On Doing Common Things in an Uncommon Way.

“Everyone wants a revolution. No one wants to do the dishes,” writes Tish Harrison Warren in Liturgy of the Ordinary (a book I highly recommend!).

We live in a world full of innovators and influencers, a world that prioritizes the beautiful and the novel (Steve Jobs & Elon Musk, anyone?). Even many business books will tell you to come up with a unique & novel idea before starting your own company.

I understand that every business needs to have a differentiator — a “Unique Selling Proposition.” And we have that at Forge Search. But I wonder what would happen if we all set about to create a revolution of a different kind? One where our differentiator was not just what we do, but how we do it.

I’ll let you in on a secret: Recruiting isn’t rocket science. Quite simply, we go out and find the right person for the role you need filled.

There is absolutely the technology you need to have and you need to understand the core elements of the job you’re recruiting for. There’s also the true blocking and tackling of setting up a search process. Perhaps most importantly, you must know how to tell the story of the company you’re representing. But all of this is learnable.

What is rocket science—or at least rocket fuel—is how you go about the recruiting. I met with a new client last week and I told them: “I’m not going to tell you I have a magic formula that makes Forge Search different than all the recruiting firms out there. But what we do have is an amazing process combined with a great work ethic. We care deeply about finding the right person for your team and we’re not going to give up. That’s what will make us the right fit for what you need.”

“Do common things in an uncommon way,” Booker T. Washington said.

And I think that makes all the difference in the world. Sometimes by talking to a job seeker, or training a junior recruiter, or doing the dishes, we make small steps towards changing the world.