What has changed in recruitment?

I often reminisce about my first job in recruitment and it never fails to bring a smile to my face. I started recruiting 'Pickers' and 'Packers' in a sweet factory in the glamorous city of Sheffield, just at the tail-end of when it was still acceptable to smoke in the office... So yes, a long time ago!

When I was asked about how recruitment has evolved over the years, I automatically thought about how technology has changed the industry, and in particular the Internet, along with CRM systems replacing a good old-fashioned filing cabinet. 

Then, in all honesty, I realised that fundamentally nothing has actually changed! 

There is no denying that how we interact and find candidates, as well as the tools we use to do so, has changed dramatically. The introduction of LinkedIn and other social media platforms has revolutionised what we do. However, the ‘Why’ and the ‘What’ we do remains the same.

At the core of it all, we still work with candidates to help further their career and support clients seeking to grow their organisations through the introduction of exceptional talent, and the tools we have to find them are incredible. 

The key to being a great recruiter still comes down to our ability and desire to build trusted relationships with people on a long-term basis in order to gain mutual reward. This is part of a human's DNA and has been for thousands of years.

The ‘Why’ is really the key. Why the best recruiters do so well and how can we measure this success is a question I have been asking since my first day in that sweet factory. It is simply an individual’s desire to be the best at what they do by providing an exceptional service to their clients and candidates, knowing that this will, in turn, produce a mutual respect with reciprocated reward.

This defines success for the best recruiters and the financial reward is simply a by-product used to quantify success.

So, despite the Technology revolution which has turned the industry on its head, fundamentally nothing has really changed in recruitment as success is driven by human nature. 

Passion, resilience, pride, integrity, hunger and desire are the ingredients for a great recruiter. This stands as true today as it did 20 years ago.