07/07/2026
Being a recruiter isn't easy. It's easy to get caught up in the ghosting from clients and candidates, impossible searches, shifting job requirements, counteroffers, and all of the challenges that come with trying to match the right person with the right opportunity.
AI summed it up perfectly: Recruiting is one of the few professions where you're managing a two-sided sales process, but your "product" has a mind of its own. You're balancing the needs of hiring managers with the goals, concerns, and changing circumstances of candidates. You can spend weeks identifying, interviewing, coaching, and preparing the perfect candidate, only to have the employer change directions or the candidate accept another offer. Much of what happens is outside of your control, which means resilience isn't optional; it's required.
All of that is true. But today, I was reminded why I still love what I do.
At my core, I want to help people. I love coaching. I love being the cheerleader who reminds people of their value and encourages them not to make a career decision based on a single bad day. I want people to be proud of the choices they make, even when those choices don't benefit me or my client.
I recently reached out to someone about a job. We connected this week, and after a long talk, I told the person they had a wonderful job and that it might be silly to wonder if the grass was greener elsewhere. That conversation didn't result in a placement. It didn't earn me a fee. It didn't help my client fill an opening. That advice helps me sleep well at night. I know I gave honest advice, and I know I put someone's long-term career ahead of my own short-term success.
I've been fortunate to work in this profession for almost 30 years. Along the way, I've certainly made many mistakes. I've set my expectations too high at times, and my honesty has probably rubbed some (many) people the wrong way. But I've always tried to be authentic, transparent, and genuinely invested in the people I talk to every day.
Today, flowers were delivered to my office. They weren't to celebrate a placement. They weren't a thank-you from a client. They were from a potential candidate who wanted to thank me for encouraging them to stay in their current job.
Sometimes the best placement you make...is the one you don't.
Moments like this remind me exactly why I became a recruiter in the first place.
