Good things come to those who wait

I usually hesitate making any comments that show my age, but how many of you remember the Heinz ketchup commercials from the early 80s with this slogan?  You would see a young guy (who is now incredibly famous because of the show Friends on NBC) place a newly opened bottle of ketchup on a rooftop, he would run down the multiple flights of stairs, purchase a hot dog from a street vendor and then you would see one glorious drop of delicious condiment float from the sky and perfectly land on the hot dog.  I don't even like hot dogs, but that made me want to try that trick at home.

The reason I bring this up is more than simple nostalgia.  I had a great reminder this morning that patience is a key virtue in our business.  A candidate of mine had been flirting with the idea of an interview with a client for nearly four months and finally had the opportunity to have an initial interview yesterday.  Not only did he nail the interview, but he had a positive attitude about the whole situation.  Instead of becoming bitter for the delay, he seized the opportunity to shine and show them why they should have been interviewing him all along.

All too often the interview/recruiting process does not align with everyone's ideal timing.  Clients drag their feet to offer stage when a candidate feels as though they are on the goal line and in the 11th hour.  Candidates take way too long to return phone calls to set up next stages of the process.  Emails are lost in cyberspace and calendars fill up before something can be confirmed.  I could go on and on and on, just like Taio Cruz.  Like Taio I want to celebrate and live my life.  (Thank you to my seven-year old son's love of Pandora for that random reference.)  Or in other words I try to inject a positive attitude and optimism in the midst of what is often a slower process than anyone would like to see.  I wish more people would share that sentiment in the transactional, what-have-you-done-for-me-lately society we live in.

Along with pure unadulterated optimism, I do also like to stress clear and realistic communication.  The candidate I referenced above remained patient primarily because he and I had a lot of conversations with him over that four-month period.  I was honest with him that the slow process frustrated me as well.  But the opportunity was worth waiting for.  He knew that he could ask me open and honest questions and that I was his advocate in the process and not just a means to an end.

The takeaway here is to envision that ketchup bottle perched high above the street when you find yourself in a situation where you wished the interview process was moving along more quickly.  Keep in mind that waiting not only produced the desired result of ketchup on the bun, but it was the perfect amount as well.  Ah, the beauty of television, even if it was the 1980s.........