A Valentine’s Day Story About Trust That Changes Everything

Zoe Tink | Managing Director of The Recruitment Partners

Valentine’s Day is often associated with romance — but at its core, it’s really about trust. About choosing to believe in someone. About allowing yourself to be seen, supported, and guided into something new.

This story is a tribute to that kind of love.

Eight years ago, I worked with a candidate in property management who immediately stood out. She was capable, thoughtful, and unique — yet placed in a box that never truly reflected her potential. Even then, I trusted that she would become extraordinary. One of the very best. Not because of her experience, but because of who she was.

Time passed. Careers moved forward. And then, unexpectedly, she came back.

After more than eight years, she reached out to me — not because she needed a recruiter, but because she remembered me. She trusted me more than any other recruiter she had ever worked with, knowing that I would never waste her time and would always do the right thing by her.

She shared something deeply personal: she didn’t want to be in property management anymore. In an industry as fierce and transactional as real estate, she had begun to wonder if genuine trust and kindness still existed.

She wanted something different. Something creative. Something meaningful. But she also feared that without direct experience, the door might never open.

I listened — and I cared.

I fought to find her a role that was truly unique. Outside the box. One that matched her ability rather than her résumé. I didn’t place her where it was easy. I placed her where it was right.

With no formal experience in acquisitions, I leaned on what I had built over more than a decade — deep relationships, integrity, and trust. I introduced her to a client who trusted my judgment completely. A client who was willing to see her through my eyes, and to believe in her potential because they believed in me.

And together, we took a leap of faith.

Today, she is living in a role built entirely on trust, something she once believed she would never experience in such a competitive industry. Through her trust in me, and my trust in my client, she has rediscovered something even more powerful than a new job: belief in people again.

She has learned that there are still incredible, kind humans in this world.

That not every opportunity is transactional. That careers can be shaped by care, not pressure. And in the process, she hasn’t just started a new chapter professionally — she’s regained a personal sense of faith in trust, kindness, and possibility.

From a recruiter’s standpoint, this is why we do what we do.

I cannot wait to watch this woman’s journey unfold. She is going places, and she always was. I’m deeply grateful to both my candidate and my client for trusting me so wholeheartedly.

That trust is everything.

This Valentine’s Day, I’m reminded that helping people is powerful.

Trusting people is transformative.

 And when kindness leads the way, the impact lasts far beyond the placement.

That’s what we live for.