26 Years in Recruitment: Working Smarter, Not Harder

This month I celebrate 13 years with Optimum Consulting. It also means I have now spent exactly half of my 26 year recruitment career here, which feels like a good moment to stop and reflect.

The biggest change over that time isn't the technology, the job boards or the market cycles. It's how I work. I've gone from measuring success by how busy I was to measuring it by how much value I create for the people I work with.

The early years: working up a sweat

When I started out, recruitment was a numbers game, and I played it hard. More calls, more CVs sent, more interviews booked. If I wasn't flat out from the moment I sat down until well after everyone else had gone home, I felt like I wasn't doing my job.

That hustle taught me a lot. It built resilience, sharpened my phone skills and gave me a thick skin. But I also learnt that being busy and being effective are not the same thing. Plenty of that activity went nowhere: candidates sent to roles they were never going to accept, and clients who received a pile of CVs when what they needed was one right person.

Working smarter, not harder

Over time, and particularly during my years at Optimum, I've shifted from volume to value. I still work hard, but I'm far more deliberate about where that effort goes.

Today my week is built around quality activities, the ones that actually move the needle:

• Deeper conversations with better matched candidates
• Proper briefings with clients, so I understand the role, the team and the business before I start searching
• Protected focus time for the work that matters, instead of reacting to every email the moment it lands
• Following through on the opportunities that have real potential, and being honest early when something isn't right

The result is less noise and better outcomes. Fewer CVs go out, but more of them lead to interviews, offers and placements that last.

Knowing my candidates and clients well

The single biggest driver of my success has been relationships. Not transactional contacts, but people I know well.

"The single biggest driver of my success has been relationships."

With candidates, that means understanding more than their CV. I want to know what motivates them, where they want their career to go, what they will and won't compromise on, and what's happening in their life that might shape a decision. When I know those things, I can put the right opportunity in front of them at the right time.

With clients, it means knowing their business, their culture and their people. I want to understand why a role exists, what success looks like in the first 12 months, and who will thrive in that team. Many of my clients have worked with me for years, and that trust means I'm often brought in early, as a partner rather than a supplier.

Solving problems, not just filling roles

Knowing people well is what allows me to solve problems. A client rarely just needs "a Financial Controller". They need someone to fix a reporting backlog, steady a team through change, or partner with a CEO on growth. A candidate rarely just wants "a new job". They want flexibility, a clear path to the next step, a better culture or a leader they can learn from.

My job is to understand what's truly important to both sides and find where those needs meet. Sometimes that means challenging a brief, suggesting a different structure, or advising a candidate that a role isn't the right move. Those honest conversations don't always lead to an immediate fee, but they build the kind of trust that keeps people coming back.

What 13 years at Optimum has taught me

If I could give my younger self one piece of advice, it would be this: hard work matters, but focused work matters more. Success in recruitment doesn't come from doing everything. It comes from doing the right things well, for people you know and care about.

"Hard work matters, but focused work matters more."

Thank you to the Optimum team for 13 fantastic years, and to the clients and candidates who have trusted me along the way. Many of you have become long term partners and friends. I'm looking forward to the next chapter, and to many more great placements together.