On separate occasions last week I had the wonderful opportunity to meet two "seasoned" recruiters (Frank and Terry). Each of these gentlemen probably had 15+ years of experience in recruiting and both of them had previous third party and corporate recruitment experience.

In both meetings, it was awesome to see they still had a burning passion for recruiting after all these years.

OK - if I questioned both Frank and Terry, I'm sure they would admit to having many frustrating days (like we all do), but as our conversation(s) progressed, it's clear; they both still get excited about:

• Filling a difficult search
• Getting a hiring manager to change their point of view (for the good)
• Receiving a call from a new employee thanking them for engaging and securing a new career opportunity that positively "changed their life"

My conversation with Frank was a discussion around a position he had just filled! Frank's eyes lit up as he discussed the difficulties, challenges and success with a search for a hiring manager he had never worked with. Frank shared that when developing the sourcing strategy for this search, the hiring manager was adamant that Frank would never be able to recruit a candidate from a certain 'sector' of the market. As the hiring manager stated - "those folks would never leave their cushy, high paying jobs."

Frank being a confident and experienced recruiter was now excited and on a mission! He told me how he had identified all the folks the hiring manager said were "untouchable." He then discussed how he prepared for each and every call to the potential candidates, making sure he was prepared to sell and overcome any objection. He studied the candidate's company, what his (Frank's) company could offer, etc. and crafted a compelling message. When he made the calls, he was not only persistent but inspiring as well. Sure enough, he engaged a person at the right time and . . . the rest is history. A successful hire and satisfied hiring manager amazed at his ability to recruit talent within the market place.

In my conversation with Terry, I asked the simple question - "how was your year going?" It was as if I had just asked him - "what do you want for X-mas!" In meticulous detail, Terry also "lit up" as he talked about the talent he had brought over to his organization this year. You could tell how proud he was of his ability to find, recruit and hire some of the top professionals within the industry.

These days, (many times) I meet with/talk to recruiters who "complain" that:

• Hiring managers are difficult
• Positions are too tough to fill
• They have too many "req's" on their 'plate'

In both my conversations last week, it was clear that both Frank and Terry took pride (and received great satisfaction) in their jobs, and were passionate about getting the job done regardless of the challenging circumstances they faced!

It was inspiring speaking to both of them and they provided me with some renewed enthusiasm!

I hope you have a productive, passionate week!