Interview with Chris Lavoie- Top Recruiter The Competition

Reality shows have always been a hit, controversial and yet entertaining! I don't deny the fact that some of them are BS, too!

But here is the one show that is focused on making an impact by helping the audience find a job, learn what is happening behind the veil of job interview, and that brings you the tricks and tactics of a recruiter and the fresh and latest of the recruitment industry! The one that has its fingers on the pulse of recruitment industry-Top Recruiter the Competition on TopRecruiter.tv

If you missed watching the shows, here are all the episodes from last two seasons and behind the scene stories! Learn from top recruiters-the power players!

Now let's meet the person behind this great initiative! Chris Lavoie, Executive Producer of the hit series titled: Top Recruiter, The Competition Miami. Over 2.2 million people have watched the series online and the show has been featured on CBS Miami, The Huffington Post, Forbes, Details Magazine, About.com, SHRM, and more.

Here are a few questions I got to ask him recently:

1) Chris, Ideas can happen over a cup of coffee or even when you are in the middle of a crowd partying with your friends. What was your story? How did this idea evolve?

The idea of Top Recruiter was born in the dawn of the recession. We realized quickly, like many people did, that things were about to change -- quickly. We also realized that while many people were losing their jobs and homes, there were other opportunities as a direct result of this recession. We knew that many people simply did not have the inside knowledge that a recruiter has. We wanted to deliver this information in a way that was entertaining so that people would watch and learn and hopefully apply the information to their situation and thrive. There was so much doom and gloom hovering over us as a country that we really felt something should be done. I have always had a passion for film. I just took my two passions and married them.

2) Success of this project could not have been attained without a great team! As a leader what helps you bring people together?

I cannot emphasize enough the love and respect I have for the team. These people make this enormously daunting project seem easy, fun and really exciting. It is important to have people around you that are not only smart, creative and positive, but also easy to work with. We spent ten days working 16 - 18 hours. By the fourth day, most people start to unravel. Amazingly, we started to laugh and joke while still keeping our focus. When there are so many people involved in something like this, it is nothing short of a miracle. So when I look to fill a specific spot, I seek to find someone who would do the job for free because they simply couldn't imagine themselves doing anything else.

3) You have successfully completed two seasons of the show! What are some skills that you saw lacking among recruiting professionals during the casting call and in general. How should they improve it?

A few things were professionalism and genuine confidence. On the how to fix it? - I think we might need to get Dr. Drew in on that! 

4) Recruiting has always been social from its inception. Now we are more into social tools and technologies, big data and analytics! What do you foresee happening in the recruiting industry in the next five years?

I absolutely love the notion of evolvement, we live in an everchanging world with many moving pieces. However, one thing has remained the same over the course of human history - we love to be entertained. We are also moving towards blending our personal world and our professional world. Think about how companies like Google are doing that within their own culture. Think about how we expect our information now. We are moving away from the traditional commercial and into more of a product placement model. Talk about big data and analytics! My hope for the next five years is that we will start to move into trying to deliver our information and opportunities in a way that feels more natural to the human condition. 

5) The first season of the show was about finding the top recruiter, a master headhunter, the best of the best in the nation. The second season was a global competition that found the top recruiter by putting them through various challenges like employer branding, enterprise recruiting, etc. And now that you are working in the green room shooting for season three, what can we, the audience, expect to see and learn?

There are many special surprises already in place for season three.  What we can tell you is that this season is going to be even better than the last. We loved the concept of making this a global effort seeing that our world is getting smaller and closer through the use of social media. We are continuing on that path -- in fact -- you can expect to watch the runner up winner to the apprentice, UK on season three!

6) Finally what does it take to be the Top Recruiter?

1. For Top Recruiter, the most important characteristic is knowledge base. For us, we want the show to be credible. We want to educate and only people with real expertise can really do that, right?
2. Secondly, this is a show - and shows need to be entertaining to keep any attention by the viewer. So we look for bold personalities who don't cringe at the sight of a camera. They simply need to be comfortable in front of the camera, not everyone can do that.
3. Confidence, Confidence, Confidence!!

Nisha Raghavan, co-host of DriveThruHR, is an HR professional with extensive global experience in handling Talent Management, Employee Engagement and Cultural diversity at work place. She is the Founder & host of India HR LIVE, a LIVE internet TV channel for HR professionals. Nisha blogs about her HR experience at Your HR Buddy and contributes to several other HR –related blogs. She was recently listed as one of the Top 100 most social HR experts on twitter by Huffington post. Connect with her on LinkedIn, Facebook & on twitter @TheHrbuddy.

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