20 Years in the Game and Still Learning

Today marks 20 years in recruiting, so I thought I’d post some reflections and learnings. Indulge me if you will!

I always find the “how did you get into recruiting” question fascinating because it’s almost never an intentional career path. Shoot, I used to dodge the “what do you do for a living” question at parties. I’ll say it, I wasn’t always proud of my profession. For me, a job in recruiting was a chance to sit at the same desk every day instead of relentless travel for my chosen career path (management consulting). I ended up staying at that boutique search firm for 7 years, which gave me the skills I needed to work for myself for 8 years (an itch I’d always wanted to scratch). 15 years in and I decided to do something I swore I’d never do; go “in-house”. During my “external” days, there was a perception that in-house was a destination for failed head-hunters. I think a lot has changed since then, but boy was I wrong [lesson #1].

I spent the next 2.5 years at an early-stage startup, doubling headcount before falling foul to funding struggles and having to downsize (back to square one). Whilst this experience taught me a lot about the tech industry, it made me realise I get very invested in the companies I work for. It also equipped me for the next chapter, my current role; international business recruiting at Moloco, a high-growth, pre-IPO, ML startup.

Whilst the fundamental attributes are the same, in-house recruiting requires a slightly different skillset (to external). As well as being relentless, highly organised, a great judge of character, and a fierce networker with advanced influencing skills, in-house recruiters need to be talent partners, project managers, storytellers, coaches, domain experts, and a whole load more [lesson #2]. Two great years at Moloco has taught me a lot, and exposed me to another side of my profession. In a company that’s solving hard problems using cutting edge technology, my team is solving a business-critical one; finding exceptional talent. With two decades under my belt, I believe I have the licence to say that Talent Acquisition (TA) in a high-bar technology company is amongst the most challenging roles in recruiting [lesson #3]. But also one of the most rewarding, if…

If...you want to keep learning and strive to be in the top percentile in your field. I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in wishing I’d received more career wisdom in the early years (am I right?). If so, here’s mine for you: find something you’re good at and strive to be in the top 1% in that discipline. Worry less about a chosen career path, or a role you like the sound of, and focus more on being the best at something you’re good at. The opportunities, enjoyment, and fulfillment will come as a result of being exceptional at something [lesson #4]. Sounds simple, but I wish someone had told me this when I was starting out.

Of course, you could argue that you don’t always enjoy things you’re good at, or it’s hard (sometimes impossible) to know if you’re in the top 1%, but that’s not the point. I truly believe you can apply this wisdom to most disciplines, and let it guide your career decisions. After-all, as recruiters we’re looking for exceptional talent, and that usually translates to being in the top 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5%. One of our current challenges is figuring out the best way to screen for this exceptional talent.

There were several junctures in the first 15 years where I felt as though recruiting wasn’t evolving. My approach back then was to gravitate toward challenging search assignments or geos, just to push myself, but in hindsight I should’ve changed track and gone in-house sooner (perhaps a victim of my former biases). Building a world class recruiting engine for a fast-moving company is incredibly dynamic, and a great opportunity to learn from others [lesson #5]. One of the most surprising (and amazing) things about my current role is that I'm learning every day. It helps to have a manager who pushes me to be better, and to be surrounded by super smart people, but I never expected to be growing this much after 20 years as a recruiter. There, I proudly said it - I’m a recruiter!