Recruitment is a tricky business, isn’t it?

Tricky on both sides of the table.

It’s a bit of joust, with both parties assessing the qualities of the other. Both thinking about the affect the outcome might have on their futures.

It can get really complicated. Depending on the process particulars, applicants might go through multiple interviews (three, four, five…even one with the CEO), or be subjected to psychometric testing to determine their mental and behavioural style.

And then there are the left-field ‘creative’ questions like:

  • If you were a box of cereal, what would you be and why?*
  • How many golf balls does it take to fill a 747?
  • If you had six months with no obligations or financial constraints, what would you do with the time?

Frankly, we think there’s just one question that travel, tourism and hospitality employers should be asking their prospective hires:

Have you been through the TIME program?

TIME supports talented future leaders by helping them realise their potential and accelerate their careers through mentoring.

The program operates within a structured framework to deliver agreed outcomes for each participant, and typically runs for six months.
We are a not-for-profit enterprise established in 2009 to offer business skills training, development guidance and support sessions to aspiring future leaders of the travel and tourism industry within a mentoring and peer collaboration environment.

The TIME program is focused on Mentor/Mentee relationships that are ‘mentee-driven’. Mentors are drawn from the senior ranks of the industry and generously volunteer their time and energy to the process.

There are hundreds of TIME program graduates making waves in their respective industries now. They carry with them unique skill-sets and expertise acquired through their mentoring experience and applied in real life professional situations.

So, next time you’re interviewing prospective employees, ask them if they’ve been through TIME. If they answer in the negative, then perhaps the correct follow-up is actually:

  • If you had six months with no obligations or financial constraints, what would you do with the time?

And we all know the answer to that, right?

*We’d be ice cream. Because we do things a bit differently.