Potestio Ponders: “I Hate Your Industry”

“I hate your industry.” That’s what you want to hear at a networking event attended by other business owners. And I heard it not just once, but twice in two days.

The staffing/recruitment industry has that effect on people.

It comes down to profit over people, profit over service, and profit over doing the right thing. When the first person told me that he hated my industry, he related a story of the business practices of a firm that he had worked with. Unfortunately at the time, all I could reply was that my firm would never do that.

I entered the industry to gain sales skills I could apply to my first career: advertising. I stayed in the industry to meet girls.

It sounded to me like the firm he worked with had one goal in mind: money. And that’s too bad. I’m not in the staffing industry to make money. I like money, but that’s not why I do what I do.

I entered the industry to gain sales skills I could apply to my first career: advertising. I stayed in the industry to meet girls. And a funny thing happened along the way… I realized I was good at identifying talent for companies, and I empathized with the job seeker due to my own checkered employment history. It was never about money.

My firm is now one of the fastest growing staffing agencies in the country (Inc.com, 2017). A big part of our success is due to the fact that money does not drive our business relationships. The whole meeting girls part ended a long time ago too.

We just have a knack for identifying good fits for clients, and we empathize with the job seeker. We truly want both client and talent to be successful, and do everything we can to make great connections.

It’s what the staffing/recruitment industry should be all about.

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