The world of recruitment is full of innovations, as are dating sites. Although these two industries seem worlds apart, they may have more in common than it initially appears. The latest dating site to arrive on the scene (Job Me Tender) is perhaps the first to capitalise on these similarities. In a nutshell, the women are the 'HR managers', the men 'applicants', and the two parties meet to 'try and negotiate a short-term – or possibly even a permanent – contract'. The procedures are the same: the HR managers post a job advertisement and applicants submit their CV in response to the advertisements that catch their attention. The HR managers shortlist applicants and an interview is arranged, after which the two parties decide where to take things from there.

At first glance, recruitment professionals may think that this arrangement is somewhat simplistic. That said, you cannot help but notice the similarities between recruitment and dating sites. To start with, both are dedicated to managing what are seen as the most important aspects of modern life – an individual’s career and his or her love life. In addition to this, both aim to set up a meeting, which in both cases is key to the success of the entire process. During this meeting, both of the parties will switch between the roles of assessor (trying to identify the other person’s strengths and weaknesses) and salesperson (emphasising their own strong points to persuade the other person, if so desired, to take things further). In both cases, the hardest part is determining the other person’s potential. How can you figure out what a person may bring in the future from one meeting held in the present, which itself is based on past information? Ultimately, both types of ‘interviews’ may lead to a meeting of minds, which will prove to be a key factor in the future success of both parties.

Ultimately, both types of ‘interviews’ may lead to a meeting of minds

But, you might say, in order to tempt some to their cause, they have to make a special effort to be funny, friendly and full of enthusiasm, don’t they? Well, yes, we do know of certain ones where that is indeed the case (but we are not mentioning them here, they would be bombarded with just as many CVs as job offers). But on the whole, it is often said that this is not the main selection criteria used by HR when recruiting. No, they have to be rigorous, organized, reserved, discreet, analytical, succinct. In other words, many qualifying adjectives that do not necessarily means ones should be austere when working in such fascinating functions.

 

I would not go so far as to compare an employment contract with marriage vows, but, in love as in work, time flies when you are passionate about something. In contrast, if that passion is missing, we are prone to say that ‘it wasn’t meant to be’. Can recruitment learn anything from dating sites? Of course – it works both ways! Take, for example, ‘speed jobbing’, a phenomenon inspired directly by speed dating, where HR managers and applicants have a limited period of time in which to decide whether there could be ‘friendship and possibly more’. Then, of course, there are the many recruitment websites that offer to ‘match’ applicants’ experience to the knowledge and skill sets sought by employers. In addition to this, just as certain dating sites make much of the fact that they ‘give women the power’ (e.g. Adopteunmec.com), so some recruitment websites claim to ‘give applicants the power’ (e.g. Choose your boss).

 

I imagine that right now you are probably wondering who the ‘recruiter’ is in the world of dating. Well, this is a question that has been little explored to date, but for how much longer? For it takes a degree of expertise to analyse the compatibility of two profiles and ensure that there is potential affinity between couples, as we do between companies and the experts that we recruit for them. In this world of ongoing innovation, you can bet that it won’t be long before someone comes up with a solution.

What about you? Who will you meet tomorrow?