December is the only month with its own soundtrack, one replete with snowmen, reindeer, beautifully wrapped gifts, and one jolly old elf who’s rockin’ a bushy white beard and a fur-trimmed red suit.
There’s something else, of course, that runs through many of the seasonal classics: Reminders to recruiters.
That’s right, there are messages in those holiday standards that address some of the most pressing issues facing talent acquisition today, including diversity, equity, and inclusion, internal mobility, and understanding what will get in-demand candidates to join your team.
So, here’s our playlist of six December classics that speak directly to the recruiter experience:
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Perhaps no other song — or book or film — makes the business case for the importance of DEI as succinctly as “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” Rudolph doesn’t look like all the other Dashers and Dancers, and the Donders and Blitzens don’t let Rudolph forget it: All of the other reindeer used to laugh and call him names/They never let poor Rudolph join in any reindeer games.
But, of course, it was his difference that made Rudolph so valuable: Then one foggy Christmas Eve Santa came to say, “Rudolph with your nose so bright, won’t you guide my sleigh tonight?”
Rudolph was able to cut through the darkness and fog with his light. And doesn’t every team need someone like that?
Santa Baby
This is the holiday song that best captures 2021: This is the year of the Great Reshuffle, when professionals everywhere decided to rethink their careers, fleeing their old jobs to look for something more (including more compensation). In “Santa Baby,” the lyrical holiday wish list calls for a sable, a ’54 convertible, a platinum mine: Santa baby, I want a yacht and really that’s not a lot.
This year candidates have been able to ask for more and usually get it. In India, for example, software engineers are being wooed with iPads, BMW motorbikes, and even Mercedes sedans.
But savvy recruiters know that candidates want more than huge salaries and big bonuses. The No. 1 thing job seekers want right now is work-life balance. They’re also looking for excellent colleagues and culture and a career path with clear learning and development opportunities. So, make sure your employer branding reflects all of the reasons a candidate should come to work for you, not just the platinum mines.
Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town
Santa is an OG believer in the importance of background and reference checks: He’s making a list, checking it twice/Gonna find out who’s naughty and nice.
Recruiters are constantly working to find out “who’s naughty and nice” — using phone screens, interviews, resume and LinkedIn profile reviews, and even formal background checks to make sure they’re not rewarding bad behavior.
All I Want for Christmas Is You
You’ve finally found the purple squirrel, the unicorn candidate who can do it all. You’re courting, say, a software engineer who speaks four languages fluidly and codes elegantly in five. They are a once-in-a-career talent and they’re interested in joining your company.
Mariah Carey’s modern Christmas classic captures your I’m-pinching-myself-with-my-fingers-crossed moment perfectly: I don’t want a lot for Christmas/There is just one thing I need/I don’t care about the presents underneath the Christmas tree/ . . . /Make my wish come true/All I want for Christmas is you.
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
With the supertight talent market, recruiters know that boomerang employees — those who used to work for you and have come back — are more important than ever.
“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” celebrates bringing people we’ve known for a long time back to the fold: Here we are as in olden days, happy golden days of yore/Faithful friends who dear to us to gather near to us once more/Through the years we all will be together/If the fates allow.
Boomerangs can ramp up more quickly and bring a valuable insider-outsider perspective to your business. Your company can enhance boomerang hires by investing in a formal alumni network and by conducting meaningful exit interviews. That’s probably what the song means by “if the fates allow.”
It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
“It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” details the winter wonders of an urban setting before finally concluding that the loveliest part of the holiday is always at home: But the prettiest sight to see/Is the holly that will be/On your own front door.
This can serve as a seasonal reminder to recruiters that, for all the exciting external talent that could fill your current reqs, the best candidate may already be working for you.
When operating smoothly, internal mobility is the gift that keeps on giving and that knows no season.
No matter what’s on your December playlist or what you’re celebrating as 2021 winds to an end, here’s wishing you a wonderful month and a Happy New Year!
*Photo by Karsten Winegeart on Unsplash
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Topics: Industry humor and fun
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