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Talent Acquisition

How a Password Can Change a Recruiter’s Life

The first computer password was created in 1961 (according to Mashable), however I bet the Germans (with their Enigma machine) would have something to say about that statement!

Recruiters all over the world have countless systems, and countless more operations and IT staff begging them to keep their passwords safe! Still, from time to time we respond to hacking emails asking us about our first pet and Grandma’s name so we can ‘find out our porn star name’…  What a scam! (Did you even realise that this was what these spammy emails initially were for?)

And every month (if our systems are setup to do this) we are asked to come up with a new password.  I can see your “new password face” now – either frowning and starring top left / right etc… to visualise a new password.  Or better yet, trying to remember the next number / character on our qwerty keyboard to add to our existing password (do you do that?).

Passwords should change your life!

The vast majority of us all want to change or be better at what we do, and it’s fair to say that:

  • Most recruiters I know want to bill better, faster and with less mucking about with systems and social media.
  • Most recruitment leaders I work with want the above, plus a profitable business and happy team (and an exit date!).
  • Most Recruitment Marketers I work with want their recruiters to love them, convert the leads they generate for them and be allowed to really support the business with viable marketing strategies.
  • Most of us want to lose / maintain weight, be 10 years (or more) longer, read more, run more, eat less (or at least wine and chocolate be calorie and guilt free!)

But alas, some of what we want is often not within our power to get… or is it?

How a password changed a recruiter’s life?

Right, there’s a really interest blog post by Mauricio Estrella published by Huffington Post entitled “How a password changed my life”.  It’s all about how one man used his monthly password reminder to drive him to achieve his goals and ultimately be a better person. Now, this isn’t an article written by a geek techie espousing that your password is secret and should be changed regularly; it’s about Mauricio, a man who decided to use the process of changing his password to help him achieve his goals.  Constantly getting frustrated with the password change “bong!” you get each month is pointless.  Your IT team is not out to pee you off, rather they’re there to secure your data and keep you “up” (uptime is critical in IT…)

So, with all of the recruitment companies we work with, and the goals and KPIs we often see across various boards, my team and I thought we’d come up with some password ideas to keep recruiters motivated, and help them achieve their goals.

Passwords to help an agency recruiter hit targets!

Without further ado, here’s what we came up with:

  • G3t0nth3Ph0ne
  • C5ll20NewClients
  • Cl3anMyData
  • H1tTarg3t
  • Sm5shT5rget
  • P1ckUpThePh0ne
  • S1tUpStra1ght
  • Sm1l3AndD1al
  • Dr1nkW5ter
  • pl4NmYd4y
  • Go2th3gyM
  • Cle4rema1lsd0wn
  • G3tSh1tD0ne
  • B00kClientM33tings
  • SendS0meCVs
  • G3tN1che
  • Buy5Porsche
  • D0n’tSm0ke
  • Il0vemyB055
  • F0ll0wUPEveryLe5d
  • M5ke100Call5

…And if you have achieved all of your goals, but need a little love… why not go for URAmaz1ng?

Thanks Mauricio – very inspiring!

Now, of course without giving away your passwords, what could you create to keep you focussed and motivated as a recruiter?

By Lisa Jones

Lisa Jones is a Director at Barclay Jones, a Consultancy working with recruiters advising them on the most effective use of technology, web and social media to improve their business processes, recruitment and bottom line. Follow Lisa on Twitter @LisaMariJones.