First, let me tell you a little story...

Once upon a time there was a little girl who grew up in country NSW surrounded by farms and bushland. She had many pets and even a pony to play with. Her mother said she always gravitated towards people. She would often approach people on the street and in cafe’s then start talking to them, asking questions and building conversations. She was what her mother called ‘a people magnet’.

The little girl grew up and moved to the big city with the hope of being a dietitian. That plan quickly changed when she landed a job in the largest recruitment agency in Australia and low and behold – she believed she had found her dream job. She was paid to talk to people all day long!!

The years bubbled along and the young girl became quite successful as she built a very large network of people that needed her help. She had amazing managers who trained her in the craft of recruitment, taught her the importance of being kind and reminded her that people don’t remember what you did or said, they remember how you made them feel.

Then one day, everything changed

The business was sold and a whole new management team was brought in. The new managers were very different from the previous ones, they were not passionate or committed, they came in at the same time every day, and they left at exactly the same time at night. They seemed to be more like robots than people. They talked about shareholders a lot and never gave their staff any time or consideration.

It became ALL ABOUT THE MONEY. The little girl didn’t enjoy recruitment as much anymore – there was so much pressure to deliver for the shareholders and to meet unrealistic budgets. She also noted that none of the new managers actually recruited, or developed business or trained staff or even attended meetings so she wondered what they actually did all day. Whilst the consultants kept doing what they were told, no-one seemed happy in the office.

It was then on one fateful day that her manager, a very hard, direct and cold woman approached the young recruiter – it was the last day of the month. “We have a problem she said”. A couple of other teams have not made any placements and given you are the only person with anything in the pipeline we need you pull another placement through – and it needs to happen today. I heard you had an offer for a candidate yesterday but she didn’t accept the role? What happened?”

The young girl spoke and said ‘yes, the candidate is going through a few personal issues at home and realised that she’s not in the right position to be accepting a new role. She told me she wasn’t focused, she won’t deliver on the client’s expectations. She said it’s likely she’ll leave in a few weeks. I’m just glad she told us now. It’s the right thing that she didn’t take it. I’ll find a candidate who is a better fit”.

And it was then that the manager said the words that would change the young consultant’s career forever. She said I don’t care – MAKE her take the job. Don’t tell the client anything about her personal life. If she leaves you can replace her”.