The employees you hire can make a difference. Your hiring decisions could mean the difference between someone who inspires and leads the team, and someone who drags the entire department down with him. Hiring the right person could inspire some much-needed changes, could up the team's motivation and productivity... On the other hand, the wrong hire could cause friction, demotivation, and tension in the group.
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As you all may not know, I am an HR Assistant for Recruitment. Before that, I was an HR Generalist, whose tasks consisted mostly of recruitment as well. In my admittedly limited experience, I have to say I found that I'm passionate about this particular field more than any other facet of HR. I love this job because I get to be directly involved in the process of selection. I get the first say in choosing the right person for a position.
This means that I sort through tons of resumes, profile them accordingly, invite applicants for interviews, conduct the initial interview, endorse them to managers, and walk them through the onboarding process if they get hired. Lots of paperwork, dry mouth from talking to people all day, and an endless line of people pressuring you to "prioritize our vacancies, please!"
It takes a focused, steady mind to withstand the pressure from internal customers. That's what I'm working on right now: I must stop panicking inwardly and just remind myself that no one ever got stuff done by wringing their hands. I must get used to the idea that one of the most important things about recruitment is urgency. You have to keep a close watch on deadlines, and if you don't deliver, you're screwed.
It is stressful, to say the least, and I'll be damned if I lie and say that I meet my targets 100% of the time. And sometimes, it's okay, because you know what? Some people forget that recruitment deals with the human element. It's very unstable because recruits can always change their minds about the job: they can not show up for the interview, they can back out before the job offer, they can even quit on their first day. There's no reassurance that something won't go wrong.
My supervisor told me that recruiters pride themselves on their hires. We take great joy in seeing our recruits do a great job and enjoy working in the company and department you've placed them. It's a source of pride that you created a win-win situation for both the employee and the company.
Of course, the reverse is also true. When your recruit doesn't perform up to expectations, you will feel bad. I personally get ashamed and angry when a hire of mine doesn't perform well, because it's a reflection of my screening process: like, "How did I not catch that [particular attribute] during the interview?". It's moments like these when I doubt my abilities to do this job well.
Every once in a while, I wonder why I'm in this field in the first place. After all the stress I go through on a daily basis, is it all worth it?
Then I go back to the very first paragraph and realize that my answer is still a resounding yes.
