has systematically built trust and credibility with them over time. In essence, the successful hiring manager has their lure 18 inches off the bottom, right in front of the fish’s nose when they decide to make a move.
Why don’t people execute recruiting systems like this? Because, as my son said, “This is the most boring kind of fishing I could imagine.”
What we’d rather do is fish the alpine lakes. It is much more exciting to talk with people who are desperate to talk with us. And it’s emotionally gratifying to see people “take the bait” and listen to everything we say with excitement and interest.
If you’re fishing for enjoyment, it makes sense to gravitate towards the activities that are most self-fulfilling. If your livelihood depends upon catching big fish; it is foolish to let yourself be distracted by self-gratifying activities. It’s better to do the work of a boring system that produces results.
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