Needle in a Haystack

I keep hearing this radio ad for a recruiting service that compares staffing to looking for a needle in a haystack. Y’know, with a rake and a really strong magnet, that really isn’t so hard. You want to know what’s hard? Looking for a needle in a sewing store. That’s the challenge in staffing today. Imagine going into a sewing store (if such a thing even exists today) and looking for a needle. But not just any needle, just the right needle. The exact one you want and need. That’s staffing today.

Because when you post that job looking for a needle, you’re not going get applications from a lot of hay. You’re going to get applications from a lot of needles. Needles of different lengths, different thicknesses,  and different degrees of pointy-ness. Needles for hand-sewing and needles for machines. The choices are endless. That’s staffing today. You’re going to get hundreds of applicants, all needles. Unless you’ve taken the time before you posted that job to clearly define exactly what you need, you’ve just made your job a whole lot tougher.

Too many people complain about the difficulty in finding the right candidates. Especially now when the unemployment rate is low. Doing the hard job of defining your needs before you post that job is the key to cutting through all that hay to find the needle. Or marching into a sewing store and picking up just the right needle from all the ones inside.

Cause finding a needle in a haystack really isn’t that hard. See if you can find this one.