An Ode To A Recruiting Animal
Happy Tim Sackett Day, y’all.
If you don’t know what Tim Sackett Day is, you’re not alone; I just found out about it this year. The point of Tim Sackett Day is to honor unsung heroes in the recruiting industry. In the past they’ve honored some bloggers and practitioners I really respect – Kelly Dingee, Paul Hebert, and Victorio Milian. And this year is no different.
The recipient of the Tim Sackett Award this year is the Recruiting Animal. If you’re in recruiting and haven’t heard of him, I’ll assume now that you’re living under a rock. See, Animal isn’t one of those “sit behind the scenes and write commentary” style recruiters but rather one that will push buttons and ask questions. You can’t miss his blog posts because his content is centered around thoughts and ideas he wants to test and challenge. I particularly appreciate Animal’s perspective because rather than writing things just to be controversial, he pulls quotes from people in the industry and forces us to defend ourselves.
Inevitably, when people get called out for something they say, it tends to feel like a personal attack. But when it’s coming from him, I’ve felt honored – not put out or targeted , which is rare in an industry where we habitually beat ourselves up and even have Facebook groups created with the sole purpose of embarrassing and highlighting mistakes from our industry colleagues.
He consistently challenges his radio guests to question their own thinking and doesn’t accept the status quo. You don’t get to cite some bullshit statistics when you go on the Animal show; you have to believe your idea and have the balls to back it up.
His unique approach is exactly why he deserves this honor and why I hope he keeps posting and forcing all of us to stop and have conversations instead of putting our foot down about taking an approach to recruiting that’s squarely in one camp or another.
Kat Kibben View All →
Kat Kibben [they/them] is a keynote speaker, writing expert, and LGBTQIA+ advocate who teaches hiring teams how to write inclusive job postings that will get the right person to apply faster.
Before founding Three Ears Media, Katrina was a CMO, Technical Copywriter, and Managing Editor for leading companies like Monster, Care.com, and Randstad Worldwide. With 15+ years of recruitment marketing and training experience, Katrina knows how to turn talented recruiting teams into talented writers who write for people, not about work.
Today, Katrina is frequently featured as an HR and recruiting expert in publications like The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and Forbes. They’ve been named to numerous lists, including LinkedIn’s Top Voices in Job Search & Careers. When not speaking, writing, or training, you’ll find Katrina traveling the country in their van or spending some much needed downtime with the dogs that inspired the name Three Ears Media.
Thank you, dear. And Happy Tim Sackett Day. If any of your readers want to be on the show they can read all about it at http://OccupyRecruiting.com and remember what I say in my Twitter bio: Feel free to criticize me in public.