Cowboy Recruiters Part 5: Goodbye Sebastian

I am sorry to say this but today we will have a final meeting with our UK recruiter hustler, thief and Cowboy Recruiter, Sebastian. At least for a while anyway. Having got to know him so well over the last few weeks it is somewhat ‘sad’ to leave him behind but I suppose it is now time to focus on the more positive things concerning recruitment and the recruitment world. Will he be back? Unfortunately, yes. As far as ‘King Sebastian, The Recruitment Star’, is concerned, there are many years left for him to scam and steal.

I have had overwhelming positive feedback to this series both from candidates, clients and all those excellent recruiters out there and I am convinced that it was time that someone stood up and spoke about these shocking aspects of the recruitment world. It is now time for the many excellent recruiters with a high level of integrity to shine. Hopefully, in the not too distant future, there will be no more clowns like Sebastian operating within the industry.

Protecting Clients and Candidates

1000 + comments I have received in relation to the Cowboy Recruiters series and only a handful of these have been of the negative sort. Guess what? The negative comments have come from industry colleagues in the UK I can only imagine that this is because I have touched a nerve. Well, that is their problem.

“Erik, instead of writing all of this why don`t you just name the companies you are referring to?”

This was a question I received from a recruitment manager in the UK a few weeks back. He was clearly not too impressed with what I had written. My answer to this person is simple: You just haven’t grasped it have you and it just goes to show the level of intelligence or lack of it that exists within some recruitment organisations. Do you honestly think I have written the Cowboy Recruiters series in order to name and shame people or companies? Are you really that stupid?

The sole purpose of this series is to give those people we highly depend on, clients and candidates, an induction to some of the behaviours that take place in order to protect them, their interests and their own good reputation. Unfortunately, some of the behaviour we have seen from Sebastian is so outrageous that these candidates and clients would never understand what took place unless someone told them so. So there you go, it is time for the recruitment industry to do what we should be doing: Providing a professional and high class service to our clients and candidates and protect them from being trapped into relationships with criminals.

How can the industry improve?

Thankfully, a lot of companies within the recruitment industry do not have to improve. They already operate with a high level of integrity and provide a great services to their clients and candidates.

Then there are the Cowboy Recruiters, what can be done?

It is simple really. Just stop doing things that in any other industry would lead to imprisonment, suspension or heavy fines. If you can manage that you may still not be a great recruiter on behalf of your clients and candidates but at least you have come a long way. In addition to this, and although I feel like I am now talking to a five year old it wouldn`t hurt if you operated with a high level of integrity, professionalism and honesty. Not so difficult is it?

Rather than being a necessary evil in which candidates and clients have to use, why not become a preferred solution that clients and candidates genuinely want to use?

Finally, to those recruiters and recruitment managers out there with the brain of a 3 year old let me put it in another way to you. Rather than aspire to and learn from your ‘heroes’ in films such as Wolf Of Wall Street and Boiler Room, why not grow up and find some more suitable heroes that have actually achieved something as opposed to hustled people for millions. Irrespective of what you may think is ‘cool’ or not, scrub up, grow a pair and pride yourself on giving a good and honest service. In doing so, there is also room for you to be a future part of an industry that can make a great and positive difference to clients and candidates alike.

If you have not read about the antics of Sebastian, then please take a look at part 1-4 of this series that can be found under Cowboy Recruiters on my blog.