Time. We don’t ever have enough of it, so be critical with each second of every day as we don’t get any do-overs! Now that we have our schedules down, ability to quickly read through the resume, identify and maintain our time on a call with candidates we look to balancing work with the outside world.
For those in the staffing industry, we can only compare our lives and hectic routines with other staffing professionals. Those on the outside don’t understand the answering emails every hour of the night, or jumping on an intake call first thing in the morning, or answering that critical email Saturday evening. To them, we are workaholics, someone who doesn’t know where to draw the line.
For us to keep a fresh perspective on things, it is important to be able to have a work-life balance. When I first started in the industry, I was super excited and wanted to spend as much time as possible doing my job to be the best I could be. I quickly realized I would burn out quickly if I kept that pace up. This was when I realized I needed to develop a balance so I could be at a marathon pace, rather than sprint through day in and day out.
I developed my time management as discussed in prior articles to be more efficient and efficient with my time. I decided I would as needed, work one weekend out of the month to be sure I could take the time away from work, and be able to come in fresh on Monday to kick start the week. I saw an immediate impact by not responding to emails and trying not to worry about work on certain weekends. I was eager those Mondays and couldn’t wait to dive right in.
I also decided to not review work materials after 6:30 pm during the weekdays. This allowed me to be able to debrief nightly and wake up ready to go. The one thing I realized in staffing is there is always someone working even when you’re sleeping. The company I worked for had an offshore recruiting team, and we were able to crush the competition in doing so. This was a massive eye-opener regarding my ability to compete with other firms that may have a similar work model, so it was a tough transition knowing someone else is out there working when I may not be.
However, this also drove me to be the best at what I did. It takes a lot of practice, but I have had this policy for over two years now where I do not review work materials after 6:30 pm and I only work one weekend as needed out of the month. I have seen a significant increase in production. Why you may ask?
My ability to manage my time and stay refreshed. It is like a mini vacation where I want to get back to work, but not an extended vacation where you get too relaxed and don’t want to get back. It is an excellent blend of time off. This may be different from those ranging in age as well as those single, vs. those with a significant other, and even a family. The vital part about installing a work-life balance is you can customize it to your lifestyle. Either way, you look at it, once you put it in the routine, you too will see an increase in production and the creative juices flowing.
Having the ability to manage one’s time, and honestly be able to dictate how you handle your time is critical to your overall success. This allows you to be in control and allows you not to get burned out so fast. Customize this to your lifestyle, you’ll indeed see a significant difference.
In my next article, I will be discussing Sourcing Different – User Groups
