Please, Don't Mention Dinosaurs!

By Michael J. Crichton

Through captivating anecdotes and thought-provoking commentary, our protagonist exposes the outdated practices that have held the recruitment world hostage for decades. He envisions a new era of collaboration, support, and technology-driven innovation that transforms the way people find meaningful work.

 

This book is a must-read for anyone who has ever felt trapped in the ruthless jaws of the 'Dinosaurs of Recruitment'. Whether you're a job seeker, employer, fellow recruiter, or just want to know what goes on behind the scenes then you'll be entertained and educated along the way. So, settle into your favourite armchair and prepare to embark on a journey that will forever change the way you think about recruitment.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Michael J. Crichton
• Release date: Mar 26, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215798799

Book preview

INTRODUCTION

All of my friends had studied for their chosen professions, knowing what they wanted to be from 17 or 18 years old; Accountants, Civil Engineers, Marketing Consultants, Teachers. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I liked golf but wasn’t good enough to make it as a tour professional and I enjoyed working in people-facing situations. In order to test myself straight out of university I chose to work in a sales role selling gas and electricity door-to-door in residential areas. I learnt a lot through this year of work, mainly around how to avoid getting attacked by dogs and how to catch a stranger’s attention with a 5 second opening pitch before they slammed their door in my face. In order to be successful I used sales techniques like ‘fear the loss’ that this is a one time offer and the chance shouldn’t be missed, ‘the sheep factor’ that all of their neighbours are switching their gas and electricity to another provider to save money and so should they, and the ‘local pride’ that they should be paying the region’s local power company and not one from down south. Ultimately people changed to my recommended utility provider because they could see the monthly savings to be made and I could complete this business agreement with just 5 minutes of completing official paperwork. It turned out that this was a multilevel marketing company (MLM), otherwise known as pyramid scheme, so I left to find a proper career.

As I sat in the office of Adecco in Hull whilst Roger read through my freshly printed CV, I was apprehensive of the job opportunities that would be suitable for me with studying English Literature at university and not wanting to be a teacher or a writer. It’s funny how I would later fall into these two lines of work but further along in my career. My one year of door-to-door sales didn’t seem to impress Roger and he didn’t seem to be having a good day himself as he grumpily picked up the local newspaper and skimmed through the job advertisements to see what could be a match for me. His conclusion was that I should wait for him to call me once a suitable opportunity had arisen and as he waved me out of his office he continued to search the job advertisements for a better job for himself. He never did call me back. This was my first glimpse into the world of recruitment and I was fascinated.

CHAPTER ONE

My reasons for wanting to be a Recruitment Consultant have not changed to this day - I wanted to help people find the best position to advance their careers, and to help organisations find people that will help drive their business forward with success. It seems like an obvious reason but some people lose this meaningful purpose along the way where they get blind-sighted by the money they can earn and selfish motivations that do not work in the client or candidate’s best interests. This ultimately gives my profession a bad reputation and makes it harder to build trusting relationships with everyone. I was and still am determined to set the right example and be a positive force in the recruitment industry.

Interviews are never easy, especially at a young age when you are trying to find your first career position. Add on the extra pressure of having to interview and present in front of 8 other candidates that have applied for the same position and you have created a nightmare situation for most people.

The AndersElite team were very smart and had heard every interview answer in the book so when I was asked how much I would give to this position if I was successful and I answered 110%! I was quickly challenged with how is that actually possible?!

Looking around the boardroom at the winces and glowing faces of the interviewers and fellow interviewees, waiting in anticipation for my answer, I took a deep breath and replied if my time and responsibilities have been set to mean that I give 100% every day then I will go the extra mile; work a little harder, stay at work a little later, and push myself to achieve higher targets and expectations, thus achieving 110%.

This seemed to be the decision-maker and as we all had our final one-to-one interviews I was told that I had been successful in winning a position in the Civil