• Publish Date: Posted over 6 years ago
• Author:by Richard Nelson

Don’t leave your career hamstrung

​When reviewing my most recent couple of months in recruitment it might initially seem a little strange that I’d seek some comfort from the words of a man born in the 18th Century, well before the words internet and blogging had any great meaning. Likewise recruitment would have been a word reserved for those off to war rather than those off to the office or manufacturing site for another week of work. But it is Benjamin Franklin, one of the United States’ Founding Fathers, that is most commonly associated with the proverb “Honesty is the best policy” - something that resonates with me as a Recruiter.Interview and offer management can be complicated processes at the best of times and as a Recruiter it is our job to facilitate, coordinate and manage this amongst other things. A major road block with this is that in a recruitment process we rely on people, and people can be unreliable and unpredictable at the best of times. In looking back at recent assignments, ranging from graduate level up to directorship, I am faced with an injury list that even Jack Wilshire would wince at. A torn shoulder, two anterior cruciate ligament injuries, a pulled calf and multiple “24 hour bugs”. No, I’m not talking about the plight of Arsenal’s long suffering Club Doctor Gary O’Driscoll. Nor looking back at another hard fought Rugby World Cup. I'm talking about the curse of the interview. Now don’t get me wrong, things happen in life – we get sick, we injure ourselves in the most innocuous of ways, road traffic accidents happen and tragedy has affected all of our family lives. But as a recruiter sometimes your “spidey senses” tell you something isn't quite as it seems. Now my rule is always to give people the benefit of the doubt. Who am I to question if things have happened that have taken precedence over an interview or a job offer? Some things in life will always be a priority over work – our health and our families for example. But much like an Elephant, most recruiters never forget. And for those that do they have a database to fall back on. Databases that go back many years. So when a candidate has his 4th successive car crash en route to interview or her mother dies for the 2nd time I wonder – why not just be straight with us?If you've decided to stay put with your current employer, that’s ok. The worst thing any recruiter or potential new boss can do is force someone in to a job they don’t want. If you've got another offer late in the day that pays more and is closer to home, great, let us know about it! There’s also no shame in changing your mind but as a recruiter I would much rather hear about this than another “bump” on the motorway when driving up to the interview. Ultimately it is much better to be upfront with us as recruiters and prospective new employers than to be known as the man/woman with an injury record worse than Jack Wilshire.