My editor told me to put more of myself in the book.
I was already planning to sprinkle my opinion throughout the book, how could I not? But putting myself in the book? That wasn’t something I was planning on doing too often.
(Cue my inner Zoolander… “It’s IN the computer??”)
I realized that my initial intention was to have a book of advice based on years of experience, a great checklist of takeaways for different points in the search process. Now I needed to incorporate my experiences, not only my opinions.
Over the past couple months I’ve been having conversations with executives to hear their candidate experiences and lessons learned. I’ve also been speaking with fellow recruiters, hearing their perspectives.
Through all of these conversations I listen for the stories. The interesting thing about stories is that they don’t always come out proactively, but they’re always there. People have an opinion, but there’s always a story or two behind it.
As I put more of myself in the book, I’ve been thinking about my own stories. I hear the other person’s story and then take a step back, thinking, running through my mental filing cabinet for a relatable lesson, recruiting-oriented or not. It’s been a fun and reflective process. I guess I'm going to be in this book!
In case you missed it, here's Week 8 of the book journey.