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When I speak to younger colleagues who have recently joined the world of recruitment and I tell them about how it was ‘back in the day’, their immediate response is usually ‘you’re having me on, Claire, as if!?’

Back in the day:

When I speak to younger colleagues who have recently joined the world of recruitment and I tell them about how it was ‘back in the day’, their immediate response is usually ‘you’re having me on, Claire, as if!?’ Trying to explain to this ‘new generation recruiter’ that we used to work without computers, or indeed any equipment other than our phone and fax machine seems almost ridiculous now. ‘But how?’ they ask me, often followed by an eye roll and a laugh.

It all seems pretty surreal in this day and age that once upon a time, (which now seems like a long time ago but actually isn’t that many years ago at all) we would turn up for work and all we had on our desk was a pile of paper CVs, a phone and a Rolodex of client information. No computers, so no access to the internet and no email.

Old school recruitment:

To attract candidates we would advertise jobs in the ‘trade press’, which only came out once a week, and our candidates would call in to discuss the role. We would encourage them to fax their CV in (as this amazing piece of machinery was the fastest way to get their details to us).  If they didn’t have access to a fax, they’d simply post their CV to the office. Upon arrival of the CV, we would excitedly run for our lives over to the fax machine (I’m not even sure if some of the people I now work with have ever actually used a fax machine, or even know what one is?!). We’d often have to wait in a queue anxiously behind the other consultants and pray that our CVs would arrive in the hands of our clients before the other agencies got there first.

The power of conversation:

We didn’t have access to clients’ websites, because, well, they didn’t have web-sites, and, even if they did, we didn’t have a computer to look them up anyway!  All of our communication was done by phone and meeting our clients face-to-face. We were building proper, solid relationships through the power of conversation. The whole process may sound like it was a laborious and archaic way of working, but there is a lot to be said for the relationships that were built. It’s can be easy to get lost in the world of email and that personal touch and the trust that comes with it.

Always communicating:

We have to embrace change, of course we do, otherwise we will get left behind and no one wants that, but I do think that we should never leave behind the things that work well. Whilst email taking over from fax has revolutionised the speed at which we can work, picking up the phone and speaking to people or meeting them face-to-face still has to be the best way to build a relationship, surely?