A while back, I posed a question in the Top Echelon Recruiter Training Blog: “What is ‘The Total Account Executive’ in Recruiting?” One of the key components in becoming “the total account executive” is motivational in nature.
Like anything else, motivation can stem from a number of different sources, and that’s what I’d like to address with this blog post. In fact, I’d like to explore a number of motivational paths for recruiters:
The 13 motivational paths:
1. You have to want to be motivated—We need to realize that people do things for their own reasons, not yours. Motivation comes from within.
2. Find out what motivates YOU and do it—You know this saying: “If it is to be, it is up to me.”
3. The volition, or willpower, to continue to pursue the goal no matter what—Of the five qualities we look for in account executives, tenacity seems to stand above the rest. Aesop’s fable of the tortoise and the hare comes to mind here.
4. A continued plan for learning—When we stop learning, we regress. All of the big billers I know are great students and eager learners.
5. Single out success stories—Remember your successes and relive them. These attributes will anchor positive thoughts in your subconscious. Ninety percent (90%) of your brain consists of the subconscious. It believes what you tell it, whether it’s positive or negative. It’s your choice.
6. Use motivational CDs and training materials—Again, positive thoughts beget positive thoughts. Stay away from the news media, in any of its forms. They are, by their nature, negative and demotivating.
7. Set the example—Be enthusiastic. It’s contagious. We learn best by modeling behavior.
8. Advance into new markets—While implementing the “classics,”stay on the cutting edge of what we do.
9. Listen and talk to the new account executives—The new people need us the most. They want the reinforcement that they’re doing a good job and that they’re doing it correctly.
10. Keep up to date in your industry—Know what’s happening in your niche. Become a power broker.
11. Focus on end results—Don’t focus on the individual acts that get you to the end result, just the end result.
12. Differentiate between being “up” and being “on”—You can only be “on” for short periods of time. You can be “up” much longer.
13. Set goals—As a rule, professional and business goals will lead to personal goals. These are the benchmarks that guide our progress.
Most of the time in recruiting, you’re trying to add things (like the motivational techniques described above). However, as you add these techniques and inch closer to becoming “the total account executive,” you’ll also lose things—things that you do NOT want in the first place.
Those things include the following:
- You will lose frustration.
- You will lose incompetency.
- You will lose time-wasting assignments that you should not be working in the first place.
- You will lose continuous “blank months.”
- You will lose the tendency to burn out because you never burn out on the things you enjoy the most! Not convinced? Just try to stop eating for a while.
Which of the above motivational paths do you follow on your recruiting desk? Do you follow any paths not listed above? What motivates YOU?
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Bob Marshall of TBMG International, founder of The Marshall Plan, has an extensive background in the recruiting industry as a recruiter, manager, vice president, president, consultant, and trainer. In 2016, Marshall is celebrating his 36th year in the recruiting business. He can be reached at bob@themarshallplan.org or at 770.898.5550. Marshall’s website is www.themarshallplan.org.