Poem about my experience of hiring for a very difficult senior Investment Banking role; for which the client has already approached many people. Here is the content:

When you are working in Recruitment

You often come across roles

That require a lot of hard work and patience

As well as an incredible amount of skill

Not to mention, the blessings of Lady Luck

In order to ensure a successful closure

Well, I’m working on one such role

This has been open for ages

And the client has already approached more people

Than one can even dream of counting!

And to be brutally honest

I’ve felt like a fish out of water

Right from the start

Since this is a very senior role

Getting the right candidates is even trickier

Than navigating a race course

Full of incredibly dangerous obstacles

And it doesn’t end there

There is the small matter of speaking to these candidates

Some have already been approached

Some are not looking for a change

Some lose all interest in maintaining a conversation

Upon hearing the name of the client

Some are looking to change their domain

And others don’t even bother to respond to my calls!

However, as always, I refuse to give up

And my efforts are eventually rewarded

As a few people appear to show a modicum of interest

However, one of them is not a great fit

Another, needs some time to think and get back

The third candidate seems to be genuinely keen

But is taking forever to share his resume

And the last one is a bit too junior

Though a decent fit for the role

Thus, I am stuck in a Catch22 situation

In order to close this role

I need a good amount of confidence

However, in order to be confident

I need a few resumes

And in order to obtain these resumes

I need some confidence

Sadly, that’s Recruitment for you

It puts you in difficult situations

In order to overcome them

You need Lady Luck on your side

However, if that truly happens

Then you won’t get the credit you deserve

For a successful closure

On the other hand, if Lady Luck fails you

Then you will cop all the blame

For failing to close the role

What a thankless job this is!!