Lessons I've learned after 10 years in recruitment

Happy Valentine's Day!

Here's my Valentine's Day present to myself this year - LOVE for what I do! 2024 marks my 10th Anniversary in recruitment!

Here’s how it started...

When I left university in 2009 I just wanted to travel, I wasn’t interested in a career. So I spent years as a tour leader, and travel agent and picking up random jobs along the way (hostess on a yacht in France, tent cleaner in Italy and working in a Great Dane farm in Australia, to name a few).

Then in April 2013, I met someone who changed the course of my life.

It was time to ‘settle down’, get married, buy a house and all the things you’re ‘supposed to do’ in your late 20s. So, of course, I needed a ‘proper job’ for all of this.

A good friend recommended I try recruitment.

“But I don’t have any experience, who’s going to hire me?!” I said…

Thankfully the guys at Hanover Recruitment gave me a chance and in 2014, I became a Tech Recruiter!

I worked hard, learnt a lot about recruitment, technology and people in general and I enjoyed it so much I stayed for over 2 years.

Then I got itchy feet- the travel urge hadn’t gone away. So I quit my job and cycled from Montenegro to France for 2 months.

Upon my return in 2016, I decided to move out of agency recruitment and went in-house, working for the best company I ever worked for: Tigerspike.

I certainly noticed a shift in the market over the last few years- more and more candidates were asking about remote work and flexible hours. It was much less “you work when and where we tell you” and more understanding that individuals thrive when given the freedom and flexibility to choose when and where they work.

Some candidates outright refused to come for an interview unless they could work remotely a few days a week.

So I worked tirelessly for months, with a lot of nagging to my boss and eventually got a remote and flexible hours policy introduced in 2017- most of the team could work remotely up to 4 days a week Hurrah!

2017- 2024 is a whole post/ story in itself. In case you’re interested, you can read the short version here.

But what I wanted to share with you in this 10th Anniversary post are my top 5 learnings and changes I’ve seen from 10 years in the recruitment industry:

1- People want more than just a job:

Gone are the days where you’re expected to be grateful just to have a job, and rightly so! They want to know how the job and company aligns with their values and their lifestyle!

2- Interviewers and recruiters are biased

Conscious and unconscious bias exists! Of course, this can range from outright racism/ sexism and all the bad ‘isms’, but in some cases they’re not even aware they hold these biases, myself included.

Here are two ways to combat this (there are way more than 2):

• Look in the mirror at yourself, what thoughts have you had that are prejudiced, what assumptions have you made about someone
• Accept that these biases exist and use them in your favour. Noticed an interviewer went to the same university or from the same home town as you- find a way to drop it in. It’s a known fact that people hire people like themselves, so highlight how you’re similar to the person you’re interviewing with…subtly of course

3- Candidate experience matters

Recruiters: RESPOND TO ALL CANDIDATES! It’s not that hard! Also- if someone interviews, give them feedback they can actually use!

Not only is treating people with kindness and respect just the right thing to do as a good human, it will also make your job (and life easier)! Candidates WILL remember you and refer you to their friends and the next time you have a role to fill and you contact them, they’ll remember you’re “one of the good guys”. Heck, you may even make some friends!

4- Remote work is here to stay

Yes, you may keep hearing about the big push on return to the office, but I promise you, people have had a taste of flexibility and they don’t want to go back to the old days. Companies will realise this when people leave the safety of their on-site/hybrid jobs for a company offering more flexibility.

5- Recruitment is essentially matchmaking

Good recruiters understand the importance of truly understanding a role and a company and the importance of finding the right person for the job- not just getting a ‘bum on a seat’. The problem is a lot of recruiters forget this and instead just focus on filling a position, rather than digging deeper.

That’s why I love what I do- I no longer work for the company, instead, I can focus on what it is an individual wants, what’s important to them, not just in their job, but in their lives- what they need to be happy and how can they achieve it with a job that gives them freedom and flexibility, in a company that aligns with their values.

Essentially, matchmaking someone with their ideal remote job!

So do you need a matchmaker this Valentine's Day? ??

?? MATCH ME WITH MY IDEAL JOB!

Stay rebellious,

Michelle

P.S. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have helped me and inspired me in my recruitment career over the last 10 years:

→ Josh Haagsma & Natasha D'Souza for being great managers, always having my back and putting up with me and my defiant ways.

→ Thomas Lennon for giving me a chance in my 1st tech recruitment job, despite being the least technically savvy person.

→ Steve Hallett for teaching me so much about recruitment, and so much more .

→ Nick Brough , Harry Buttery & Freddie de Metz - For making work so much fun and laugh crying on a regular basis.

→ Luke Janssen for creating the best company I ever worked for, until the big corporate took over

→ Aline Van Koninckxloo , Miranda Rutherford , Ella C. , Erika Sipos , Ashley Westbrook [ALL EX TIGERSPIKE] - despite being half way across the world you guys kept me sane and were the most supprotive team I could have wished for.

→ To many to mention in the Tigerspike team across UK, Poland, Singapore, Australia & Japan - you guys are something special!

→ Joe Fallon , for encouraging me to get into recruitment!