It pays off to go to the gym in more ways than one!
So, a new year, a new start. As I bust a gut on the cross trainer on Monday night, I’m thinking “how will I ever reach my goal of 30 minutes, when I am already out of breath and I have only done 6 minutes?!” I decide to cover the clock with my towel and focus my attention on working out where I am going to get new candidates from this year. We all put up ads on the web and we all contact our old placements and of course we are always asking for referrals from candidates… but I was thinking about other things that I could do to attract candidates.
At what feels like 15 minutes, I look at the clock and only another 4 have passed, so I decide I am not going to look again until the machine beeps and tells me I’m done. So I try and think of places where I can meet researchers, other than conferences etc. I start thinking about approaching people in bars and asking them where they work and if they know anyone who works in research, but quickly decide that this is pretty weird and of course when people are out for drinks with their friends, the last thing they’re probably thinking about is work! I then decide that perhaps for all I know, the person on the cross trainer next to me could actually work in research herself. Now is that weird if I start talking to her, whilst she is bright red with sweat dripping off her? I concluded that, yes it is.
On tuesday night, as I am in my Pilates class waiting for the instructor to arrive, I look around and there are about 20 of us sat on the floor not talking to each other. I decide that I am going to initiate conversation with the person next to me… because you never know, they may well know someone who works in research. (This next part you may not believe BUT it is true!) I get chatting to the girl next to me and she introduces herself to me as Sarah, I wait for the right moment before asking what she does for a living, to which she replies “I work in Consumer Insights for Nestle” !!!
The instructor then walks in and we start the class. I can hardly contain myself, “my social experiment has worked!” Whilst in plank position, I subtly tell the girl I recruit in her field, which she appears to be equally excited about.
When the class finishes, we have a proper chat and whilst she is not actively looking for a job at the moment, she had heard of me and has since sent me the details of a friend of hers at Nestle who is looking for a new role. I have shortlisted the candidate for a client side role, and I’m hoping to get an interview for her.
So the moral of this is; never be afraid to engage in conversation with a random in whatever situation you are in, as you never know who they may be. You have nothing to lose, but a lot to potentially gain!
