Blog – The Power of Persistence in Hiring

Hiring great people is one of the biggest challenges most businesses face. Regardless of the position, one characteristic has proved to be the most indicative of a successful candidate. It’s persistence. Not necessarily persistence once they have the job, but persistence in trying to get the job.

In our first year in Savannah, three of our best people all fought hard to get the job. They were unbelievably persistent, which proved to give us a taste of what was to come on the job.

The first person was Mark Ediss. Once we announced the team, he reached out to us for the PA Announcer position. Months away from the season, this was the last position on our minds. However, he called and emailed and begged for an audition. He wanted the position and he wanted it bad. When he came in for his audition, we immediately knew he was the perfect person for the job. He was hungry and we knew he would continue to get better. He’s turned out to be the hardest working PA Announcer I’ve ever seen.

The next example was Danny Mackerty. Danny began reaching out for a full time position before we even had an office set up. Emailing, calling and persistently following up. The problem was that we didn’t really have a position available for him. We were just launching and had very little cash flow and had our nucleus, or so we thought. Danny was so persistent that we thought he could potentially be a great sales person. We decided to give him a shot and it was one of the best business decisions we’ve ever made. Danny used that same persistence and hunger to be the best ticket salesperson I’ve ever seen. Danny single-handedly became the reason we were able to sell out almost every game in our inaugural season. Now Danny is the Vice President of our team and a tremendous leader for our entire staff.

Finally, there was Reginald. Reginald is a gentleman with learning disabilities. All Reginald wanted was to work for our team. And everyone on our staff quickly knew that in the off-season. Reginald started calling the office asking for a job every single week prior to the season. And not just one call a week, sometime three to five calls a week. We would share with him that our interviews weren’t until May, but he still called every week. It became humorous in the office. But he never stopped. On the first day of interviews, Reginald was the first one there. He was ready and he wanted the job. The job we needed most was someone to pick up all the trash at the stadium throughout the game. A tough job. But Reginald wanted it. A few games in, Reginald became the most popular person on a staff. He smiled nonstop and waved to all the fans as he picked up trash. He truly enjoys himself at the games and will do anything to help the team.

Persistence has proved to be the biggest indicator for future success with our teams. If candidates really want the job, they will show it. Not just in the interview process but once they have the job, and that’s key.

They want to continue to impress you and will work hard every day to show you that.