The Ketchup theory

What Ruud van Nistelrooij has to do with hiring.

With the European football championship on the horizon, I often find myself discussing 'our' team with friends and random strangers.

Ruud van Nistelrooij's name inevitably comes up.

When you talk about the Dutch national team, you talk about Ruud van Nistelrooij.

At least, that’s the case in my circle.

"Van the Man,"

"Van Gol,"

"The Ruud Devil."

Amidst his remarkable career as a trainer, national champion, and top scorer in three leagues (England, Spain, the Netherlands), Ruud is reputed to have introduced the 'Ketchup Theory.'

“Look,” Ruud explained, “Scoring goals is like turning a bottle of ketchup upside down.”

Sometimes, you hold the bottle forever, and nothing comes out.

And sometimes, it all comes out at once.

Forgive the peculiar metaphor, but recruiting interns is remarkably similar.

You know the feeling:

Sometimes, it just doesn't work.

Other times, they're lining up at your door.

Yet, you can influence this flow.

So you're not left empty-handed one moment and overwhelmed the next.

Just as you learn how to handle the bottle to get the ketchup out,

You eventually figure out how to structure your company and the processes around interns.

Randomly banging on the bottom of the bottle and shaking it vigorously is one approach.

It just wastes unnecessary energy and results in sore hands.

You need to experiment to find what works best.

The only way to discover the ideal method is by doing and trying.

But with constant evaluation to see what works and what doesn't.

When hiring interns, think of Ruud van Nistelrooij.