When do you realize a Person's worth?

I was waiting in the airport today to pick up one my good friend from Sri Lanka. The flight was delayed and just when I wondered how the next 30 minutes is going to go, I was lucky to witness one of the touchy moments in a person’s life.. This blog is all about capturing that intimate relationship between a Mother and her son.

Time: 8:45 AM

A lady in her early fifties, moderately built, draped in a green saree was anxiously glancing at the arrival schedules.. She was keenly waiting for her son’s arrival.

After her husband’s death, she had toiled hard to raise her son. Her life revolved around him. She saved every single penny to muster enough money to raise her son and fund his foreign education.

Now, It’s been two years since her son went abroad to complete his education. He is coming home to see his mother before boarding another flight to some other part of this world for work.

As time went by, the single mother was restless. She was in no mood to wait to see her son. Finally the most sought after moment became a reality. Her son stepped out of the airport in Jeans & T. Shirt. Seeing him after 2 years, she was all smiles. I could see a shine in her face. The son came out, Mother reached out. Both looked into each other’s eyes. A Deep silence prevailed. She spread her arms & hugged him tight. The hug was so tight that nothing could pass between them..not even air.. I was witnessing the sense of pride in the mother’s eyes & equally elated son. For the next 5 minutes, no words were uttered yet they spoke the unspoken language..LOVE… The overwhelmed mother kissed him on his forehead & cheeks. They moved towards the car holding each other’s hands..

Being a witness to this sight, I wondered what makes that Mother  & Son relationship special. There may be various reason but something that immediately stuck me was ”DISTANCE” . In relationship, at times we take the other person for granted, not realizing their true value unless they leave us. Husband & Wife, Parents & Children (or) any other relationship, I think at times distance is what makes us realize the value of a person. The days spent without them, the hours spent thinking about them and minutes spent with them keep reminding us about how much he/she is worth. Needless to say, It is only in the absence of people we realize their worth.

If you have come this far, then I have only this to say. Get in touch with your kith n kin, loved ones who mean a lot to you.. wherever they are, any country it may be, call them and the tell them what that Single Mother whispered into her son’s ears, “I LOVE YOU”.. because it is only in the absence of our loved one’s we realize their worth.

Why you don’t get the right Talent - A Must read for HR

Jagan had interviewed more than 30 candidates for a HR position. Either the candidates were not shortlisted or those shortlisted didn’t join the organization. Jagan was under tremendous pressure since the position has been vacant for more than 3 months.

Jagan is not the only one who goes through frustrating times in the process of identifying right talent. The war for talent is unprecedented and organizations’ today go all out to win the war. Today the opportunity cost of a critical position lying vacant is very high. However what Jagan like executives forget is that they are one of the reasons for not having quality talent in an organization.

In my 7 years of corporate experience in recruiting talent, here are few mistakes that recruiters make that I feel hinder a person from joining a company.

1.    Setting the bar toooo high

      The basic requirements listed in a job posting to perform a job have become very stringent & complex that not many people even qualify for applying a job. The requirements are of varied nature, be it qualification, experience, domain knowledge, specialized skills or all of them.

Recruiters should identify and look for 2 (or) 3 factors that would determine the success of a candidate in a role rather than expecting the candidate to meet 10 out of 10 criteria which is impossible for the majority.

2.    Intolerance to Grossly right answers

What if a candidate says, gravitational constant is 9.81 m/s instead of 9.81 m/s² ? What if a candidate says value of “Pi” is 3.2 instead of 3.14?

While the answers are wrong, I am of the opinion that these small mistakes can definitely be corrected and should not be the sole reason for rejecting the candidates. While perfect answers are great, never underestimate those who get the grossly right answers too. One more chance may get the best out of them.

3.   Keeping the candidate waiting endlessly

    This is something many candidates go through. Organizations call the candidates for the interview more than once to attend various levels of interview. After patiently attending all the rounds, candidates are left     without any feedback. Trust me this is so frustrating.

If a candidate clears all the rounds, then decision should be made as soon as possible so as to get the talent aboard. Remember, an active job seeker looks for opportunities in more than one company. Organizations need to be quick in decision making to stay competitive in Manpower Recruitment. 

     

So dear recruiters, the next time you interview someone take utmost care in identifying critical success factors that defines a roles success accept the grossly right answers and please do not make the candidate wait endlessly for the results.