The Power of Grit for Career Success in Staffing/Recruiting
Few truly satisfying careers offer instant success. Instead, most require an investment in time, effort, and personal development. The staffing and recruiting industry is no exception. It’s not easy, but it offers great opportunities if you have the grit required to succeed.
As Angela Duckworth says in her book Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, “Grit is passion or perseverance for very long-term goals. Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your future, day in and day out – not just for a day, not just for a month, but for years – to make that future a reality.”
Within the staffing and recruiting industry, having grit is imperative as recruiters and account managers must use various methods of outreach to build their book of business and work closely with clients and consultants to advocate for their unique needs. Having the perseverance to work through these challenges that are inherent to the recruitment industry is a skill that will serve you in many aspects of life, but especially in your career.
We asked a few of our Oxford Global Resources Recruiting Directors for their insight and have included some of their direct feedback on the importance of grit. One said, “What makes a person with ‘grit’ more able to succeed in the staffing and recruiting industry is their ability to accept rejection as a fuel for growth. Finding the right consultant for the right project to ensure both our client’s success and our consultant’s career goals are met takes determination – it takes grit.”
Why do successful account managers and recruiters tend to all have this one trait in common? The answer lies in the underlying drivers behind grit – passion and perseverance. Great account managers and recruiters have a passion for what they do, and have the perseverance to push through the challenges that come with matching highly-skilled, in-demand individuals with specific, unique technology projects for the most innovative companies. The passion and perseverance to source, build, and develop these partnerships is critical. These partnerships are what create impactful and meaningful products, services, and solutions that have and will continue to shape the interconnected world we live in.
A Regional Operations Director who lives and works in the Greater Seattle area said, “Grit is a major factor of success within a high performance environment. No matter how much you prepare and no matter how hard you work, things won't always go your way – obstacles and hurdles are inevitable. Those who possess a high level of grit usually seek out this kind of high performance environment, expecting that they will face hardships and obstacles; and their grit will enable them to be undeterred, overcoming obstacles while keeping their eye on the prize. An individual with grit is inspiring. A team full of grit is unstoppable!”
In Linda Kaplan Thayer and Robin Koval’s book, Grit to Great, the authors turn “grit” into an acronym for Guts, Resilience, Initiative, and Tenacity. This definition of grit requires not only dogged determination but also courageous and creative action. Someone with this kind of grit bounces back from rejection and finds ways around problems as well as through them.
Within the staffing and recruiting industry, if you have the guts, resilience, initiative, and tenacity to go after what you want, if you have the grit to get the job done, you will experience great professional rewards and develop a long-lasting personal sense of accomplishment.