My Recruitment Journey: From Accident to Doubt to Purpose: Why I choose Recruitment as a Career Path?

Door-to-Door career pathway to accidentally getting into Recruitment

As a fresh university graduate, I was on a quest to find my first job—one that would not only launch my career but also equip me with universal skills applicable to any role, a bit like a Swiss Army knife. It may sound ambitious, but in the realm of a graduate, the world is your oyster, and anything feels possible. I stumbled upon an intriguing online Sales Executive position that had me hooked.

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The role I landed wasn't your typical sales gig, it was a “door-to-door” sales representative position that required me to crisscross the country, engage with diverse audiences, and brave the elements. For 11 months, I walked countless miles every day, six days a week. It was a challenging journey, but it equipped me with invaluable skills such as confidence in dealing with the public. It also gave me a deeper understanding of psychology, the art of selling which in turn developed my communication skills and got me out of my comfort zone, and the ability to build teams and foster a culture of excellence.

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However, after almost a year, I found myself yearning for something different. It was during a rugby training session when I struck up a conversation with a friend about their job in recruitment that my perspective started to shift. Recruitment seemed to offer a perfect blend of my sales experience and the potential for a long-term career path. This marked the beginning of my journey into the world of recruitment. However, it didn’t start ideally.

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Early Career Recruitment Dilemma Doubt

“Now James, I have to be honest, I don’t think the recruitment industry suits and is for you and would recommend looking for an alternative career such as going back into sports or sales”. Little did I know that this piece of advice would ignite a transformation in my career.

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Having spoken to my rugby friend about recruitment, I managed to get my first job but sadly didn’t find it was best suited for me initially. This candid conversation left me with a choice. Reflecting on my options, I considered two paths.

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I thought long and hard about my next career moves. The first option was to quit recruitment and decide as mentioned to find something and into a sporting environment career. I will admit looking back, I realize I lacked a clear understanding of my role, the path to success, and the industry's ubiquitous phrase, "You own your own desk." I often found myself pondering, "What does that even mean?".

My second choice was to prove them wrong and continue to pursue a career in recruitment but find a different type of role and environment that I felt more aligned with. I made my decision and ventured into a different pathway in the recruitment role and continued forward.

Over the years, I’ve had the amazing opportunity to help hundreds of people find their dream jobs in prestigious companies and fill their critically needed vacancies. I will never look back as it’s the best decision in my professional career that I’ve made and truly believe that recruitment is a noble profession as I’ve made many great connections and wonderful memories. These are the reasons why I choose to continue down the path of recruitment.

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My Ikigai: Finding a Purpose that was Recruitment:

Let’s start with Ikigai, Ikigai is a Japanese concept that means your ‘reason for being’; ‘Iki’ means life, and ‘gai’ describes value or worth, your Ikigai is your life purpose. The concept of Ikigai has numerous values and has multiple layers to self-reflect. Important factors to consider are: “What are you good at”, “What do you love”, “What does the world need” and “What can you be paid for”.I wrote in one of my previous articles “Discover How to Choose Your Next Job and Unlock Your Ikigai!” as I discussed that you should choose a job that gives you purpose and find a place/role that gives you fulfilment that will be motivated and drive you forwards.

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For me, recruitment embodies my Ikigai. I thoroughly enjoy recruitment because as a recruiter you are a vital person from two perspectives of a company and a candidate perspective. I thoroughly enjoy it because, as a recruiter, I play a vital role from both a company and candidate perspective. I contribute to a company's success by helping them find the right talent, which can lead to breakthroughs and growth. From a candidate's viewpoint, I have the privilege of changing lives by offering them new job opportunities—helping them achieve homeownership, support their families, pursue their dream careers, or escape unemployment. This sense of fulfilment fuels my passion and pride in my work.

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This is what I’ve found is my purpose and a feeling that I love to do, something that I feel I can help others, making an impact on people’s lives, and fortunately, something that I can be paid to do.

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Being a Recruiter – Chasing and Catching the Golden Snitch (Quidditch):

For Harry Potter fans, imagine recruitment as a pursuit similar to Harry's quest to catch the golden snitch in Quidditch. The thrill, excitement, and energy I experience when successfully filling a position parallel the exhilaration of catching the snitch winning against his dreaded rival Draco Malfoy and Slytherin. However, it's the journey, the countless hours of emailing, calling, messaging, coordinating, and organizing—that make the end result so fulfilling.

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For those who are Harry Potter fans, you’ll remember Harry playing the sport of Quidditch for Gryffindor and by catching the golden snitch. The thrill, excitement, energy, and chase of catching the snitch is liken to the feeling when I fulfil a position and make both company and candidate happy with their decision to accept the role. However, it’s the journey and the effort that makes you feel rewarded for the numerous hours of emailing, calling, messaging, coordinating and organising that you must do that makes the result so fulfilling.

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Building relationships is the joy that I have with working with people working on creating a fundamental relationship with an applicant to provide quality service and experience through thorough consultations and open/transparent conversation through to working with the hiring manager to strategize and build a plan for success to go to market. Each side of the call is similar to being your teammates as you’re working together navigating this journey to find the triumphant victory of having that person start on day one at the company with the team.

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Being a recruiter is like being on the sports field, there are countless possibilities and many challenges/hurdles to overcome at any point. Like Harry Potter avoiding all the dodgers and opponents trying to put him off his game and objective, the primary goal is to catch the golden candidate to fulfil the position and repeat. This is a repeated thrill and chase that enlightens me to be in recruitment. This perpetual pursuit is what keeps me passionate about recruitment, turning obstacles into opportunities and rejections into resolutions. This is what makes recruitment exciting.

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Transitioning from being a Recruiter to now a Team Lead – The Current Journey

Today, my role is slightly less “hands-on” than previously about end-to-end recruitment. I’m fortunate to lead an incredible team that I partner with every day. Having had a background in playing and coaching sports, I’ve always thoroughly enjoyed and loved being within a team environment.

Playing and coaching rugby, you understand that a game isn’t won by one person but as a collective on the pitch and from a coach’s perspective, you understand it’s the habits, drills, and preparation throughout the week that gets you the win. Their successes are my successes, and my successes are their successes, it’s a team and every effort make an effect.

This understanding has helped me in the current professional position that I’m at right now where I can implement this ethos. Being a team lead I enjoy seeing people learn, develop and achieve their goals and anything small that I may have helped or said gives me that satisfaction of my purpose of helping and impacting others.

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Final Thoughts:

In conclusion, my journey in recruitment has been a transformational one. It aligns with my Ikigai, mirrors the thrill of chasing the golden snitch, and fulfils my desire to lead and impact others positively. I'm excited about the path ahead and the opportunities it holds for my continued growth in this dynamic field. If you have a similar story or want to connect, please reach out—I'd love to hear from you.