The votes are in and I'm not Mitch Sullivan...

I have been reading the last few posts on my blog and I have spotted a few things.

My blog has become inconsistent.

In a world of 24 hour media and the need to be constantly informed, consistency and reliability are the watchwords in blogging.  Oh and being good.  That helps too.

Only I have started to fail on all counts.  Even the images are falling behind.

Too many of my blog posts contain the words "I'm sorry" and I am trying hard to fight saying those words again.  Don't get me wrong I have written a load of stuff only I just don't think that it's very good, that you will read it and stop coming back here.  Of course that's catch 22, if I don't write anything then you are left with a bunch of old content that is ok in isolation but getting tired.

I am getting tired and it shows.

You'll remember that I recently asked you to vote on what I should do [read again], whether I should write to the recruitment powers that be about how crap they all were on fixing this industry but together they stood a better chance of sorting it out.  I was bullish and upbeat and finally I hit send in the email but it took me a long time to do it.

What was interesting was the number of votes I got telling me it was time to give up that I had in fact run my course of fighting this stuff, challenging our industry, putting my underpants on the outside, that kind of thing.

The vote was telling me that I was not the saviour of recruitment, reminded me that I haven't been interviewed by DeeDee Doke for the recruiter and that when Chris LaVoie picked up his phone looking for people for the European version of his 'Top Recruiter' show my name was notably absent.

The vote told me that I am not the Don Draper of recruitment and more fundamentally I am not Matthew Jeffery, Jennifer Candee or Bill Boorman.  That my once strong voice, a voice that I thought had the pulse of an industry albeit from a slightly twisted view has been lost.

However the most important thing it told me is that I am not Mitch Sullivan.

For those of you that don't know Mitch (I have met him but don't claim to know him) he is a recruiter, blogger and general antagonist of the recruitment industry.  If I was still writing about my awkward man crushes and their tenuous links to recruitment I would have a blog  dedicated to him.

The ability to challenge should not be underrated, the ability to say out loud what you think in a way that makes people listen has change history, set people free and on this clearly not as important as it sounds recruitment stage, challenge perceptions.

Mitch tells it as it is.  He is consistent on multiple platforms, writing his award winning blog, LinkedIn updates as well as challenging others in public.

Mitch has made me think.

Or more specifically he has challenged my thinking.  Mitch says what he believes there and then and hits publish or send or enter (you get the point).  He has an opinion, shares it and sticks to his guns.  More recently I have seen people trying to goad him into saying something more but short of him going round their house to smack them I'm not sure what else they expect.  He's already said something out loud, sprinkled some swearing around it and moved on to the next thing.

I have started to play it safe. Started to clean the comments out before receiving them, second guessing them and editing out the controversial.  I am a Korma to the Madras that is Mitch.

Worst of all Mitch has made me doubt my authenticity.  It is  the single thing I said I would retain no matter what.  It has been the thing that has helped me manage teams, manage tasks and manage difficult situations. If I stop telling you everything have I lost it, have I sold out without meaning to?  I have always believed that in recruitment it was my transparency was the thing that made me succeed, that being honest about challenging roles, about the industry and about me was a good thing.

I think it still is.

I guess if I am to carry on writing here, to carry on sharing this with you that I have to decide whether it is a cleansed and sanitized Disney version or something a little more me. My ambition is still there.  I set out to change the recruitment industry for the better, willing to put my money where my mouth is, stand up and talk, give my opinion, write my opinion and get you to join in.

I have several new posts to edit/tweak, let's see how they turn out.

About
I have a background in executive search and selection, headhunting and senior level recruitment combined with people and business management experiences. My focus has always been on the IT services, technology and management consultancy sectors on a permanent and interim basis where I have developed a personal portfolio that covers areas such as EVP, social recruitment and the successful creation of talent pools as well the management and leadership of corporate talent acquisition teams.

Currently working across Europe with high growth, high tech organisations to develop effective blended onshore/offshore recruitment models, covering full commercial engagement, transition and ongoing delivery management.

I am an avid blogger, writer, public speaker and traveller of trains across the UK.

Follow me on twitter @MDangerfield or find me on Linkedin.