20 years in recruitment ????

It’s hard to believe that this month marks 20 years since I began my career in recruitment! As I sit back and reflect on this journey (or ‘wild ride’ might be a better description lol), I can't help but feel incredibly grateful for the experiences, opportunities, lessons learned, and relationships formed along the way.

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I thought I’d take a stroll down memory lane and share some insights into my world of recruitment. While I had six years experience before joining McLaren Recruitment , I’ll start there as they have been the most formative years in my career.

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To set the scene: it’s 2008. I’m living in London and my parents have come for a visit. We’re sitting in a stereotypical dungy London pub for dinner when my dad, Peter McLaren , said to me “we want you to join the business when you come back to Wellington!”.

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Come January 2010, I donned my new suit and off I went to my dad’s office on The Terrace in Wellington – now my office too! For five years I worked alongside dad, taking in all the learnings he had to offer while putting my own spin on how we did things (hello technology!). In 2012, one of my long time friends Nikki Walshaw joined the business and in 2015 she and I bought my dad out. We’ve just celebrated nine years of ownership on the 1st of April, and I’ve never looked back!

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Someone recently asked me if I’d do anything different. Recruitment is hard, and the industry average for working in recruitment is only nine months to two years, but my very quick response was no!

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Certainly a lot has changed in 20 years. The recruitment landscape has evolved with the rise of social media, LinkedIn, Zoom/Teams, AI and mobile technology, but the key thing remains, and that is that relationships are still fundamental to recruitment and it will always be people-centred regardless of what technology comes along.

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He aha te mea nui o tea o? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata. What is the most important thing in the world? It is the people, it is the people, it is the people. Nothing is more true in recruitment – we literally wouldn’t have a job without candidates and clients!

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If you ever consider a career in recruitment – and it is a very rewarding one, helping hundreds of people to find meaningful work and connecting clients with top talent to alleviate their pain points – you will need to possess these qualities:

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• Empathy – you’re working with people’s dreams and aspirations! Remember that no update IS an update
• Values of integrity, honesty, respect, transparency and doing the right thing
• Patience – building your career in recruitment is a long game! Take your time to build meaningful relationships with candidates and clients
• Self-belief
• Tenacity – never give up!
• Adaptability – have an open mind, don’t be afraid to try something new
• Trust your instincts – I always say that an empty seat is better than the wrong person sitting in it!
• A good sense of humour – sometimes if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry lol

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And remember that New Zealand (particularly Wellington) is a village; everyone knows someone, and they will always remember the way you made them feel during a recruitment process. They could become your biggest advocate or pose a significant threat to your reputation! Recruitment has been likened to inviting 100 people to a party and leaving 99 of them out in the rain – it’s how you treat those 99 that count.

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The best thing (my now business partner) Nikki told me when I was first starting out in recruitment in 2004 was “fake it til you make it”. It’s still my mantra and I’ll take it with me for the next 20 years (yep, I’m not going anywhere anytime soon!).

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So, to wrap things up, I just want to say thank you. Thank you to everyone who's been a part of this journey – clients, candidates, mentors, and friends. Here's to the next 20 years of making meaningful connections, chasing dreams, and changing lives. Cheers!