Hire People Better Than You

Hire People Better Than You

One of the things people often say in business is:

"Hire people better than you."

I can honestly say I now have.

I've worked with well over 2,000 trainees during my recruitment career.

Many have gone on to become very good recruiters.

Some have become exceptional.

But without question, Wai San Lee is the best recruiter I have ever worked with.

Over the years I've met recruiters who were better than me at individual things.

Better salespeople.

Better negotiators.

Better networkers.

Better relationship builders.

Better at winning business.

Better at candidate management.

But I've never met somebody who is outstanding at virtually every aspect of recruitment.

That's incredibly rare.

What Makes Her Different?

It's actually not one thing.

A lot of people assume top performers have some secret skill.

Usually they don't.

What makes Wai San exceptional is that she does all the basics exceptionally well.

Every process.

Every system.

Every piece of training.

Every tool.

Every workflow.

Everything gets used exactly as intended.

It sounds boring.

It probably is boring.

But consistency is what creates exceptional results.

The Results

This year alone she has produced two separate $200,000 billing months.

That's in just four months of billing.

In May she made seven placements.

All permanent placements.

All attorneys.

All with different clients.

No reliance on one account.

No reliance on one big customer.

Just consistent execution.

Again and again.

The Part That Impresses Me Most

The billing is impressive.

Of course it is.

But it isn't what impresses me most.

The person behind it impresses me more.

Wai San is one of the most grounded people you'll ever meet.

She doesn't tell everybody how good she is.

She doesn't seek attention.

She doesn't make bold claims.

She just gets on with the work.

She's thoughtful.

She's intelligent.

She's disciplined.

She's kind.

And she's incredibly hardworking.

Clients love working with her.

Candidates trust her.

Colleagues respect her.

And despite everything she has achieved, she is still constantly looking for ways to improve.

What This Says About Recruitment

One thing we have always believed is that recruitment can be taught.

We've spent years building systems, training programmes, workflows and technology designed to improve recruiter performance.

Our goal has always been simple:

Make average recruiters good.

Make good recruiters excellent.

Make excellent recruiters exceptional.

Wai San is proof of what happens when somebody fully commits to mastering the process.

Did She Have An Advantage?

People occasionally assume that because Wai San is my partner she must have had some advantage.

The reality is probably the opposite.

If anything, the standards have always been higher.

Expectations have always been higher.

Everything she has achieved has been earned.

Through hard work.

Through consistency.

Through execution.

Final Thoughts

I've worked with a lot of recruiters.

Some brilliant ones.

Some genuinely exceptional people.

But I genuinely believe Wai San is operating at a level that places her amongst the very best recruiters anywhere in the world.

Not because of one skill.

Not because of one client.

Not because of one great year.

But because she has mastered virtually every aspect of the profession.

And I'm incredibly proud of what she has achieved.