Last week’s blog went down surprisingly well. Writing whilst hungover, drunk, jet-lagged, and sick proved to be a winning formula when it comes to engagement. Given that my blogs seem to be better when I’m not quite myself, I’m starting to think that I’m either a tortured genius, or not much of a writer. The latter being most likely. This week, my shingles is clearing up, and I’m yet to open a beer, although I will be shortly. More on this later. For those who missed it, last week’s blog took a dip into recruitment “futurology” – especially how AI will change our role. The response was varied, with some thinking that I didn’t go far enough, and others commenting to say that it will be the human touch, and not technology, that will separate the good from the great in 2030. Interestingly, I’ve noticed that it is typically males of my age and above who seem less convinced in the game-changing abilities of AI in recruitment, with females much more open to how the recruitment world will look in the future. Funny that. I’ll be the first to admit that I spent too long with my head in the sand telling anyone who would listen that I can’t be replaced by a machine. Now, I’ve gone to the other extreme. I am almost wholly replaceable. Even though I have never (and will never) used AI to write this blog, I’m sure it could, and it might be “my” best work. I just like writing too much to change, so you’re stuck with me.
The reason that I’m about to open a beer is that I, like thousands of men of a certain age, have tickets to see Oasis on their opening night at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff. Being originally from the UK, and 43 years of age, I’m the exact demographic that would be interested in such an event. Not just interested, but obsessed. I would consider myself a true fan, and will probably spend the evening complaining about all the “plastic fans” standing in my way or spilling beer on me. Although I am a fan, I have also realised that I have been gamed from the very start by technology. As much as I claim to be impervious to the power of digital marketing, that I’m not one of those people, I am a victim of modern mass-hysteria marketing, whether I’m prepared to admit it or not. Firstly, there’s the dynamic pricing of Oasis tickets. I got suckered in to spending far too much money for decidedly average tickets. The excitement of seeing us jump to the front of a queue totalling nearly half a million, meant that I was buying those tickets at any cost. Then there’s the accommodation, also dynamically priced, then flights, then spending money. Digital marketing was on me again once I had the tickets. Shopping in London on Tuesday, I thought I’d just pop into the Adidas flagship store “to see” the range of Oasis branded retro clothing that Instagram had been shoving down my throat. The shop was packed with similar looking men of a similar age to me, with all of us leaving fully decked out in mid-90s Adidas clobber at great expense. All of us 40-somthing men have been such victims of the modern world from the very start, even if we can’t admit it.
The truth is, we are all pawns in this. The wheels are in motion, and us fellas, no matter how stoic, will never change this. We can say that we won’t overpay on tickets thanks to AI pricing, we won’t buy ridiculous retro Adidas zip-up tops and bucket hats, and we won’t have our recruitment desk largely replaced by technology…but we will. The thing with us men of a certain age, is that we are quite happy to lie to ourselves. If AI can do a lot of my job, but I present the offer to the candidate and close them on accepting, I will happily slap myself on the back and take credit for the whole shebang. Recruiters who embrace technology will “speak to” one hundred times the number of candidates that an “old school” recruiter can. I don’t care how good we are on the phone, we simply cannot compete with those numbers. The world, in all its forms, is changing quicker than it ever has. Taking hand-written interview notes and calling ourselves “old school” will have no place 2030. As always, us recruiters will be judged by our results, and we’ll either get with the program, or get lost.
Live forever.
^SW
