The Recruiter Who Really Listened
How the Best Property Career Conversations Start Before Someone Is Ready to Move
"I'm not really looking."
It is a phrase recruiters hear all the time.
And quite often, it is completely true.
Someone can be doing well in their role. They might be earning good money, performing strongly and working with people they like. There may be no dramatic reason to leave.
But that doesn't necessarily mean they would choose exactly the same role, company or working environment if they were making the decision again today.
Sometimes they simply haven't stopped to think about it.
That is where a good property recruitment conversation can make a difference. Not a conversation that begins with a list of vacancies. Not one that opens with a pitch about why a particular role is perfect for them. But a genuine, unhurried conversation that starts with a simple question:
"What would you actually want to be different?"
Why Property Recruitment Should Start With Listening
There are questions every recruiter needs to ask.
What are you earning? What is your OTE? How long is your notice period? Where are you prepared to travel? What sort of role would you consider?
They are all important. They help build a picture of where someone is and what might be possible.
But they don't tell you everything.
In fact, after speaking to property professionals throughout their careers — from trainee negotiators taking their first steps into estate agency to experienced directors considering their next chapter — we regularly find that salary is only one part of the decision.
Someone might want greater autonomy. They may want a manager who trusts them to get on with the job without micromanagement. They might miss being part of a genuinely supportive team where people look out for each other. Perhaps they want better career progression, stronger leadership or simply to work somewhere they can imagine themselves staying for the next few years.
Those things rarely appear on a CV.
But they can be the difference between making another job move and making the right job move.
At People 4 Property, we have spent nearly two decades working in estate agency and lettings recruitment across London, Surrey, Sussex and the Home Counties. In that time, we have learned that the most successful placements — the ones where candidates thrive and employers retain great people — almost always begin with a conversation that goes beyond the job description.
They begin with listening.
Not Every Strong Candidate Is Actively Looking
Some of the strongest candidates we speak to aren't applying for jobs.
They haven't updated their CV. They aren't spending their evenings scrolling through vacancies. And they certainly aren't desperate to leave their current employer.
They are simply open to a conversation.
That distinction matters enormously in property recruitment.
When somebody isn't actively looking, the worst thing a recruiter can do is try to convince them that they need to move. That approach creates pressure where there should be space. It turns what could be a genuinely useful conversation into something that feels transactional and uncomfortable.
Instead, the right approach is to understand what would genuinely make an opportunity worth considering.
Sometimes the outcome of that conversation is straightforward: stay exactly where you are. And that's absolutely fine. A good recruiter should be comfortable saying that. If someone is in the right role, with the right team, working for the right business, the honest answer is to stay put and revisit the conversation when something changes.
But occasionally, during that open and unhurried discussion, something comes up. A detail about what someone values. A frustration they hadn't quite articulated before. A sense of what they would want their working life to look like in three years' time.
And that's when a good recruiter doesn't think about which job title matches.
They think about which person matches.
The Problem With "I've Got the Perfect Job for You"
It's probably one of the most overused phrases in property recruitment.
And it's something we try very hard not to say.
How can we possibly know that a role is perfect for somebody before we understand what they actually want? A job description can tell you about responsibilities, salary, location and experience requirements. It cannot tell you everything about the manager. The atmosphere in the office. How much autonomy somebody will have day to day. Whether the team genuinely supports each other. How the business treats its people when targets aren't being hit. Or whether somebody will still feel challenged, valued and happy there in three years' time.
Those are the conversations that matter.
We have seen too many placements fail — not because the candidate lacked the skills, but because nobody took the time to understand what they actually needed from their next role. The job looked right on paper. The salary was competitive. The commute was manageable.
But something didn't fit.
And six months later, everyone was back to square one.
The solution isn't a better job description. It's a better conversation.
Sometimes the Right Opportunity Isn't the Obvious One
One of the most important things we tell candidates is this:
Don't decide whether you want the job. Just meet them.
A candidate may initially dismiss an opportunity because it isn't what they imagined their next move would look like. Perhaps it's a different type of estate agency — an independent rather than a corporate, or a corporate rather than the boutique they had in mind. Perhaps it's a slightly different location, or a role with a title that doesn't immediately look like progression.
Those first impressions are understandable. But they can also be misleading.
An interview doesn't have to mean you have decided to leave. It doesn't even have to mean you particularly want the role yet. Sometimes it is simply an opportunity for two sides to meet and see whether something clicks.
And when the conversation moves beyond targets, commission and numbers — to how someone actually wants to work, what kind of leadership they respond to, what kind of team culture brings out their best — a role that wasn't obvious on paper can suddenly make complete sense.
We have seen this happen many times. A candidate who was certain they wanted to stay in corporate estate agency discovers that a well-run independent offers exactly the autonomy and trust they had been missing. Someone who thought they needed a promotion realises that what they actually need is a better environment and a manager who believes in them.
The best careers in property are built, not rushed. And the best career decisions are rarely made in a hurry.
Great Property Recruitment Isn't About Convincing Someone to Move
Property recruitment has a reputation for being transactional.
Find vacancy. Find candidate. Send CV. Arrange interview. Make placement.
But careers are more complicated than that. People have different motivations at different stages of their lives. The ambitious negotiator who wanted the biggest possible OTE five years ago may now value leadership, flexibility or stability more highly. Someone who once wanted management may realise that what they really love is selling property. A person who thought they needed a promotion might actually need a different environment.
You only discover those things by asking questions — and then genuinely listening to the answers.
This is something we feel strongly about at People 4 Property. Burnout isn't a badge of honour — and neither is a career built on moves made under pressure rather than with clarity. The property professionals who build the most fulfilling long-term careers are usually the ones who took the time to understand what they actually wanted before they made their next move.
That understanding rarely comes from a job board.
It comes from a conversation.
At People 4 Property, we believe the best property recruitment conversations don't begin with:
"I've got a job for you."
They begin with:
"Tell me what you're looking for — even if you're not quite sure yet."
Because sometimes the most important part of a successful placement happens long before the interview or the offer.
It happens during that first honest conversation.
Listen first. The opportunity comes second.
Thinking About Your Next Move in Property?
You don't need to have made the decision to leave your current role before speaking to us.
Whether you're actively looking, quietly considering what comes next, or simply curious about the property market, we're always happy to have a confidential conversation. Sometimes we'll have an opportunity that makes sense. Sometimes we'll tell you that staying exactly where you are sounds like the right decision.
Either way, it starts with understanding you.
Get in touch with People 4 Property and let's arrange a confidential conversation. Or if you're ready to take the next step, submit your CV here and we'll be in touch.
You can also read the full series at The People Behind Property — our editorial series exploring the real conversations and decisions behind careers in the property industry.
Also in This Series
- Issue 001 — The Journey Before Someone Starts Looking for a New Job
- Issue 002 — Why Great People Leave
- Issue 003 — The Interview Isn't a Test
About the Author
Hanya Walker brings 15 years of experience in Residential Property, including roles as a Lettings Director, and holds ARLA qualification. Hanya has spent 10 years recruiting Finance and Property professionals across sales, lettings, and property management at People 4 Property — specialist recruiters for the property industry across London, Surrey, Sussex and the Home Counties.
