We are in the midst of the greatest phenomenon in Iowa outside of the annual corn and soybean reports that will come out in 6-8 weeks. It is called the Iowa State Fair. Over one million visitors stop by each year, easily making it the most attended event of the year for our great state. You can get just about any food you can imagine on a stick. Fried Twinkies are by far my son's favorite, and I tend to agree with him.
What I really like about the Fair is that you tend to stop and look around a bit instead of just trying to run from booth to booth. This is a great reminder for candidates when they are seeking a new position or interviewing for a different role. Far too often people tend to move quickly and not really view the process through an objective lens. They are most interested in leaving what they view as a "bad" situation with their current employer, chasing more money even if the job isn't the best match, or even sometimes pushing toward offer stage just to feel wanted. None of these are good options if you are looking to make a career move that will stick and be a long term solution.
Or just like at the Fair, there will be people that want to move faster than you are moving. We still take a stroller for our two-year old and teenagers especially didn't like the pace we moved at while walking around the main concourse. This is more of a danger for employers that have an immediate need that can't wait another day to be filled. If you take the first candidate that comes in the door despite it not being a direct match, you will certainly pay for it shortly after the candidate commences employment. It can also adversely affect a candidate's opinion of the company if they are not patient about scheduling interviews or waiting for response regarding references or other administrative details.
Most recruiters will tell you that time kills all deals and would actually love the process to move quickly every single time a candidate interviews with a client. While there is certainly some truth to that, we are always more interested in finding a balance, taking the appropriate amount of time to fully vet a candidate, and even passing occasionally when timing simply doesn't work out. It is a much better long term approach that will inevitably produce better results. Just like the Fried Twinkie in the captioned photo, it is best sometimes to let your food digest before moving quickly to the next booth to eat a double bacon wrapped corn dog.......
Newest foods I saw on a stick this year at the fair:
ReplyDelete1) Bacon on a stick. Could have it dipped in chocolate or hot sauce.
2) Fried Pickle Dog. Its a pickle roll with pastrami that's batter dipped and fried.
3) Funnel Cake on a stick. Simple twist on an old favorite but glorious.
Still the very best are the cheese curds. I ordered mine at 10:30 am on Sunday and had no regrets!