I read a wonderful post the other day about how customer experience in shop retail is a platform for success in what is a struggling industry.

It's made me reflect on what I aspire to and how I see the continued opportunity for experience-focused recruiters, in the burgeoning 'AI' economy.

What do I want to be known for?

- someone you come to because you know the experience you'll get is different from the typical transactional approach in recruitment

There's nothing wrong with transactional.

If I want a pair of headphones, I'll buy them from Amazon.

If I need tailored advice on new running shoes, with gait analysis, that's not possible with Amazon. But with a shop such as Coes, just down the road, it is.

- someone you can expect a good experience from, based on your needs

Attentiveness, insight, clarity and fair price should be a given no matter your field, especially when the customer may not know what they don't know.

- someone who can challenge your assumptions to give you what you actually need, not what you think you want

If you know which shoes you want great, but you are accountable if those shoes cause injury.

You could instead seek expert advice on which shoes suit you individually - we are accountable for our advice.

And what about those wrong hires, and the damage left behind?

Shoes and recruitment that are fit-for-purpose.

That's why boutique is such a popular phrase in recruitment, as a differentiator from the transactional.

However, that doesn’t go far enough for me, because I'll only go to boutiques when I have a problem they can solve, such as new shoes.

I aspire to be the end-to-end running solution in recruitment. Someone who doesn't just help you find the right shoes for your quirky gait, doesn't just run with you on the journey, but guides you on how to reach your goals and the best steps to get there.

What does that look like in recruitment?

I call it an insight-led strategic partnership.

Often the best relationships start from those new fit-for-purpose shoes, but within that relationship, I'll help throughout. From the aspirational marathon strategy, to running form, to social jogs to helping you find chafe-free underpants.

As silly as that last part sounds, if you've ever run a marathon with the wrong clothes, you'll know that extra agony!

It's all part of the experience, and that's what I want to be known for, even sharing your burden.

But for recruitment, not running, in case you were wondering.