There’s a moment every recruiter lives for. It’s the moment and feelings attached that make you stay in a job, emotions that you wish you could bottle up for the low lows of a recruiting job.
We stumbled across a recruiter’s post referencing it recently after they extended a candidate an offer. The candidate thought they had hung up, but didn’t. On the other end, the recruiter heard:
It was pure joy. The kind of unfiltered, life-changing excitement that reminds us why we do what we do.
The Power of the Offer Call
Recruiting gets a bad rap sometimes. People complain about the waiting, the processes, the paperwork, getting past the dreaded ATS, the “black hole” of resumes. But behind the scenes, most recruiters are really great people who are in the business of changing lives.
That moment when a candidate realizes their career is about to take a leap forward, whether it’s a better mission, a higher salary, or a chance to support their family in new ways through a relocation…that’s not JUST paperwork for the company you’re joining. That’s the impact that a recruiter really feels.
That was the feeling that kept me going through poaching frustrations, another candidate ghosting, or there just not being any more resumes to source for that purple squirrel a customer was looking for. It was the moment a transitioning service member felt like they were set up (at least career / job search wise), profusely thanking me as if I did something incredibly helpful. I lived for those moments.
For those of us working in the cleared space, it’s even bigger tied to some of these contract missions. These aren’t just jobs. They are missions tied to national security, innovation, and service to the American people. Helping the right person land the right job means the work gets done, our nation stays safe, and families thrive.
In 2025, the tools may be smarter: like AI sourcing, data-driven insights, video interviewing and more. But the heart of recruiting hasn’t changed over the decades.
We’re still matchmakers. Advocates. Dream-weavers.
We take a cleared candidate from “I’m not sure I’m in the job market” to “I can’t believe this is new job is happening on Monday.” We move hiring managers from “This billet has been vacant for months and the customer is pissed” to “Where on earth did you find this candidate and can they start?”
It’s easy to get lost in req loads, proposal efforts, time-to-fill metrics, and polygraph scheduling backlogs. But don’t ever forget that behind every “req” is a real person, with a real life, who just might do a happy dance in their kitchen when you call.
Why It Matters in the Cleared Space
For recruiters in national security, aerospace, defense, and intelligence, your work is mission critical. You’re not just filling jobs. You’re building the workforce that protects the country and Americans.
That candidate you just placed? They’re about to:
- Engineer systems that keep our soldiers safe.
- Analyze threats that safeguard communities.
- Chase threats that could decimate our critical infrastructure.
- Develop technology that shapes the future.
And it all started with you believing in them, advocating for them, and picking up the phone to say, “Congratulations! Clearance verified, customer approved. You got the job.”
So, the next time you feel bogged down in sourcing spreadsheets, or frustrated by clearance timelines, remember the “Yaaayyyy!” moments. Recruiting isn’t just a profession that most of us have just happened into. It ends up being a calling that a lot of us stay in for years. You don’t just change careers. You change lives. And in the cleared space, you just might just be changing the world (even if you don’t FEEL it on a daily basis).
Cheers to the recruiters of 2025 and beyond: keep Boolean ninja-ing, keep dialing, keep believing, and keep celebrating those wins. Because somewhere out there, your next candidate is about to shout or think to themselves “hell yeah!” and you’ll know it was you who made it possible.
THE CLEARED RECRUITING CHRONICLES: YOUR WEEKLY DoD RECRUITING TIPS TO OUT COMPETE THE NEXT NATIONAL SECURITY STAFFER.
