Zenith Blog

When thinking about recruiting, I often compare it to the sports I played in my college years, specifically wrestling.

Similar to our recruiting team here at Zenith Search Partners, while we leverage each others strengths and ideas as a ‘team’, many times it comes down to a single, 1-on-1 interaction with a client or candidate.

Likewise, while wrestling has some ‘team’ elements, when broken down, it’s more of an ‘individual’, 1-on-1 sport like tennis or track. For example, in wrestling you are responsible for fighting your way to victory during a match.

I feel that is why I was drawn to recruiting. Due to my wrestling background (and extremely competitive nature), I always had a strong base of discipline, ability to overcome adversity, creativity, spectacular time management skills, along with the commitment and drive to win.

If you have ever competed in an “individual” sport, wins come with a different taste of victory. There is no hiding behind the stronger members of your team in hopes that they carry you to victory. At the end of the day there is no one to blame, but yourself. The only thing you can do is reflect and adjust your training to be better prepared next time.

As an athlete, this ‘individual’ mentality comes with a natural aggressiveness that also comes into play for recruiters. As I mentioned before, if you want to be successful in this business you can not just sit back in hopes that the stronger recruiters carry you to success. You need to go out and get your success.

To achieve this, you need to recruit just like you would compete in a 1-on-1 wrestling match. You are competing to win. This means that sometimes you have to get creative. You cannot be afraid of the moment, or overthink the situation too much.

In the end, like wrestling, like tennis, like track, you are responsible for your own success in this business. When things don’t work out to plan, you need to go back and make adjustments, correct the mistakes and make it right next time.