Categories: Career, Change, O Inspiration, Recruitment, Uncategorized

by Optimum

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Categories: Career, Change, O Inspiration, Recruitment, Uncategorized

by Optimum

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Eight weeks ago, I started a new career in recruitment after 11 years as a legal assistant.

What led me here was not a sudden epiphany. It was a nearly 12-month-long job search that allowed me to experience firsthand what candidates say is broken about the process.
As a candidate, I felt invisible more times than not. Conversations went nowhere. Roles were vague. Feedback was non-existent. Follow-ups were promised and then forgotten. I was often left wondering whether anyone had actually listened to what I was saying, or whether my CV had some obscenely outrageous error noticeable to everyone else but me.
It was disappointing. And at times, genuinely demoralising.
At the time, I complained incessantly about it, with remarkable consistency, to anyone within range. What I did not realise then was that experience would become the foundation of how I approach recruitment now. It was the most relevant training I could have had.
Because sitting on the other side of the process teaches you things no training manual ever will.
It teaches you that candidates are not commodities. They are people taking risks financially, professionally, and emotionally. It teaches you that silence does not feel “neutral.” It feels dismissive. It teaches you that being unclear or careless with communication erodes trust quickly, even when the outcome is ultimately a no.
Eight weeks into recruitment, I already know this: being heard is not a luxury. It is the bare minimum.
My background in law trained me to work under pressure, manage competing priorities, and understand that details matter. But my 12-month job search taught me empathy, and that is the part I refuse to lose now that I am on this side of the desk.
For candidates, I am intentional about listening properly, being honest about roles, and closing loops, even when the news is not good. Especially when the news is not good.
For clients, I am learning quickly that taking shortcuts early only creates problems later. Understanding the role, the business, and the reality of what is needed is not “overthinking”; it is doing the job properly.
And for other recruiters, spending a long time in the market is uncomfortable, but it is also clarifying. It shows you exactly where the process breaks down and where we can do better.
I am new to recruitment, yes. But I am not new to high standards, accountability, or people-centric work. The frustration I felt as a candidate is exactly what shapes how I show up now.
This career change was not accidental.
It was informed.
And I have no interest in repeating the mistakes that made that year so hard for me.
I am eight weeks in, and I am building the kind of recruitment experience I wish I had, because I know exactly how much it matters.
Consultant

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