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Struggling with Behavioural Questions in Interviews?
They are the most common and also the toughest for many candidates.
This free E-book shows you how to answer them with confidence.
They are the most common and also the toughest for many candidates.
This free E-book shows you how to answer them with confidence.
Career Reshaped Episode 28: TRUTH about Recruiters 99% Don't Know! - Iona Colville
Ever felt like the job hunt has turned into a guessing game? You’re not alone.
In this episode of Career Reshaped, we sit down with Iona Colville, Director at Lotus People — a top-rated Australian recruitment agency known for putting people first. With over eight years in talent acquisition, Iona shares what recruitment really looks like behind the scenes — and how both candidates and employers can create better outcomes through open, human conversations.
Whether you’ve been ghosted after interviews, burned by bad hires, or simply feel like the system is broken, this episode offers a fresh, honest perspective. Iona talks about how she built her career from the ground up, starting in New Zealand’s high-pressure recruitment world and eventually leading a team in Sydney. Along the way, she discovered that empathy, transparency, and ethical practices aren’t just nice-to-haves — they’re what make recruitment work.
Pauline and Natasha go deep with Iona on how leadership, resilience, and thoughtful communication can reshape the way we hire and get hired. They also reflect on why so many people feel disillusioned by the hiring process — and how things can change when recruiters focus on people, not just placements.
If you’ve ever wondered if there’s a more human way to navigate job searching or hiring, this conversation will remind you that it’s not only possible — it’s already happening.
Discussion Overview
It means viewing every applicant as a person before treating them as a prospect. The practice centers on active listening, empathy, and transparent feedback so that candidates feel respected and understood throughout the process.
Resilience is cultivated by learning from setbacks—whether that’s a mismatched hire, a role redundancy, or a personal pivot—and then using those lessons to refine strategy and approach, rather than seeing the setback as failure.
Balanced teams set clear boundaries on workload, encourage honest check-ins, and normalize discussions around mental health. This creates psychological safety, which in turn supports sustainable performance.
Behind each placement lies extensive coordination: defining job briefs accurately, calibrating culture fit, liaising with multiple stakeholders, and managing expectations on timelines. Successful outcomes depend as much on soft-skill diplomacy as on matching hard skills.
Green flags include timely updates, clear salary ranges, and detailed role expectations. Red flags surface when communication is inconsistent, job details remain vague, or the recruiter dismisses questions about culture and career growth.
Clear, consistent communication reduces anxiety, sets realistic expectations, and builds trust on both sides. When updates are candid—good news or bad—candidates stay engaged and employers avoid last-minute surprises.
A short, courteous follow-up that re-affirms interest and offers additional information keeps momentum alive while showing professionalism. Timing matters; weekly or bi-weekly check-ins are generally well-received.
True candidate care extends beyond a final decision. It includes constructive feedback, periodic check-ins post-placement, and keeping strong but unsuccessful applicants in mind for future roles, turning every interaction into a long-term relationship.
By prioritizing mutual benefit over quick wins: remembering personal details, tracking career milestones, and following up long after the hire. This approach converts one-off placements into a trusted talent network.
Podcast Transcript:
| Time | Transcript |
|---|---|
| 00:00 | hi and welcome to another episode of Career Reshaped i'm Pauling and I'm |
| 00:04 | Natasha and today we welcome Iona Cville the director of Lotus People a top-rated |
| 00:10 | Australian recruitment agency known for people first service with eight plus |
| 00:14 | years in talent acquisition from high volume hi ring to strategic agency |
| 00:18 | leadership Iona is a respected advocate for ethical transparent and human- |
| 00:23 | centered recruitment practices hey it's Natasha and I'm Pauline we're so pumped |
| 00:29 | to bring you even bigger and better stuff this season 2 of Career Reshaped |
| 00:34 | we've got new guests free master classes and all the good vibes you'll only find |
| 00:39 | here so don't forget to hit subscribe follow us on Spotify at Careershaped and |
| 00:44 | check us out on Instagram at my.career.angels |
| 00:49 | hi welcome hi it's good to be here thanks for joining us so you started |
| 00:55 | your recruitment career in New Zealand and you worked your way up to director |
| 00:59 | in Sydney what were the big moments that shaped how you now lead and mentor |
| 01:04 | recruiters it's an interesting one because I probably couldn't pinpoint |
| 01:07 | like exact big moments as such it's probably been like a long list of things |
| 01:13 | that have kind of shaped um where I've you know got to in my career so far um I |
| 01:18 | think a big thing for me was actually starting in a big sort of global |
| 01:23 | recruitment agency when I was in New Zealand um you know that taught me how |
| 01:27 | to build relationships from the ground up um I worked on a really busy |
| 01:32 | temporary desk i the environment was quite intense i had to learn really |
| 01:38 | quickly and I had to build trust um from a young age and and genuinely not really |
| 01:43 | know what I was doing at the time and I think that really allowed me to |
| 01:47 | understand like the importance of building genuine relationships and I |
| 01:51 | think something that's really probably shaped the way I am today is like being |
| 01:54 | able to just have a laugh and like show my personality and just be like a normal |
| 02:00 | human and not take it too seriously um I've always sort of trained my |
| 02:05 | consultants in that way and say I know you're going to meet a client today i |
| 02:09 | know that you're going to go and you know you're not used to meeting people |
| 02:11 | face to face but they're just other people like you and I enjoy yourself and |
| 02:16 | it'll be fine and ask them about their kids where they've been on holiday it |
| 02:20 | doesn't have to be all the boring work chat because at the end of the day we're |
| 02:24 | all out for a coffee we don't want to just be sitting there talking about work |
| 02:27 | all the time i love that advice i was literally this sim well very similar to |
| 02:32 | what my dad told me when I was just starting off my career and I had to go |
| 02:36 | out and network and connect with people and he just said to me they're just |
| 02:40 | people and typically people want to help other people they're not not everyone is |
| 02:47 | going to be mean cold angry like people want to work together and collaborate |
| 02:52 | and connect so just relax take it easy and yeah life doesn't have to be so |
| 02:57 | serious you can do good work and enjoy it at the same time yeah absolutely yeah |
| 03:04 | it's um I I think that's what I've always done and I think as well like you |
| 03:09 | build rel people like like people so like if you just like get to know |
| 03:13 | someone on a on a normal level like I'll always go to a meeting I've got a bit of |
| 03:17 | a weird brain to like remember little like facts about people if it's about |
| 03:21 | them as a person so it would be you know however many kids they've got like as a |
| 03:26 | kid going off to uni or or and that's just because I'm interested like I |
| 03:29 | actually want to know about them and then sort of ask them about those things |
| 03:33 | um so that's been a really big thing for me and then I think again what shaped my |
| 03:38 | career would be then moving to Sydney 3 years ago having to rebuild um and |
| 03:43 | reestablish myself within a new market um which again is something that you |
| 03:48 | know it's not always easy um to do that and and having to build that up so I've |
| 03:52 | also had to rebuild a desk like multiple times in my career and I think um |
| 03:58 | there's also been like some times when the market's been up the market's been |
| 04:01 | down um so I've been really resilient i've had some great mentors in my time |
| 04:07 | our founder Chenade she's always led with empathy and and clarity and just |
| 04:12 | being really clear with people and I think I've always brought that into my |
| 04:14 | leadership and what I've always chosen to do and I just like seeing people |
| 04:17 | enjoy themselves at work i'm a bit of a weirdo like I love to just have a laugh |
| 04:21 | and I pull strange faces at the desk when things happen and we and everyone's |
| 04:25 | like "What was that face Iona?" I'm just like "Oh you know." Um so I just always |
| 04:29 | like to encourage others to just like have fun and be normal at work not be |
| 04:33 | normal at work if they don't want to be and just I think just seeing them being |
| 04:37 | able to be themselves gets the most out of them and it's really probably the |
| 04:41 | most rewarding part of my job oh I love that i wish more companies were like |
| 04:45 | that wish more leaders were like that honestly I think people might actually |
| 04:49 | enjoy coming to work that was the case we have to be there so much like you |
| 04:53 | actually have to be at work so much i want and I say the girls because we're |
| 04:57 | um a fully female office but I genuinely want them to enjoy work and I don't want |
| 05:02 | them to take work home after hours like I want to try and get like what we need |
| 05:06 | to get done you know during work hours so that they can still preserve their |
| 05:10 | work life balance and and um you know it's critical to me that they actually |
| 05:14 | like do enjoy themselves at work but genuinely from that relationship we have |
| 05:19 | I get a lot out of them um so yeah it's good they want to do the work yeah |
| 05:25 | want to put in 100% so there's the difference yeah good on you this is the |
| 05:31 | type of boss that everybody wishes that they had look nobody's perfect nobody's |
| 05:36 | perfect but I do I do like to see myself um as a mentor to them rather than a |
| 05:41 | manager i'm the opposite of a micromanager but if you get the respect |
| 05:44 | from them I do believe that like they give you it without you having to |
| 05:48 | micromanage them and like we just get on really well and um look don't get me |
| 05:53 | wrong you know I can be direct and I am direct if I need to be but like I don't |
| 05:58 | often get pushed in that direction so um you know I enjoy it at the same time so |
| 06:03 | you've obviously been in the recruitment world for a long time now so for someone |
| 06:08 | new working with agencies recruitment agencies what's the first thing that |
| 06:13 | they should understand about how recruiters actually operate it's quite a |
| 06:18 | simple question to answer it for for someone that's in the industry for |
| 06:22 | someone that like knows recruitment and has done it for a long time but I do |
| 06:25 | genuinely believe that we take for granted that people know how a |
| 06:29 | recruitment agency actually operates but if you've never had someone to actually |
| 06:34 | explain like what we do then you quite often will meet with a recruiter and |
| 06:38 | you'll think that you're meeting someone for an actual job in that moment at that |
| 06:43 | time and they're the hiring person and they're the person that's going to give |
| 06:46 | you the job it's something that happened to me back in the day so I think the |
| 06:49 | first thing they need to understand is your recruiter is essentially the |
| 06:53 | middleman they help the client they need to fill a position and then they help |
| 06:56 | the candidate find the job and like we are that person that's going to help two |
| 07:00 | people that need a service from us essentially when you meet with a |
| 07:04 | recruiter it will be either for a particular position that they have that |
| 07:08 | they think you'd be good for in the moment or they'll be meeting you um as a |
| 07:12 | way to sort of pipeline for future roles um recruitment moves quickly so if |
| 07:18 | you're registered with a recruitment agency and a role comes in you know a |
| 07:22 | couple of days later they can ring you and say "I met you the other day you'd |
| 07:25 | be perfect for this." We're there to represent and guide through processes |
| 07:30 | and advocate for people um you know help interview prep um help them through |
| 07:35 | offer stages essentially get the best possible outcome um but it's really |
| 07:40 | important and we teach our consultants here this like if you've got someone |
| 07:45 | that you believe has never registered with a recruitment agency before you |
| 07:49 | need to explain how we operate um otherwise they're going to leave and |
| 07:54 | they're not going to hear from you in a couple of days which is fine but they're |
| 07:57 | going to think they didn't get the job but that was never meant to be the case |
| 08:01 | but you just didn't explain so it's it's important to to explain that um and |
| 08:05 | hopefully that kind of makes sense what I've said and I also believe that if |
| 08:08 | it's a good recruiter then that recruiter can actually guide the |
| 08:13 | candidates so remember when I was doing recruitment I used to like guide saying |
| 08:17 | look um I want to put you forward to the client but I this is how you should |
| 08:22 | present yourself or improve in this area have a little bit more eye contact |
| 08:26 | things like that so it's just it's also like a support network and a mentor for |
| 08:32 | that interview as well so it's not just about the the connections but the person |
| 08:36 | that could actually hold your hand a little bit through the process too it's |
| 08:40 | always good to have a recruiter yeah I think I think I think in a tough in |
| 08:45 | tough markets like having a recruiter it's absolutely no cost to the job |
| 08:49 | seeker and they're there genuinely to advocate for them to handle um |
| 08:53 | negotiations i have a friend recently that went direct through a company and |
| 08:57 | when it got to the sort of offer stage he was offered a salary that was um less |
| 09:02 | than what he had originally you know said he wanted and it's a much more |
| 09:08 | awkward conversation when you're dealing directly with your potential new manager |
| 09:12 | rather than it is to have a recruiter who you can be really open and honest |
| 09:15 | with that you've built a relationship with and you can say "I was really |
| 09:18 | hoping for X um they've come in 5K less than what I wanted um can you please go |
| 09:24 | back to them?" And it's that buffer it's that trust um you know we also can make |
| 09:30 | recommendations on their behalf like their CV might not stand out in a crowd |
| 09:34 | but us speaking to our clients and saying "I know on paper they might not |
| 09:39 | be exactly what you want but we've met with them twice now and we think that |
| 09:43 | they are unbelievable." And I place somany roles that way and because you're |
| 09:49 | building trust and you're advocating for the candidates and that happens so often |
| 09:54 | there's so many times where I mean we know other recruiters as well and the |
| 09:57 | same thing happens with them where the recruiter will say the resume is |
| 10:01 | horrible but I know they can do the job and they go in and bat for them because |
| 10:05 | they know that they can get the job done and I just want to say that I really |
| 10:08 | love that you're teaching your team to let the people know that you are the |
| 10:14 | middleman that you know you're not going to say yes or no to the job because the |
| 10:18 | amount of times that I've known people going for an interview and they think |
| 10:22 | I've done so well they said I did really really well like I've definitely got the |
| 10:26 | job and then I have to question them wait was this with a recruiter or with |
| 10:31 | the employer they go oh I don't know well where was it was it in the |
| 10:34 | employment office or did you have to go somewhere else so then oh I went I went |
| 10:38 | somewhere else okay well it was probably a recruiter you might want to clarify so |
| 10:44 | I love that you clarify that with um all of your candidates straight away it's |
| 10:49 | really positive don't want to take it for granted like you have to remember |
| 10:52 | that some people might be brand new so speaking on that so there obviously |
| 10:56 | there are some good recruiters and there are not so great recruiters out there so |
| 10:59 | what are some green flags and red flags that can help people tell the difference |
| 11:04 | early on on who to go with and who not to go with before we get into the |
| 11:08 | nitty-gritty of this topic we just wanted to check in and say that if you |
| 11:12 | believe that you need some assistance and that we could help you reach out to |
| 11:17 | us today check out our website join our newsletter we'd love to be in touch we |
| 11:21 | wanted to quickly mention that subscribing to the podcast is the best |
| 11:25 | way to support the show and ensure you never miss an episode it's super easy |
| 11:32 | just click the subscribe button whenever you're listening thanks for tuning in i |
| 11:36 | don't like saying red flags um I would rather talk about green flags and then |
| 11:41 | the red flags would just be the opposite okay fair like you just this is what you |
| 11:46 | should be looking for and then anything outside of that's probably not great but |
| 11:49 | in terms of that I think it's it's responsive communication it's following |
| 11:54 | through on commitments if your recruiter is selling you the world and you catch |
| 11:59 | up with them and then you hear nothing and they've not said what they're going |
| 12:03 | to do and they've not said anything since or they they've not you're the one |
| 12:06 | that's having to follow up with them and you don't know what's happening it's |
| 12:10 | it's it's been really clear from the beginning and always explaining next |
| 12:14 | steps so people aren't left wondering now I feel very passionately about like |
| 12:19 | putting myself in people's shoes and that's what we teach here like it's so |
| 12:23 | strange i almost feel like emotional when I speak about these things because |
| 12:26 | it means so much to me like someone's job search like you don't understand |
| 12:30 | like how long they've been out of work or how stressful it is they've got |
| 12:34 | mortgages they've been made redundant they need a job and like for them the |
| 12:38 | difference between like waiting for days to hear back about something or not |
| 12:42 | having an update before the weekend leaving people wondering is is just it's |
| 12:47 | not nice it actually gives me the fear thinking if anybody here wasn't keeping |
| 12:51 | people in the loop with what's going on um so it takes a recruiter a short |
| 12:56 | period of time to do that and if they're not keeping you in the loop then you |
| 13:00 | need to kind of question that we hear horror stories from some of our clients |
| 13:04 | about other agencies like not actually vetting their candidates not um phone |
| 13:09 | screening them not meeting them before they send them across like we have a |
| 13:13 | thorough two-stage screening process before we even represent a candidate for |
| 13:16 | any role um but yeah you hear that some or you know some recruitment agencies |
| 13:21 | don't meet with their candidates um before they send them places so what's |
| 13:25 | the point of them what's the point of that confused by because it's |
| 13:28 | transactional and it's not it's it's it's it's a numbers game and I I hate to |
| 13:34 | say it but it's what gives recruitment agencies at times like a bad reputation |
| 13:38 | because there are some recruiters out there that will just um push CVs and |
| 13:43 | they don't even really take any interest in what the candidate actually needs |
| 13:48 | they don't take any and again this is another green flag like does your |
| 13:52 | recruiter actually understand and take time to know what your selling points |
| 13:57 | are what your um you know non-negotiables are do they invest time |
| 14:01 | in you know getting to know you and not being transactional so yeah that's a |
| 14:06 | huge thing um you know and then even just like looking at um reviews like |
| 14:12 | have they got good reviews do they have a good reputation but yeah I would say |
| 14:16 | the main thing would be about being transparent about timelines and next |
| 14:19 | steps and overall does your recruiter say what they like do they do what they |
| 14:25 | say they're going to do you know um are you the one waiting around for an update |
| 14:29 | so let's say um the job seeker the candidate does want to build more of a |
| 14:34 | relationship with the recruiter so like you know you said some recruiters make |
| 14:37 | you wait around for an update um but they want to get in touch but they don't |
| 14:41 | want to come off as desperate and hound the recruiter so what's the best way to |
| 14:45 | reach out and add value to that relationship and again it probably just |
| 14:48 | flows really nicely onto what we're talking about recruiters should be |
| 14:51 | keeping people up to date with what's going on but I think sometimes a mistake |
| 14:55 | that candidates can make is they're not listening to the timelines they're not |
| 15:00 | you know they're not understanding i know it's only Tuesday but I'm |
| 15:03 | shortlisting for this role on Friday from there the client says that they're |
| 15:07 | going to be able to review the CVs on Tuesday from there you will hear from me |
| 15:11 | but it's likely to not be until Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday but I'll come |
| 15:16 | back to you at that time that is set in very clear timelines where you know us |
| 15:20 | as recruiters like we're not going to be able to probably know anything in that |
| 15:24 | time and if we do we'll let you know but like we have to then move on with other |
| 15:27 | pieces of work and we need to speak to other candidates that's what where it |
| 15:31 | comes down to communication being very clear so it's a stressful time for |
| 15:34 | candidates so I still think it's totally fine like if it's if you've still got |
| 15:38 | that time frame of a week and you are feeling anxious a nice link to message |
| 15:43 | or email goes a long way you will be noticed you will be remembered um but |
| 15:47 | just constantly calling is going to hinder the recruiter in what they're |
| 15:51 | trying to do in their dayto-day um but that's a two-way street like you've got |
| 15:56 | to have open coms on both um sides of things so like even when you catch up |
| 16:00 | with them you can be like cuz we'll do this with candidates so candidates can |
| 16:04 | do this with us um do you mind if I check in with you once a week is that |
| 16:08 | okay um and what's your preferred communication do you prefer a phone call |
| 16:13 | a text an email like it works both ways like how would you like me to stay in |
| 16:17 | touch with you i think that that's really important to kind of just set the |
| 16:21 | expectation i think I love that check in once a week i don't think |
| 16:25 | really recruiters do that i think it's so important cuz one you want to keep |
| 16:30 | the candidate warm especially if your client is taking a little bit of time to |
| 16:35 | get back to you because you can't control what they're doing and life |
| 16:39 | happens meetings whatever you know and then the other one is you need to know |
| 16:44 | where they're at are they at final stages have they already got a job cuz |
| 16:47 | you don't want to invest your time putting them forward only to find out |
| 16:50 | that they're not actually there and from the candidates's point of view it's that |
| 16:55 | fine line between understanding that if you want to see them if they're out for |
| 16:59 | a second round you'll they'll know you will call them but also saying "Hey |
| 17:05 | don't forget me i don't want to get lost in the system either." Is that balance |
| 17:10 | so I think a weekly is a great one i think it's not overbearing but it's |
| 17:16 | still just a little Yeah i mean look it's for us we we do candidate care |
| 17:21 | weekly for any temporary candidates that we know are active that we don't have in |
| 17:26 | processes we will call through our active temp list every single week and |
| 17:29 | if it's permits every two weeks we'll read the notes we're very like we we |
| 17:34 | take really clear notes so you know if it is someone that's really really happy |
| 17:38 | two weeks ago they're in that perm position like they don't you know this |
| 17:42 | is like our active list that we will call like someone who's actively looking |
| 17:46 | for perm work they'll get a call every every you know week or two and temps |
| 17:49 | like obviously a little bit more frequent the thing is with us and then |
| 17:53 | and it's it is a the genuine truth and I think any candidates that's ever worked |
| 17:57 | with us I'd hope that they would um have had this experience is we do just update |
| 18:01 | people all the time like if I've sent someone to a role but I haven't quite |
| 18:05 | heard back yet i will still check and we will still check in on a you know every |
| 18:10 | day or two and it is genuinely just to make sure nothing's changed and you're |
| 18:14 | still like how are the other interviews you've got going or um have you changed |
| 18:19 | your mind on anything it's really important um so yeah we do check in all |
| 18:23 | the time anyway |
Other episodes you might be interested in:
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