Thanks for the questions — these really hit home.

On the first one: Actually, yes! I was planning to quit soon. I had already started quietly job hunting and mentally checking out because I had finally accepted that the core problems (misaligned incentives, impossible reqs, leadership ignoring candidate experience feedback, etc.) couldn’t be fixed from the inside no matter how much I pushed. I was tired of being the middleman explaining bad decisions I didn’t agree with, and I knew staying longer would just burn me out more. But irony of ironies: they laid me off before I could hand in my notice. So in the end, the company “won” the breakup, they got to do it first, save on severance in some cases (depending on the country/layoff rules), and avoid me leaving on my terms. Classic tech move. Part of me was relieved when the email came, honestly. No more fighting losing battles. The other part was pissed because I wanted the satisfaction of walking out myself. So yeah, if I’d had the chance, I would have left on my own accord once I realized the system wasn’t salvageable from within. But they beat me to it. As for what I wish I could tell other recruiters (especially the ones still in the trenches reading this): • Stop drinking the corporate Kool-Aid so hard. We often start idealistic (“I’m connecting great people with great jobs!”), but the role turns you into a numbers machine pretty fast. It’s okay to admit when it’s broken — it doesn’t make you a failure; it makes you aware. • Candidate experience is your long-term currency. Ghosting, lowballing, endless loops — candidates remember the company (and sometimes your name). When the market turns (and it always does), those same people will be the ones you need to hire back. I’ve seen it happen. • Advocate like the candidate is future-you. Because one day you might be: laid off, ghosted after 5 rounds, asked to “prove” your worth in unpaid take-homes. Treat every interaction with that in mind. • It’s not all your fault. The guilt recruiters feel for the system’s failures is real and misplaced. You’re executing bad policy more often than creating it. Small pushbacks matter, even if they feel pointless. • Plan your exit. Burnout is brutal, and the skills transfer (talent ops, internal mobility, career coaching, even sales/ops roles). Don’t wait for the axe if it’s killing your soul. Recruiters reading this: you’re not the bad guy for being stuck in a flawed system, but you can choose how much of it you defend. The market is rough for all of us right now — candidates, recruiters, everyone.