Why it's the candidate, not commission, that is king.

With user experience and consumer power becoming an ever-more prominent feature on planet earth in 2016, it's time we put an age-old recruitment myth to bed. 

What is this myth, you ask? Well, it's one that paints recruitment as some kind of breeding ground made only for the green-eyed, greedy goblins of this world.

Now, it's not that there aren't still undesirable creatures hanging round the darkened crevices of commission chasing, it's just that for companies that care about their candidates, this reputation is misleading.

But why is all this even important?

Quite simply, because having this misrepresentation can be damaging, but also deeply frustrating which when thought about in greater depth, it isn't hard to comprehend. In every profession, product, service, TV show - you name it - bad examples can tarnish the good. There's the Jar Jar to your Star Wars. Your Mourinho to your football. Your Kardashian to your culture. This same principal of anomaly applies itself to the often misunderstood world that is recruitment. The only difference here is that quality, candidate-driven recruitment is being tarnished by Jar Jar Bills and Keeping Up With the Commissions.

The fundamental truth is that in today's modern, liberated and fast-paced job search, the candidate should be the king; recognising this fact is the life-blood of any good recruitment company. To 'do' recruitment today, is not the same thing as 'doing' recruitment once was. If you're not offering something personable, considered and with all ears to the candidate, you might as well not bother. Essentially, recruitment has to be a real conversation between two individuals seeking to better the candidate's life with improved working opportunities. 

If you're looking to succeed in recruitment today, it's important to note this fact and how now, the cream rising to top is no longer the full fat, slicker-than-your-average sales person looking for the next quick buck. In many cases it's actually the complete opposite. Recruitment is not an industry for cheap sales tactics and it's not an opportunity for Del Boy recruitment hybrids to push candidates into career moves they shouldn't be making. It's a job that presents real responsibility with regards to the life of a candidate. This should never be underestimated.

What we're now seeing is that, for those delivering recruitment services as it should be, there's an alive and kicking 'stories' industry to be loved and enjoyed. Quite simply, without an engaged and valued candidate network, there are no career stories to be made. Recruitment is an industry that pays to create opportunities, an industry purpose-built to help change lives and an industry that SHOULD serve to connect people for the better. 

If there's recruitment that doesn't lives up to these values, criticism is of course, justified. But with this, we need to be careful of applying an anomalistic trend on a universal basis.

For the best recruiters, it's 'you', not 'me' that is now taking centre stage, and it's about time this value was upheld across the board.