Successful recruiters use checklists.
They not only help you get more done, but your brain loves them.
According to research summarized by best-selling author Maria Konnikova, here are some of the reasons why.
Your mind seeks organization. Lists tap into our preferred way of receiving and organizing information at a subconscious level; from an information-processing standpoint, they often hit our attentional sweet spot.
When we process information, we do so spatially. For instance, it’s hard to memorize through brute force the groceries we need to buy. It’s easier to remember everything if we write it down in bulleted or numbered points (even if you forgot your list at home).
Your mind wants to categorize. We can’t process information quickly when it’s clustered and undifferentiated (like in standard paragraphs). A list feels more intuitive.
Your mind wants to know how long this will take. The more we know about something—including precisely how much time it will consume—the greater the chance we will commit to it.
List completion is self-reinforcing. We recall with pleasure that we were able to check something off the list. This makes us want to go back to the list for another dopamine hit.
Do your brain a favor and break down your recruiting process into a series of checklists.