A visit from three ghosts on the night before Christmas gives MD Anthony McCormack food for thought about an exciting future for Macstaff recruitment.

Twas the night before Christmas and I had resolved all the recruitment possible before officially closing the office for the festive season.

Voicemail was set, out of office alert email was engaged and I was ready to breath a sigh of relief, raise a well-earned glass and get fully into family mode.

However, that evening I was disturbed by three ghosts … recruitment ghosts!

The first ghost, calling himself the ghost of recruitment past, was a hard charger who took me back to a time of corporate recruitment.

Ghost One

There were dominant players in the market, large corporates with structures and PSL’s and big databases.

With greed and excess, there is a sales ethos and consultants obsessed by deals and billing. It’s ‘work hard, play hard’, there’s cigarettes and alcohol, it’s a young man’s game and I’m feeling a little embarrassed to be in recruitment.

I will remember him as the ghost of generalist recruitment, and I bid him farewell.

Ghost Two

The second ghost, calling herself the ghost of recruitment present, was professional and showed me the situation right now in our recruitment universe.

There’s a changing of the guard, SMEs proliferate, the market is competitive and USPs are required.

Change is the only constant and the industry talk is of personal branding, candidate experience, and automation.

There is a service ethos being marketed and consultants are focused on differentiation, partnership, relationships networking and engagement. I’m encouraged and feeling kind of proud to be in recruitment.

I will remember her as the ghost of specialist recruitment, and I bid her a fond farewell.

Ghost Three

The third ghost, introducing themselves as the ‘ghost of recruitment future’, was a smart but eccentric character.

It was interesting as my guide contrasted recruitment wastelands with swathes of vibrant organic growth.

It is a brave new world of start-ups, innovation, nano-niche (Kevin Green), productisation, disruption, personalisation and revolution! This co-exists with a prevailing culture of co-opetition, sustainability, social responsibility, values and ethics.

Trust is the hot commodity. It’s not just about selling or marketing services, it’s about delivering the right experience and results, consistently with transparency.

Customers are going to choose the future shape of recruitment and the folks thriving are entrepreneurs, innovators, and leaders living and working authentically.

The third ghost, the ghost of niche recruitment was inspiring, and I’m excited about the future of recruitment, so we left together!

Where does your recruitment partner belong?

So, where does your recruitment partner belong? Recruitment past, present or future?

Maybe do some recruiter research today – and again tomorrow because things are changing so quickly!

In the mean time, a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year from Anthony McCormack and Macstaff.

Read more: Find out why does Macstaff operate under the hashtag #MacstaffRepresents

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