Master your craft

Master your craft


The quickest way to move up the corporate ladder is to know exactly what you’re doing and doing it better than anybody else. Know your industry inside and out and become a Recruiting expert in your respective field. Dedicate time to learning about your company's on-boarding and hiring process. Develop relationships with all the people in your industry and know exactly what you’re talking about. Take the time to genuinely get to know the people you’re working with from the top down of your organization. Familiarize yourself with the management team and attend all corporate functions when invited. It’s important that you never miss scheduled conference calls or company meetings. This is a direct reflection of you as an employee. You need to build a solid reputation and trust between your colleagues, your supervisor and your recruits. Never burn any bridges as you never know when you will need a favor or a chance at a new opportunity in the future. Do small favors for people here and there so you can ask for one in return if ever necessary, this also allows you to see who's there for you in times of need. 

When you’re interviewing or recruiting in person make sure you keep eye contact and if it’s over the phone listen and respond to their comments accordingly with intricate knowledge about them and the position at hand. Try and listen more than you speak, you learn a lot more this way and there is a reason why we have two ears and one mouth. Always try to have an energetic demeanor and a positive attitude, after all nobody is going to get excited about a job if the person presenting it has no interest in the position or in them. Nobody wants to work with Debbie Downer so put on a happy smile!

Before interviewing for a potential position, make sure you research the company, their background and what they are about. The hiring manager should be impressed with what you know and they will appreciate the fact that you took the time to get to know the company before applying. You should apply to companies you like and brands you can relate to. It will be much easier to recruit for a company you believe in, trust and can speak about with confidence. You should try to avoid working for companies that you have no interest in and are scared to talk about because of their reputation. Don’t base your decision solely on the money. Make sure it’s a solid company with financial stability and a long track record. You don’t want to work for someone who may not be around in six months just for a higher short term salary. This would add a gap to your resume so always give up the good to go for the great. The long game is what counts so try not to be shortsighted. Be so good that eventually companies will seek you out to recruit you. Be a healthy workaholic. As long as you’re on your phone why not use it for work instead of random scrolling on social media.

In order to survive and thrive you need to learn not just how to play the game but be the best at it. I know that human instinct makes you want to be friends with everyone but sometimes that can get you fired, especially if you don't watch your back. It's nice to be friendly but equally cautious. Success is still a competition and in the end only the strong survive. When I say survive, I mean that if the economy is doing poorly and the company has to make layoffs you don't want to be part of the group that gets terminated first. It's important to do a great job but just as important to make the right alliances especially with those at the top. If some middle manager doesn't like you for no good reason but you have a strong relationship with their boss or their boss's boss you have a much greater chance of not being on the chopping block. You can have friends and you can have allies, allies will have your back when things get tough just like you will have theirs as long as they don't stab you in the back.

Office politics can be quite shrewd and cutthroat so try your best at mastering the game the best you can. I would recommend books such as the 48 laws of power, Machiavelli or the Art of War if you want to have a strong handle of almost any warlike situation you encounter. If you're not into this type of stuff and you just want to get along with everyone that's fine too. There's nothing wrong with wanting to be liked by everyone but that can sometimes have devastating consequences especially in corporate America. 

To those who enjoyed this material and think they would like to open their own staffing agency, then look out for our next course which will deal with starting your own staffing agency and being your own boss***


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