You may not know much about martial arts, but you likely have some idea what a black belt is.  Wouldn't you be proud to have a Black Belt in Recruiting? What recruiter wouldn't want one?
 
Wouldn't you want to have people call you, requesting your service?  Wouldn't you enjoy it if the candidates you called always asked for a moment so that they could go close their doors before they spoke to you?  Wouldn't you treasure it if, when anyone in your recruiting space wanted a true star, they knew they had to call you?  Wouldn't you feel powerful if, regardless of economic condition, demand for your supply was always excessive, so everyone had to bid high to get you and what you offer?
 
Of course you would! So why would we want to discuss White Belt Recruiting?
 
Before I answer, let me share the basis of both white and black belts.  I'm sure this history evolved in many arts, but my understanding of today's belt system comes from Japan, and specifically, Karate.  White is simply the color of the beginner's uniform. As practice follows practice, the uniform is washed, but the belt is not. The belt naturally gets darker and darker until it is completely black.  At that point, enough practice has occurred so that the Black Belt wearer likely has some idea what to do, and likely a great deal more knowledge than the White-Belted Beginner.
 
Interestingly, though, the greatest martial artists always return to their White Belts since for they continue to practice, the black of their belts grays out first and eventually fades to white again.

Let's apply this to Recruiting!
 
The greatest recruiters come to learn that, after all is said and done, when they speak to a new person on the phone they have to learn the basics of what that person wants and needs using the same techniques as the greenest rookie does.  You see, there is no such thing as recruiting without meeting new people.  And every time you meet someone new, you are a total beginner...in THAT relationship.
 
So, my counsel to even the most experienced recruiter is this:  Before you pick up the phone to make a call, put your Recruiting White Belt back on.
 
To help you do that, I've found four fundamental guidelines of Zen Recruiting I'll share with you right now.  They are:

1.   Put On Your White Belt
2.   Build Your Plan
3.   Dedicate Yourself TO Your Plan
4.   Pick Up The Phone And Call

Following this introduction, which is the first in a 6-Part Series, we'll explore each basic rule individually. Then, in Part 6, we'll bring them all back together again and explore what they indicate in sum for the coming journey.


By the way, for those who'd like to explore the source of these thoughts more deeply, the wonderful book, Zen Guitar by Philip Toshio Sudo, cannot be too strongly recommended.  If you read it, you'll instantly see how his work has inspired our studies here.  Of the many books I've read on Zen, I can think of no better introduction, even if you never intend to play guitar.

http://www.amazon.com/Zen-Guitar-Philip-Toshio-Sudo/dp/068483877X

Why would you read a book about Zen, let alone Zen Guitar, in order to become a better recruiter?  Let's be clear.  Recruiting is not and cannot be just about making your next placement.  If that's all you care about, then you will burn out and you will never attain the peaks of your potential.  As in any art, recruiting is about a great deal more than just outcomes.  How you get to those outcomes is every bit as if not vastly more important than what your current outcomes are, be they good or bad.  You are bigger and more than just your outcomes, or the last placement you made, or even the next one.
 
The beauty of Zen as a study is that it respects your deepest beliefs and never, ever asks you to change them.   Zen Recruiting, as in all the faces and arts of Zen, asks only that you plunge beneath the surface to the truth of who and what you are as a human being.  In fact, as we'll discover next time, putting on your Recruiting White Belt is as much about learning who you are as it is about recognizing how much you have to learn, today, on the path to recruiting greatness.
 
I was once told by my dear friend and sensei, Kaname Ueno, that the path in life, for all of us, is upon one mountain.  But, he said to me, there are as many paths up the mountain as there are climbers.
 
His dream was for all of us to meet each other at the top.  And that is my dream for you.  I dream that you will find your way to the top of the recruiting mountain where we can meet.  And what I know is that if you'll put on your Recruiting White Belt, you will.