IMHO The worst career advice ever given to a recruiter would always be - "Build your brand"

And just like that, a generation of recruiters decided to become thought leaders without thoughts. Now we are stuck with every other recruiter

• posting twice a day
• GPT generated 40x garnished version of some random generic gyaan
• with 🧠 🚀 ❤️‍🔥 emojis in every sentence
• Quoting how they won "Top 100 TA Leader Under 40" awards and how humbled they are - sponsored by the same people who sell nomination slots for ₹5,000

Truth is, When someone said: "Build your brand" - they meant : Deliver so consistently, so undeniably, so damn well - that people remember you. First degree knows who the F are you, Your name is being dropped affront second degree like.. oh damn.. you should talk to this person.. they know their Shit.. and third degree wishes they got to work with you. Founders flaunt you, VC's want to keep you in their orbit. Simple as that.

They meant: Build a reputation so strong, you don’t have to explain yourself in the room. You are the credibility.

But what did recruiters hear? Post more. Pose more. Be seen. Be loud. Be everywhere.

There is this whole generation of recruiters.. who:

• Turn up to every conference and "Meet & Greet" as if they're building equity - but can't even answer comp structure questions in interviews
• Wake up every day and write "insightful" posts about things they haven't solved
• Chase visibility like dopamine, while their actual delivery is rotting quietly in a corner

You mistook networking for impact. Content for competence. Claps for closings.

And the worst part? Most recruiters still think they are genuinely progressing. Because the metrics look good:

• Your post hit 4K views, 20 reactions.. OMG! 🤮
• Some CHRO liked your comment Really? That's your baseline???

And this is what this brand distraction does to you.. Now you believe the lie.

• That you are doing well
• That you're being seen
• That you're rising

No you aren't. You've just become really good at pretending you matter

This is what "brand banao" concept did: It created an entire army of recruiters who abandoned mastery for marketing. Who write more than they recruit. Who've outsourced their career self-worth to the algorithm. You were supposed to build proof, not presence. You were supposed to be known for solving, not for speaking.

Today or tomorrow you will learn - All that blings isn't gold. For every 1 top voice.. there are 99 others who are 10000x more deep - but choose to shut up and do the do They aren't addicted to looking successful They are focussed on becoming successful

You did the reverse

You’re now addicted to looking successful So you stopped becoming successful

Brand is a lagging indicator of delivery And no one likes a clown at a funeral. but then, I can't taking a horse to a pond and make it drink the water - can I?