Don't Sell Your Soul
The Quiet Killer of Recruitment Success: Over-Customisation
Let’s talk about a dirty little habit that's probably killing your billings.
No, not procrastination. Not ChatGPT overuse.
I'm talking about customisingOver-Customisation your process to every single client like a people-pleasing shape-shifter with no boundaries.
We’ve all done it.
Client says, “We don’t like phone calls.”
You nod like a polite hostage.
Next thing you know, you’re trying to qualify candidates via emoji-laden Slack threads while updating a Trello board they’ll never check.
And you wonder why the job hasn’t filled in 7 weeks.
The Problem with Being ‘Too Flexible’
Recruitment isn’t improv night. You don’t get points for adapting to bad scripts.
When you adjust your process every time someone raises an eyebrow, you:
- Break your rhythm
- Confuse your candidates
- Dilute your value
- And worst of all? You hand over control to the client… who came to you because they don’t know how to fix their hiring problem.
Remember: You’re the Expert, Not the Assistant
Do you think a surgeon walks into an operating room and asks,
“Would you prefer if I used a spoon instead of a scalpel today?”
Hell no.
You’ve billed millions.
You’ve seen what works.
You know what leads to faster, better hires.
So act like it.
The Fix: Pre-frame. Own It. Walk if Needed.
Here’s what today’s best recruiters are doing:
- Pre-frame the process early.
“Here’s how I run search. It works, and it’s fast. Deviating from this adds time, not value.” - Give choices within structure.
“We’ll need a 15-minute feedback loop. Prefer Zoom or WhatsApp voice notes?” - Be ready to walk away.
Not every client deserves your A-game. Some deserve your automated out-of-office.
Final Thought: You’re Not a Waiter
Stop taking orders. Start serving up solutions.
Because the clients who push back the hardest?
They’ll be the first to say “You were right, we should’ve just listened to you.”
Top billers don’t just fill jobs.
They lead.
And they don’t apologiz for it.