by Ben Hess, Managing Director, ThirdPool Recruiting
One of the most powerful tools in a recruiter’s toolbox is confirmation bias.
A few years ago, Seth Godin wrote an article in Medium explaining how it works:
Confirmation occurs when we expect something to happen.
When we spend a lot of money on [stereo] cables, we want them to sound better….
When we choose to make a living selling something, we decide that the thing we sell works.
Confirmation makes sense.
No one particularly likes being wrong, and once an expectation is set, once we have a cultural or tribal reason to buy into an event occurring, we’re going to do what we can to make it happen.
Since most measurement of joy, well-being and effort is internal, the confirmation bias produces huge impacts.
What you start to believe about yourself and your organization is the foundation for most of what happens thereafter.
What your recruiting prospect expects to happen is the rudder guiding them to their final destination.
With this in mind, the most successful recruiters put less emphasis on the tangible and focus more attention on expectations and beliefs.
