As we journey to adulthood and turn 18 this year, I want to give a bit back to my competitors and clients.
I want to reflect on our success and the reasons behind it. If you can save money, make money, and reap any reward from my 18 Golden Nuggets, then I have succeeded in making a small difference.
To keep you interested, only 2 nuggets per month until we turn 18. Enjoy. PS – Nugget 2 is my favourite of them all – don’t miss it. Let’s kick this off!
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One of the biggest lessons I’ve learnt in 18 years of recruitment?
Never have more than 10% of your business sitting with one client.
Even if they’re a great client. Even if the relationship is strong. Even if the revenue looks fantastic. Because dependency isn’t growth — it’s risk.
Build a broad client base, keep developing relationships, and never stop winning new business.
Good clients are valuable. Too much reliance on one client isn’t.
Here’s something I’ve learnt over the years. The more people you tell about your plans, the more reasons you’ll find why not to do them.
Everyone has an opinion. Everyone can see the risk. Everyone can tell you why it won’t work.
Sometimes, the more you listen, the more you talk yourself out of doing the thing in the first place.
So be creative. Trust your instinct. Build, test, adapt — but don’t let other people’s fear become your limitation.
Not every idea needs a committee.Sometimes you just need to back yourself and get on with it.
Good luck and always go for gold!
Nugget #10: Your mind needs a break too.
If you eat too much, your body lets you know. The same applies to your mind.
When you’re constantly consuming information, solving problems, answering messages, and making decisions, eventually something has to give.
Taking time to switch off isn’t laziness. Take time for yourself.
It’s maintenance.
Some of my best ideas have come when I’ve stepped away from the laptop, gone for a walk, exercised, or simply taken a moment to reset.
Mental well-being isn’t a luxury—it’s part of performing at your best.
Look after your mind with the same intention you look after your career.
Nugget #9: Your title may change. Your character shouldn’t.
Becoming a boss doesn’t mean becoming someone else.
The best leaders I’ve worked with haven’t led through ego, hierarchy, or status. They’ve led through consistency, humility, and trust.
A title might earn you authority. Your actions always earn you respect.
Stay approachable. Listen more than you speak. Treat people the same way you did before the promotion.
People won’t remember your title nearly as much as they’ll remember how you made them feel.
Leadership isn’t about being above people. It’s about bringing out the best in them.
Nugget #8: ABC – Always be Closing.
From the lift to the gym to the coffee queue – you’re always on.
Not every conversation will lead to business. But every conversation has the potential to.
Over the years, I’ve won clients, made placements, found candidates, and built partnerships through chance conversations in everyday places.
People buy from people. Relationships create opportunities.
The most successful professionals don’t network only when they need something. They build genuine connections wherever they go.
Stay curious. Stay engaged. Stay open.
You never know which conversation will change the trajectory of your career or business.
Nugget #7: Recruitment is the industry of disappointment, not appointment.
Think about it: in a final shortlist of four candidates, 75% will be rejected.
Does that mean they’re not good enough? Not at all.
It often comes down to timing, fit, experience, chemistry, or a specific business need.
Don’t let one rejection define your worth. Learn from it. Stay visible. Keep showing up.
The most successful careers are built on resilience, not on one hiring decision.
Nugget #6: Hard Work and long hours DO still pay off – but don’t forget to live!
There’s no shortcut in this game. Recruitment, done properly, demands energy, discipline, and a willingness to go the extra mile — it’s always been part of our secret sauce. The early starts, late calls, constant juggling… that’s where the real wins are made. As we say, it’s “Champagne and razor blades.”
But here’s what too many forget — it’s not sustainable if it costs you your life.
The best recruiters aren’t just the hardest workers; they’re the ones who manage their energy, protect their time, and stay sharp over the long run. Burnout doesn’t build careers. Consistency does.
So yes — lean in, put in the hours, earn your edge. But make space to reset, think, and live.
Nugget #5: Get on the blower (yes, WhatsApp counts)
In a world of endless emails, texts, and LinkedIn messages, I believe the real magic still happens in conversation. Simply picking up the phone — or sending a voice note — why? It cuts through the noise, builds trust faster, and gets you to the truth quicker. Be human, be real and personal, always.
Recruitment is a people business, not a typing exercise! Tone, nuance, instinct — you don’t get that from a cold message thread. You get it from a real-time connection.
The best recruiters don’t hide behind screens. They show up, speak up, and lean into human interaction, as I’ve shared, relationships are at the centre of everything.
Because deals don’t close in inboxes — they close in conversations.
Nugget #4: Relationships Are the Whole Game
Business, life — it all comes down to relationships.
Nearly 18 years in, and every success, every lesson, every opportunity has come through people. The right relationships don’t just support the journey — they shape it.
I was fortunate to have a business partner who was the yin to my yang. Different strengths, shared values. His integrity, his approach to people, and the way we challenged and backed each other created a formula that worked — not just for us, but for the kind of business and team we built around it.
That’s the thing about relationships — they set the tone. They attract the right people, the right energy, the right outcomes. You also learn just as much from the difficult ones. They sharpen your judgement, your boundaries, and your understanding of what “right” really looks like.
Together, we are always stronger — but only if you choose wisely. Because the relationships you build will either elevate everything… or quietly erode it.
Because of this, I have never had to make a cold call in my life, and I don’t believe I ever will!!
Nugget #3: Never lie – it will come back to you
In recruitment, your word is your currency. The moment you compromise it, you chip away at everything you’re building.
It’s tempting to oversell, to soften the truth, to say what closes the deal. But this is a long game — and the truth always catches up.
Nearly 18 years in, and one thing stands out: honesty builds credibility, credibility builds trust, and trust builds a business that lasts.
Clients remember it. Candidates respect it. Your reputation depends on it. Say what’s true — especially when it’s uncomfortable. Because once trust is gone, everything else follows.
Remember – you only have one reputation….don’t lose it!!
Nugget #2: Use Tools to Buy Back Time for What Actually Matters
Over the years, recruitment has changed dramatically — but one thing hasn’t: people place people.
The difference now? We use better tools. Automation, smarter search, and data mapping — all of it cuts the time spent on repetitive tasks. We personally use www.1recruit.ai to assist us in creating job descriptions, creating job adverts, formatting CVs, and matching CVs to Job descriptions. All this for the same (international) cost of 7 cups of coffee. Try it out – it’s amazing!!
The time we’ve gained is reinvested where it counts – this is where we thrive. We still have to look at the following:
- Culture fit
- Personality alignment
- Long-term potential
- Industry nuance and skill depth.
This is where the human element comes in, but 1Recruit saves us hours and hours in the areas where it can be automated using AI – it targets the right person for the right role — faster and more precisely
We’ve found efficiency creates space, space allows quality, and here we build trust- our name is known and our reputation evident in our ride to ‘adulthood.’ That’s been one of the biggest shifts in our 18-year journey, tons more in store, buckle up.
Nugget #1: Have Fun — It’s the Real Secret Sauce!
If you’re going to spend most of your life working, you may as well enjoy it. Seriously. Having fun isn’t a “nice to have” — it’s the fuel for your fire. When you genuinely love what you do, the energy shifts, right? Conversations flow more easily. Clients feel it. Candidates feel it. My team certainly feels and responds to it (remote and office-based).
Passion creates momentum. Momentum builds confidence. Confidence attracts success. Nearly 18 years in this October, and our business is still built on relationships. Every placement, every partnership, every referral — it all comes back to connection, being human, being authentic.
When you get the relationship right, everything else follows. And when you enjoy the journey, it doesn’t feel like a grind — it feels like growth. This is fun. Success has a way of building on itself when the foundation is solid and the energy is positi