Purpose matters.
Steve Gard
Former Head of TA now revolutionising Candidate Experience through Benchmarcx.
Almost two years ago, I left a well paid, perfectly good job to follow my dream of working for myself.
Many thought it crazy. I often awoke in the middle of the night thinking the same thing. But I knew I needed a new purpose.
Year 1 was nothing but sweat and toil. I took a 75% pay cut that year. But I knew I was building the foundations.
As Year 2 approached, I had several clients ready to sign consulting projects, I was ready to hire and then........March 2020 arrived and these opportunities vanished..... overnight.
My business plan was in tatters. My professional purpose too. I sat for days shell-shocked. I knew my original plan was no longer viable, at least for the short term.
I went through a stage of trying to figure it all out. How could I make it work?
I made the decision not to fight it, consulting work would be gone for a while. I had to accept that.
But without a professional purpose I felt lost.
My mental health was starting to suffer. I thought it was stress. No work and not hearing back on the few jobs I had applied for in panic, was making me feel worse.
Recognising this I decided to do the right thing and went to the Doctors. What I thought was stress was in-fact depression.
The diagnosis helped and I could now start to manage it with a plan. I had lost my professional purpose and it was clear I needed a new one as part of this plan. And quick.
Creating The Circle Back Initiative gave me that new purpose. But more importantly, I recognised that employers and recruitment agencies, through my recent experience, have a huge part to play in treating a job applicants' purpose with respect.
By ghosting job applicants, not responding to them after application or interview, we as employers and agencies can negatively impact that much-needed purpose.
A simple recognition of the applicant and their purpose can make all the difference. We can encourage them to keep going.....stay positive, give advice - or just simply respond to their application and provide an outcome.
This is what The Circle Back Initiative is all about - treating applicants with respect by committing to respond to every, single, one.
We have over 50 employers signed up to The Circle Back Initiative already and it's free to join.
Purpose really matters - so let's treat this with respect it, and the applicant deserves and respond to every person.
Please don't ignore applicants. It will make a difference.
Find out more about The Circle Back Initiative at www.circlebackinitiative.com
Thank you to our sponsors, Livehire and PredictiveHire for your ongoing support.
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4 年Resonates strongly with my own personal journey Steve Gard. Love the The Circle Back Initiative and what it represents, even moreso now with insight to its genesis. Thanks for sharing! ????
I don’t want to sound melodramatic or over recognition but I have not one single grain of doubt that the Circle Back Initiative is considered one of the most important and market disruptive invention and innovation this human mankind has ever seen touched or experienced in the past 100 years. Your brand is up there with the likes of mobile phone computers digital health technology and much more and I strongly believe in it although not even in my mainstream profession or sector but having lived and experienced the varying treatments from recruiters and HR business partners alike - in some instances abusive discriminatory and sometimes racist and sadistic - I vouch for your remarkable journey and voice and purpose to such a degree that I consider myself a silent ambassador to the Circle Initiative because those who are out there looking for a job and believe in themselves deserve to be treated with respect fairness and absolute integrity and transparency.
Founder & Director at Ventiro
4 年Great article. Great honesty and great initiative. Well Done!
Trusted Construction Recruitment Partner - Passionate about matching great talent with great businesses - Also invests in startup Recruitment Businesses who want to scale for exit
4 年I can relate to the article so much! Thanks for sharing. It really has been a difficult time for many. Having empathy for people and helping in anyway possible, and like you say, as a bear minimum responding to them is so important. I truly believe that money is the result of pursuing a greater purpose and should never be the main focus, having integrity and just genuinely wanting to do good by other people is so much more fulfilling. So glad to see the circle back initiative gaining further traction. All the best!
TA Transformation Specialist (Consulting & Training) > TA Transformation Diagnostics | TA Specialist & Partner Training | TA Leadership Framework | Inhouse Recruitment & RPO
4 年Great article Steve. Love the honesty in there mate. ??