Posted in Freelancer, Interview,
There's loads of shonky recruiters out there. There, I said it. Rip off the band aid. But nothing new to see here, we all know this already. Unscrupulous, nauseatingly salesy and, most of all, simply not to be trusted. Thing is, I'm just starting to wonder if a good dose of the disdain aimed their way for exactly those reasons isn't actually a little bit disproportionate.
Now, given my career history, I've got real form in this particular conversation. I started life as a journalist, who barely scrape in ahead of politicians and – whisper it – even social media influencers in Ipsos's most recent Veracity Index of the least trustworthy professions. (Nurses, engineer & doctors occupy the top three spots by the way). After that, I trod the well-worn path into PR, another career which, while not formally ranked, is always likely to plumb the depths. Estate agents, landlords & bankers miraculously achieve mid-table safety but that is perhaps a conversation for another day. Recruitment is in there somewhere, fighting hard for crumbs of public trust. And that is a real shame.
Because many of us work extremely hard to build & preserve that very attribute and value it more highly than anything else in a profession that can be as equally merciless as it can rewarding. We are hell-bent on getting as many good people into jobs as we possibly can. Integrity is a living, breathing thing. It is to be cherished. If you don't look after it, it starts to rot and, in time, becomes a withered husk of what it used to be. You cannot turn it on and off. You can't pick and choose to whom and when to apply it. And our own interpretation of the moral compass is unique to us all.
But it cuts both ways. My colleagues & I will always endeavour to be as transparent, as realistic, as timely and as clear in our communication as possible. Sure, sometimes we miss a beat but that is almost always by circumstance rather the choice. And so we ask the same of our clients and candidates, too. If something has changed, tell us. If the goal-posts have moved, just say it. If your heart's not in it anymore, 'fess up. We can deal with these common experiences and find a way forward that works for everyone. But information vacuums, black-outs, partial disclosures and so on…these make our job extremely difficult and, in turn, that means the service we can provide to all our stakeholders ends up being irrevocably tarnished, which is no good for anyone.
You're right, of course: plenty of recruiters will always be unscrupulous. And most of us will make regular, honest mistakes too, just as do the clients and candidates we serve. And there will be plenty who read this and scoff. 'Integrity doesn't grow our business!' 'The FD won't up my bonus because I showed some integrity!'. Well, maybe they should. Certainly, at the very least it ought to be part of the conversation.
In the grand scheme of things, our industries remain a small community. And we understand more than most – from our privileged position at the cutting edge - just how excruciating job-hunting and hiring can be right now. Yet in an increasingly fractured and fractious world, there is so much that is beyond all our collective control. That is exactly why our moral compass becomes exponentially more important than ever before – and harder to cling onto when times are tough. Integrity shines like a beacon, yet nags like a weeping sore when ignored. It's when we pay it forward that good things eventually start to happen and lasting, mutually beneficial relationships are built.
Ben Mitchell is Head of Interim at The Work Crowd, working with businesses to find flexible solutions and helping consultants build rewarding portfolio careers.
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