5 Ways I’ve Failed in My Recruiting Career

Posted by Jonathan Kidder on February 7, 2019February 3, 2023

I find it beneficial to reflect on my past experiences, both the successes and the failures. Recruiting can be a roller coaster ride, with constant changes, heavy workloads, and tight deadlines. It can be challenging to meet the high expectations placed on us, and failure is an inevitable part of the process. However, it is important to view failure as a learning opportunity and use it to improve and grow as a talent sourcing professional.

After much reflection in my career I’ve come up with 5 ways that I’ve failed in my career. In return they’re also the 5 things that I’ve improved on the most in my professional career.

Impostor Syndrome

I still struggle with this problem. Some days I just felt like someone would eventually discover that I’m a fraud and somehow my experience or knowledge doesn’t really matter. It’s a hard thing to deal with. But, with positive self talk you can work on this issue.

“People Pleasing”

Early in my career, I cared too much about what other people thought about me at work. I wanted everyone to like me and unfortunately it’s not like that at any company. Sometimes people don’t want friendships with others and that’s okay. You need to still have a professional relationship with them. It’s taken me many years to fully accept this and in someways I’ve failed at realizing the difference.

Didn’t Find a Mentor Until Late in Career

The first 3 years in my talent sourcing career I never had a good mentor. Thankfully, I realized that I needed someone to mentor my career goals. It’s helped really shape where I want to go within my field. I could have had a better start at the beginning if only if I head an experienced person to learn and grow from.

Afraid to take Risks

I was afraid to take risks on my team and in meetings. It felt easier not to speak up in meetings or suggestion need ideas to the group. I never wanted to look bad in a situation. It was like I always had my guard up with others. The more years of working in the field the better I feel about this issue. I encourage you to always speak up in meetings and make your voice heard.

Not Handling Stress Well

Recruiting is a roller coaster ride of issues. I was bad at taking breaks throughout my days. It’s easy to overbook yourself with screening calls and update meetings. Dealing with so much all at the same time can get really stressful. I wrote a piece about building mindfulness into your sourcing process. I highly recommend checking out my post about reducing stress (here).

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Jonathan Kidder

With more than 12 years of recruitment experience, Jonathan has helped startups and small businesses find the talent they need. He runs the blog WizardSourcer, which explores the latest trends in talent sourcing, provides reviews of recruitment tools, and features interviews with prominent figures in the industry.