Mike Winnet's nuggets on recruiters and recruitment

Xmas is coming, the goose is getting fat. We love a bit of banter and having the craic.

LinkedIn is a gold mine for winning business, building communities and writing posts all about the brand called you.

 If you start to peel the onion, one person is doing it…well…better than anyone else. He winds people up, disciples bow to his every word, and many just couldn’t imagine their day without a dose of his pearls of wisdom.

Step forward – Mr Mike Winnet – Demotivational, influenzer and a hero to the Average Joe.

I asked Mike to share his thoughts on both recruiters and the business of recruitment. Coupled with it being Xmas and me offering a substantial donation to the Mike Winnet Foundation, he cleared some diary space.

Here’s what we discussed:

Mike, did you ever consider a career in recruitment? If so, what vertical would you have chosen?

 Not really. I think anyone who actively chooses to work with the world’s most unreliable product (people) is an idiot.

 That said, in my younger years (before I’d developed any real skills), I did wonder if a recruitment role could work for me. 

 I’d read Wolf of Wall Street, and suspected the movie covered most of my training. But I quickly discovered I was ill-equipped. I didn’t have a timepiece or a cocaine habit, and I liked wearing socks with my boat shoes.

The final nail in my recruiter career was finding out all my suits had sleeves the same length. Everybody knows that if you want to be successful in recruitment, you need one sleeve length shorter than the other to maximise your timepiece visibility on social media posts.

So, I gave up that idea and got a real job instead.

 Who has the worst reputation – real estate agents, traffic wardens or recruiters?

 That’s like choosing which is the best STI to get.

 The people drawn to those professions are power-crazy drops outs who were bullied at school.

But if I had to pick one, I’d go with recruiters. Their reputation is built on the fact they’re so sh*t at picking a career and perusing a goal, that they gave up and settled for helping other people get a real job. 

You’ve heard the phrase “those who can’t – teach”? Well I think recruiters deserve their own… “those who can’t – get other people jobs instead”

They make themselves feel better by saying “recruitment is sales”. Well I have news for you. It isn’t.

Your product is people, you’re not in the human trafficking or slave trade … Well, most of you aren’t.

What advice would you give to a rookie recruiter desperate to quickly own a Rolex, a striped suit and a holiday home in Dubai?

I’d tell him he’s one credit card away from achieving his dreams. The key to recruitment in the social media age is to LOOK like you’re successful.

 If you’re not in massive debt – you’re not doing it right.

 Actually, taking sensible steps to achieving your monetary goals is hard work and takes time. Time and work any self-respecting rookie recruiter isn’t willing to invest.

So my advice is go get that credit card, lease that Audi, and start thinking about those Ocean Beach, Ibiza pics you’ll be posting in July with your bottle of Grey Goose (that all eight of your equally cringeworthy recruitment squad chipped in for).

Do you think recruiters brand themselves well on social media? What tips can you offer?

No, they don’t.

Recruiters love to talk about personal brand – but everyone posts the same sh*t templated job adverts, with dull recycled profiles, that mirror every other boring f*ck that works there.

My timeline is full of profiles where everyone is dressed the same. Using the same filters. Standing in front of the same tired background.

I’m DM’d daily by recruiters who wish they could comment or like my content – but they’ve been told by their manager or HR they’re not allowed to.

Recruitment companies are so worried about their social media presence, they’ve taken all the “personal” out of personal branding.

What recruitment companies need to realise is that if you’re trying to appeal to everyone – you appeal to no one. You can’t win sat in the middle.

The key to growing or attracting clients on LinkedIn is appealing to a target market – whatever that is.

If you sell ‘F*CK TRUMP’ t-shirts to the people that hate Trump. You’re winning.

If you sell ‘I LOVE TRUMP’ t-shirts to the people that love Trump. You’re winning.

 Recruiters, paralysed by company policy, are saying “Trump? He’s OK. Does some good, does some bad, we’re completely impartial on him.” – catchy slogan right?

My message is this – pick a side and stand out.

You’ve owned a number of successful businesses – what’s the first question you ask a recruiter when you receive a sales call?

Are you serious? I haven’t taken a phone call since 2016. I’m too busy for that.

Back in the day I did take a call from a recruiter who was head hunting me for a position in my own company.

Apparently, I had the skills and experience for my own job at my own company. I even managed to arrange an interview with myself.

The penny only dropped with the recruitment company when they called to ask me how my interview went. I asked them what my name was – and who was my appointment with.

 So my advice when making a sales call… do your research.

You talk about hiring a lot, what has been your best ever hire?

I make a habit of never praising my staff. No matter how good a job they do. So I’ll keep this anonymous.

There is someone that I worked with for four years (including her maternity leave) who was the first person I employed in my new start-up at the time.

She could do everything, and was the most important person in the business (myself aside, of course). She didn’t time her breaks, or moan about holidays and pay. She gave everything to make any task a success.

She wasn’t THE best at anything, but she was minimum fuss, tried hard and didn’t bring any other bullshit to work. A business full of “superstars” will never work, they’re difficult to manage and believe their own hype. So my best hire was a plodder, just a really reliable, ronseal plodder.

Anyone who has worked in a start-up will understand the need for flexibility within job descriptions – as direction and focus can change daily. It takes a special kind of person to thrive in those conditions.

What is your best ever hire doing now?

Working for someone else.

The employee described above is loyal (she’s been there over eight years now), and despite trying to hire her for two companies since, she’s not for moving. Even offering her more money AND fewer hours than her current role. I guess some people put loyalty above cash. Losers.

My current best hire (working at Winnet Towers) is currently organising our 2019 Christmas do. We’re having it in February. We always do them early – better for the bottom line.

We’re also still recovering from the fallout from the 2018 Christmas do we had in June – due to legal proceedings, I can’t elaborate.

What does Mike W like to do when he’s chilling in his crib away from Winnet Towers?

Like any successful forward-thinking millennial, I watch hours and hours of YouTube videos.

I only watch videos that will boost my success. So my feed is a mix of motivational talks and gym videos. Both your mind and body need to be in tip-top shape when you’re the UK’s #1 Demotivational Speaker.

The strange thing is, not one of the videos I’ve watched credits their success to watching hours of YouTube videos. I’ll keep looking.

If I am forced to spend time with my family, I listen to audiobooks so it’s not a total waste of time.

Reading real books is for old farts and unsuccessful people, as they’re the only ones with time to actually put their phone down.

I double my chances of success by listening to audiobooks on success and how to become a millionaire, whilst scanning my Instagram feed and READING people’s memes about success. I call this strategy ‘2x Your Success by Osmosis’.

Does Mike still have a special lady in his life (my wife’s question)?

David, your wife is trying to tell you something. I’ll pop a Mike Winnet mask in the post, hopefully it fits. Enjoy.

Thanks Mike.

 Don’t hesitate if you want to get to know more about Mike. Just follow him, here and here.

And a Merry Xmas to everyone in my network. Please share and add some commentary. Mike might even write back.

David Wolstenholme is the Founder of BrandMeBetter, a coaching and consulting business.

“I'm on a mission to help more aspirational recruitment leaders and recruiters build their personal brands, helping them to achieve greater business success.”