Embracing Turndowns: The Reality of Recruitment and the Path to Resilience

Recruitment is a career full of highs, lows, and learning experiences. I was reminded of this recently when someone asked, “Can you recall your first placement?” Vividly, yes! It was back in late 1998, and I was just four weeks into my new role as a recruiter. My first placement was for a Software Engineer with Credo, a company based on Harcourt Street, Dublin. As I made that placement, I remember thinking, “This is easy!”

But as we all know, recruitment is rarely as smooth as our first success.

Over the following eight weeks, I received six job offers on behalf of candidates, and each one was rejected. Each. One. That’s when I quickly learned about counter offers, candidates not being fully transparent about other opportunities, and a hard truth: someone’s word isn’t always their bond.

I’ll never forget the conversation I had at the water cooler with a senior manager after my sixth turndown. He wasn’t even my direct manager, but back then, we all worked in the office, open-plan, with no place to hide! He looked at me and said, “You’re a natural for this industry. Don’t let those turndowns break you!”

His words stuck with me. Even as Chumbawamba’s “I Get Knocked Down” played relentlessly on the radio during that period, it became my personal anthem. I would get knocked down, but I’d get back up again—time and time again.

Turndowns are inevitable in recruitment. It’s a hard pill to swallow, but they’re a natural part of the process. No matter how much due diligence you do or how strong the relationship with a candidate, external factors like counter offers or a change in personal circumstances can lead to a rejected offer.

So, how do you overcome these challenges?

1. Don’t Take it Personally

The truth is, it’s not about you. It’s about timing, fit, and circumstances—many of which are outside your control. So when things don’t go your way, reflect on the situation and identify the takeaways without letting it affect your confidence.

2. Build Genuine Relationships

Getting to know candidates beyond their CV helps you better understand their motivations and anticipate potential turndowns. A stronger bond with clients and candidates alike can lead to more transparency in the process.

3. Embrace Rejection

Rejections are part of the journey. Each one provides an opportunity to improve, whether in how you manage expectations or how you approach negotiations.

4. Find Your Resilience

Recruitment requires grit. Those who stay the course learn that it’s not just about winning; it’s about getting back up when you lose. For me, that senior manager’s advice, combined with a good soundtrack, was enough to carry me through those tough early weeks.

Here I am, 25 years later, still thriving in the world of recruitment, still loving the challenges, and yes—still getting knocked down sometimes. But each setback is a step closer to success.

How do you overcome challenges in your career? Feel free to share your stories—because in recruitment, we all get knocked down sometimes!