In a research experiment, a marine biologist placed a shark into a large holding tank and released several small bait fish into the tank shortly after. As expected, the shark quickly swam around the tank, attacked and ate the smaller fish. The biologist then inserted a strong piece of clear fiberglass to divide the tank into two separate partitions - the shark was put on one side while a new set of bait fish was put on the other.

Again, the shark quickly attacked. This time, however, the shark slammed into the fiberglass divider and bounced off. Undeterred, the shark kept repeating this behavior every few minutes to no avail. Eventually, the shark gave up after an hour into the experiment.

This experiment was repeated several dozen times over the next few weeks. Each time, the shark got less aggressive and made fewer attempts to attack the bait fish, until eventually the shark got tired of hitting the fiberglass divider and stopped attacking altogether. The marine biologist then removed the fiberglass divider, but the shark didn’t attack. The shark was trained to believe a barrier existed between it and the bait fish, so the bait fish swam wherever they wished, free from harm.

It can be demotivating to keep trying at a(n) task/idea after experiencing countless setbacks and failures. Like the shark in the story, a lot of people will believe that things are never going to work just because they were unsuccessful in the past. If the idea of failing ever holds you back, just remember: "Failure is an option here. If things are not failing, you are not innovating enough." - Elon Musk

So in case you haven’t been one of the lucky ones relaying phone messages to me in regards to the constant recruiters trying to get our business, here’s the nutshell version of SlideBelts’ dealings with recruiters recently:

1. We post a job online
2. The recruiters in the area from various companies (there were about 7) see the job, and immediately bombard many of us through email, phones, and even dropping by unannounced to get our attention, all to tell us that they can fill that position quickly and efficiently!
3. Sounds great at first, but what lies beneath the surface is that 9 times out of 10, the recruiter “sells” the candidate to us, painting them in the best light possible, and feeding them exactly what to say to us interviews. Not to mention, using recruiters can get very expensive very fast.

For years, even way before I came aboard, SlideBelts has struggled with the decision to use recruiters or not. We have tried them, and even been successful with them in some circumstances. And in other circumstances, the experience has been awful. So, perhaps you can see why we’ve been so back and forth about it.

Recently though, we’ve come to the final decision to not use recruiters anytime in the near future.

Why am I telling you this exactly? Well, for two reasons, and only the first one is a bit selfish

1. Now that that’s settled, if a recruiter ever asks anyone about working with us, you can simply tell them: “Nope. Recruiters do not fit our business model. Go away please.”
2. In coming to this conclusion, we recognized a cool mindset that we need to have for hiring, but it really applies to many areas of the business. This mindset, simply put, is that while using outside recruiting is sometimes faster and less painful than mustering through a need while we find the right fit, it doesn't fit us as a company. We're not ones to back away from a challenge, and outsourcing is something we're trying to eliminate in all departments, little by little. While we all may not have years of experience in hiring each new specialized skill, we've found that it's best for our growth to dig in, research, try, fail, etc., instead of panicking in the face of a time crunch or lack of skills to the point that we reach out to recruiters.

So when you’re faced with something unfamiliar or daunting, remember that even if you try and fail, it’s usually better in the end than delegating it to someone else right off the bat just because you’ve never done it before. We may not be at 100% in-house operating this second, but taking those small steps to get there is what will grow each of us individually and as a team in the long run (:

     If you're anything like me, you hate that feeling when you open your fridge and you have no idea what to make for dinner. Sure, your fridge has food but you still don't know what to make for dinner. 

     This happens to me a lot. You see, for the most part, my fridge tends to only have scattered items...items I wouldn't know how to combine to make a meal out of. And I might be a bit dramatic when I say this, but, I tend to feel so helpless when this happens. How can I have food in my fridge and not know what to eat for dinner?!

     Well, lucky for me this all changed last Tuesday when I stumbled across a website named My Fridge Food. What exactly is My Fridge Food you ask? Well, you simply click on the ingredients you have in your fridge and the website will give you an impressive list of recipes! (It's amazing how there's a website/app for almost everything.) You can also type in the main ingredient you want to eat and it'll give you a list of different recipes. I plan to put the site to the test and see how it holds up but, so far, it's been a great starting point when I have food in the fridge but don't know what to make. Their "Tips" section has also surprising helped. Here, I've found a variety of food tips, everything from how to make better orange juice, to how to make your pancakes fluffier, to how to make crispier chicken, to how to easily separate bacon strips, and so much more!

     So, the next time you open your fridge and you don't know what to make, don't feel so helpless and jump onto MyFridgeFood.com and give it a try. And if the website can't help you, just order a pizza.