Comments on: Are these the two dumbest recruiters in history?

By: Greg Savage

Greg Savage — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 07:18:41 +0000

Interesting question Rob, although I am not sure you would really care about my answer, given your charming opening sentence.

The definition of the word ‘eavesdrop’ is to “listen SECRETLY to the conversations of others.” I was in an open lounge. I was there first. They could clearly see me. They knew I, and many others, could hear them

There was no eavesdropping taking place.

I am supremely comfortable in my ethics, on this occasion, and generally.

By: Rob

Rob — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 03:33:08 +0000

All recruiters are wankers.

But ehre’s another approach to your answer – do you ever ask candidates to describe their ethics? How they approach situations where their ethics are called upon?

Reflect upon your ethics, you were quite happy to eavesdrop on a conversation containing information you knew to be confidential. what does that say about YOUR ethics?

By: Paul heath

Paul heath — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 23:41:06 +0000

Yes I hear things like this every day on the train – people thinking that mobile phone conversations are private. Dumb. I switch mine off.

By: Eva

Eva — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 22:42:51 +0000

Love it. They wonder why the term Cowboy was ever coined in Recruitment. Duh! Made me laugh though…you never, ever know who you will be sitting next to. I had an experience flying from Paris to Singapore. There in the ‘parents with children may board first line” was a familiar face that had me intrigued. Now I had never dealt with this ‘client’ directly, only through HR at a well known law firm, but recognised their face from their who’s who of Partners on their website. I was even currently doing work for this client and had attempted to recruit a staff member for this Partner in the past. Sure enough, as I was lining up to use the facilities ‘aft’, I spotted this person’s nanny, got talking in a roundabout way and sure enough, bingo – it was the high ranking Partner I assumed it was. Luckily I’m professional enough never to talk openly about my clients EVER in a public setting but just goes to show, you never, ever know who may be standing next to or sitting one row behind you on a 12.5 hour flight……

By: Cameron Heaney

Cameron Heaney — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 22:25:58 +0000

I am always amazed at the amount of sensitive information recruiters will talk about in public. Just walk down Collins Street in Melbourne or Pitt Street in Sydney and follow any pair of professionals carrying compendiums, you will most likely hear all about the client they are about to / have just visited and sensitive details about the job they are about to pick up / have just been briefed on.

By: Gerry crispin

Gerry crispin — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 12:32:22 +0000

You raise a stereotype of a braggadocio segment of the industry that raises questions about how secure any sensitive search they might be doing would be kept.

By: harry fowler

harry fowler — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 15:59:38 +0000

This issue is not exclusive to our industry. I’ve been in many a situation where I’ve heard business information that should have remained private. Sometimes I’ve acted on it, other times I’ve let it go. It’s a fact of life that people are loose with their tongue when they’re more vulnerable.

If other people’s stupidity has resulted in you winning business, then great , well done.

What’s of more importance is explaining to your own staff the implications of their own actions and ensuring that their behaviour doesn’t come back to haunt them or their business, especially as it’s coming up to Christmas.

Don’t talk shop in public and if you have to, be extremely discreet. Gathering from the responses above, if you’re indiscreet then you’re in for a bit of a wake up call.

By: Gary

Gary — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 23:53:16 +0000

I have made a total of three placements due to a conversation I eavesdropped on whilst travelling to work on the Manly JetCat. These two guys mentioned the company who was hiring and the manager.

Idiots.

I turned to my old friend Google, got the manager’s name, called him and I had what he needed. A few months later I even told him how I had orginally found out about his roles and he laughed out loud!

By: Russell Fairbanks

Russell Fairbanks — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 00:56:21 +0000

Sadly, it doesn’t surprise me in the slightest. I’ve seen far too many examples of ‘leaders’ rising to the top in our industry and yet they don’t possess the most basic of skills to run a leading business. I’m sure they wouldn’t survive in the resources or financial services sectors…

What does continue to surprise me though is the shareholders who put up with ‘leaders’ like this in their businesses… they should be run out of town. Perhaps this in part explains the poor price/ earnings ratios and valuations of some of the global recruitment companies?

It reminds me of a similar situation a few years back. A competitor of mine bragging in the pub about a large deal his company had landed with a certain client I hadn’t come across. Unlucky for him the deal wasn’t quite across the line allowing us to nip in and close it before they had any idea. The client went on to be one of our top clients for many years… I never did get around to buying that GM a drink… perhaps a large whisky would be appropriate…

By: Andy Headworth

Andy Headworth — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 10:04:11 +0000

Greg,

Wow! And I thought just hearing a recruiter talk about her day, clients and candidates on the train was bad enough!!

In all seriousness though, it does go to show that people just have no idea who could actually be listening to a conversation!!

I hope the ‘info’ they gave you can be utilised accordingly!