Pay No Mind to the Professionally Offended

I got a troll.

Sent an email to my list. First line: “Hey ho, you beautiful recruiter, you.”

I call all my recruiters beautiful. Because I mean it.

Somebody wrote back, offended. Said she wasn’t a recruiter (she was — I checked LinkedIn, career coach). Said she was offended at being called beautiful. Asked to be removed immediately.

I removed her. Immediately. And then I made a video about it.

The Problem Isn’t the Trolls

Trolls are inevitable. They’re actually a sign you’re doing something right.

The real problem is the recruiter who’s scared of the troll that doesn’t even exist yet. The one who won’t post a video because someone might say something negative. Won’t write an article because it might rub someone the wrong way. Won’t share a real opinion because what if someone disagrees?

I’ve watched recruiters build brands, get a few negative comments, and go silent. If they’d pushed through, the positive attention and the business that comes with it would have followed. Instead, they let a handful of professionally offended people shut them down.

Coca-Cola vs. RC Cola vs. Not Your Father’s Root Beer

You know RC Cola? The generic Coke? Nobody walks into a bar and orders a Jack and RC. Because RC Cola tried to be everything to everyone and became nothing to anyone.

Then Not Your Father’s Root Beer came out of a small brewery in Wisconsin. Alcoholic root beer. Deeply niche. Highly polarizing. People who loved it went absolutely crazy for it. Cases flying out the door.

They didn’t try to appeal to everyone. They made something specific for a specific kind of person and owned it completely.

That’s the magic of being polarizing. Not offensive for the sake of it. Not performative controversy. But clear, direct, unapologetically yourself.

The recruiters who try to be RC Cola — inoffensive, generic, safe — are invisible. The ones who stand for something, who have opinions and share them, who aren’t afraid of a troll or two, those are the ones building real businesses.

Your Action Item

Put something out this week that makes you a little uncomfortable.

A video. An article. A LinkedIn post with an actual opinion. Not something calculated to offend — just something real. Something you actually think.

Watch what happens. Probably not much. Maybe a small wave. Maybe a troll.

You won’t die. You’ll be fine.

And you know what? You’ll get noticed a little more. Do it again. And again.

The professionally offended can find someone else to harass. You’ve got a business to build.

Watch the full video below.

Note: This video was originally produced for Thrive Daily, a platform DSP no longer operates. The content still applies.