Yesterday, I described the unusual situation that we are currently in, where top talent is available, marked down, and easy to dislodge.  If you are responsible for hiring, you owe it to yourself, and the company you work for, to spend some time imagining how this works. (Definitely begin be reviewing yesterday’s blog.)

Let’s say you’re single, and you are looking to date someone.  Where’s the best environment for this?  Is it among a group of happily married couples, or among a group of singles?  The answer is, of course, obvious.  This may sound like a ridiculous analogy, but it applies to recruiting more than you may think!

To take the analogy further… As far as talented people and their loyalty to their employers goes, we are now in a situation where there have been millions of “divorces” and many considering “divorce.”  If you ever want “to date,” NOW is the time.  Now is the time when the largest number of people are willing to “play the field.”  Don’t wait until everyone has already “dated” other industries and “found their match,” because the majority of the workforce will likely stick with their new match through several economic cycles before they switch industries again.  This is the time to attract, date, and marry this extremely wide pool of very good prospects.

Continuing the analogy… Most hiring managers restrict their “dating” to only those who actively “flirt” with them.  And we all know, this limits your dating prospects to the most desperate individuals.  And if you limit yourself to those who actively flirt, you’ll probably wind up with someone who will flirt with other companies once they’re with you!

To win over the best date and best prospects, you must set a goal and not give up.  The most successful daters know that finding a great partner takes tenacity, patience, and a willingness to be rejected.  They know that finding the right person is a numbers game, and by increasing the number of rejections, they’ll increase their chances of winning the heart of someone great.

The numbers have never been so much in your favor…