What Do You Optimize For?

I work part-time as a recruiter looking for quality hires for our clients. I have used AI to improve my process and recently, I saw this thought-provoking output: “Most recruiters optimize for how many outreach messages they send, not for what they learn from each interaction.” The implication is that as recruiters, we can keep increasing how many candidates we reach out to without achieving our result. It is much more effective to focus on learning things—for example what search parameters yield good fit candidates, what type of messaging works, what pain points candidates have, etc. We then incorporate what we’ve learned to work more effectively. 

While this is a particular instance, it is striking to me that many things are like this. We can keep more and more of one thing, expecting a certain result, without incorporating what we’ve learned along the way. Spending more time with family might lead to better relationships. Doing more at work might lead to a promotion. More workouts might lead to being more fit. And worded most generally, doing more of this or that might lead to more happiness and flourishing. All of these things might be true but unless we are also optimizing for learning, our results will stagnate. 

This week, I invite you to examine your life: 

What do I optimize for? Where in my life am I doing more of the same, hoping for different results? What do I notice when I slow down to see what I’ve learned in this area? How might I incorporate these insights into different actions? 

God bless,
Dan