The day potential mattered more than a perfect CV
I didn’t study recruitment.
I studied hospitality in Switzerland, with a clear idea of what I wanted to do with my life: to work with people, serve them well, and create experiences that actually mattered.
Back then, I wasn’t thinking about job titles or career ladders. I was learning how to read people, handle pressure, work long hours without losing empathy, and take responsibility when things didn’t go as planned. Hospitality teaches you that how you do something is just as important as what you do.
That mindset followed me everywhere.
Years later, when I moved to the Netherlands, I didn’t become a recruiter despite my hospitality background. I became one because of it.
Why hospitality and languages opened the door to recruitment
When I started working in recruitment in the Netherlands, I had no formal background in the profession. What I did have was a hospitality education, experience from international environments, the ability to work comfortably in several languages, and a strong service mindset.
That combination mattered more than I realised at the time.
Recruitment, especially in an international context, isn’t just about processes or systems. It’s about communication, trust, and understanding people with very different expectations. My hospitality background, combined with being multilingual, made those conversations natural rather than intimidating.
So when a manager decided to give me a chance, it wasn’t about taking a blind risk. It was about recognising transferable skills and learning ability.
They didn’t hire a perfect CV.
They hired potential.
And I stayed with the company for more than 20 years!
What my manager saw before I could name it
Looking back, there were many things my CV couldn’t properly capture.
I knew how to listen beyond the obvious.
Guests rarely tell you exactly what they need. You learn to pick up signals, adjust quickly, and respond with care. Recruitment works the same way. Behind every job brief is a real business problem.
I had learned to stay calm when it gets busy.
Hospitality trains you to prioritise, adapt, and keep delivering even when things don’t go according to plan. Recruitment requires that same level of resilience.
I approached people with curiosity rather than assumptions.
Years of working with international guests and teams had shaped an awareness of bias long before I had vocabulary for it.
Most importantly, I genuinely wanted to help people succeed, both candidates and hiring managers. That intention tends to show, even if it’s not written on a CV.
What I had to learn fast
Hiring for potential doesn’t mean skipping competence. It means being honest about what you don’t know and committing to learning it properly.
I had to move from intuitive conversations to structured, evidence-based interviews. From “this feels right” to “what does the evidence actually show?”
I had to build market knowledge quickly. Talent pools, salary levels, and how different industries describe the same skills in different ways.
I had to learn stakeholder management. Aligning expectations, challenging unclear briefs, and protecting candidate experience even under pressure.
And I had to fully understand ethics, confidentiality, and responsibility, because recruitment shapes careers, not just headcount.
Clear processes, honest feedback, and continuous reflection made that learning possible.
What this taught me about careers
My own journey is a reminder that careers don’t have to be linear to be strong.
You can absolutely do things you didn’t specifically study for. But potential needs two things to turn into performance: recognition and support.
That’s why I remain passionate about looking beyond surface experience and job titles, toward skills, values, and patterns of growth.
Not every ability shows up neatly on a CV. Some only become visible when someone is willing to look.
Closing: beyond the CV
I became a recruiter because someone chose to see capability and character, not just a list of qualifications.
That decision shaped my career, my perspective, and how I think about work today.
The best careers and the strongest teams are built when we dare to look beyond what’s obvious and invest in what’s possible.