From Customer Service to CEO
A 20-Year Journey in Mastering Recruitment
The Full Story:
Twenty years ago, I was working in customer service at Dell Computer Corporation when I read a book that changed everything: Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki.
One concept hit me hard: Look at your next career move as skills acquisition. Figure out what skills you lack for your long-term goals, then find a role that will give you those skills.
So, I did a simple exercise. I wrote down all the skills I had on one side of a paper and all the skills I lacked on the other. I was fluent in French, English, and Spanish. I had customer service down. But I wondered: How do companies find great talent? What happens when they can’t find the right person through job boards?
That curiosity led me to Bilingual Source, at the time a twenty-year-old recruitment firm in Toronto. I applied to be a recruiter and was told I was too junior. Stephane, the manager, offered to place me with one of their client companies instead. But something got into me that day.
I spoke from the gut: “I want to be a recruiter, and I want to be a recruiter here. I understand there may not be a need right now, but I’ll follow up with you in a month.”
One month later, at 8:30 AM sharp, I called:
“Hey, it’s me, Greg. I still want to be a recruiter. Are you willing to entertain that thought?” Someone had resigned during that month.
Preparation met opportunity. Today:
I own that company.
Bilingual Source has become Canada’s largest French/English recruitment firm. We maintain an 84.5% search fill ratio and a 4.9-star Google rating, with over 50% of our placements originating from network referrals.
In the last two years, I’ve had zero falloffs. Not one person I’ve placed has failed to work out. But the numbers don’t tell the whole story.
The Real Why:
Over two decades, I've watched this industry struggle with its reputation. I've seen talented recruiters treated like vendors instead of strategic partners. I've watched firm owners battle skepticism from clients who've been burned before. And I've had enough.
Recruitment is a noble profession.
We impact lives through the tremendously challenging work we do. We connect human potential with opportunity. We build organizations. We shape careers. We change families' financial futures. That's noble work. And it's time we started acting like it and getting treated like it.
The Mission:
That’s why I wrote Recruitment Principles: Timeless Truths in the Age of AI.
This is the book I wish I had when I started.
When I was a new recruiter, I had to figure everything out through trial and error. There was no blueprint. No framework. No guide that captured what actually matters in this profession.
So, I wrote it. This book captures the fundamental principles that separate the professionals from the pretenders. The strategies that build firms clients trust and pay premium fees to work with. The mindsets that create recruiters who see themselves (and are seen by others) as elite business partners. Today, this book is required reading for everyone on my team. It defines our culture. It sets the standard for how we work.
If you’re a manager or agency owner, get a copy for each person on your team. This isn’t just professional development. It’s how you build a culture of excellence. If you’re ready to elevate your firm and help elevate our entire industry, I invite you to join this movement.