Chapter 7: Scene Two: The Hiring Hall of Mirrors
The Same Room. A Deeper Descent.
The door had barely closed behind Magnus, but the chill remained.
Something in the detective’s gut turned.
The others were looking away now - C-suite suspects shifting in their chairs, the institutions suddenly busy with nothing.
Ivor flipped back through his notes.
The CRO had dismantled marketing’s power.
The CEO had questioned its purpose.
The CFO had cut it off at the knees.
And the institutions? Silent, slow, and ceremonial.
But this-this was different.
This wasn’t about the boardroom.
This was about the gate.
The gate to opportunity.
To leadership.
To relevance.
And Magnus?
He wasn’t a killer.
He was the doorman to the house that locked them out.
“Let’s pick up where we left off,” Ivor said quietly.
He opened the next file.
And what he found inside… was a hall of mirrors.
The Clone Hire Obsession
Magnus re-entered the room; he didn’t sit this time. He stood behind the chair like a judge, but his trademark smirk still stretched across his face.
“Let’s stop pretending,” he said, voice smooth as glass.
“Companies don’t want the best marketer. They want the most familiar one.
Someone who’s done this exact job, in this exact industry, with this exact title, at this exact growth stage, using this exact tech stack, with this exact team structure, preferably at a brand they’ve already heard of.”
He took a slow step forward, locking eyes with no one and everyone.
“It’s not recruitment. It’s replication. Not vision. Version control.
They don’t ask who can grow the brand.
They ask who can make the CFO or CEO feel safe.”
The AI bot blinked, running the script automatically:
“Candidate excluded: Role mismatch. Sector mismatch. Energy mismatch.”
Ivor scrawled a note, jaw clenched.
CVs were being sliced into bullet points, stripped of nuance, sterilised into sameness.
Ideas? Too risky.
Originality? Too unfamiliar.
Potential? Not on the checklist.
“Innovation?” Magnus scoffed, the smirk curling back. “It’s a liability. Comfort gets hired. Safety gets funded. And CVs… CVs are easier to scan than humans.”
He turned to the wall, where the AI bot cast its final judgment:
“Candidate excluded. Background unfamiliar.”
And with that, the future had spoken.
Familiarity wins. Brilliance… doesn’t make it past the filter.
The Rise of the Frankenstein Marketer
Ivor didn’t look up from his notes. “And when they do hire?”
Magnus chuckled with the weary amusement of someone who’s seen the same horror film on repeat.
“They stitch together the impossible.”
He circled the table slowly, like a showman unveiling a monster.
“One part growth hacker.
One part brand guardian.
One part AI whisperer.
One part data scientist.
One part performance marketer.
One part community builder.
One part copywriter.
One part CRM automation expert.
One part therapist for the sales team.”
He paused. “And if you’ve got five years of leading a team? Even better.”
He turned, eyes gleaming.
“They call it agility, detective. We call it chaos with a job title.”
The job spec had read like a manifesto. The salary had read like an insult.
“When that person burns out? When they crack under the weight of five roles wearing one lanyard? What then?” Ivor probed.
Magnus shrugged.
“They don’t fix the system. They blame the candidate.”
“‘Didn’t quite step up.’
‘Not as strong as we hoped.’
‘Didn’t bring enough to the table.’”
The AI bot flickered, indifferent as ever:
“Candidate performance declined. Expectations unmet.”
Ivor looked up, brow furrowed.
“So you overload them, underpay them, and then fire them for failing to meet… your fantasy?”
Magnus smiled.
“We don’t call it failure. We call it a learning opportunity.”
The room went silent. Again.
Not because anyone disagreed, but because every single person in that room had done it.
Ageism, Codewords & Career Limbo
“And what happens,” Ivor pressed, “to those who’ve already proven themselves?”
Magnus shrugged.
“They get told they’re too corporate. Too strategic. Too senior. Not start-up enough. All of it just code for one thing: You’re not 28, and you’ve seen too much.”
The bot responded, without irony:
“Candidate flagged: Too experienced. Too expensive.”
What used to be wisdom was now seen as risk.
Years of leadership, repositioned as baggage.
“They’ve rebranded experience as obsolescence?” Ivor asked quietly.
Magnus smiled. “You catch on fast, detective.”
The Feedback Void & Fake Searches
The walls lit up with one final sequence of truths:
CVs submitted for roles that were already filled
Candidates interviewed as a formality to meet policy optics
Final-stage rejections without explanation, after weeks of preparation
Executive search firms ghosting post-presentation — after 5 interviews, 3 case studies, and one hopeful pause
Magnus stood.
“We tell candidates we’ll keep them in mind.”
“We say they were ‘impressive, but not quite right.’”
“We give them hope, then cut the cord.”
The walls glowed faintly now, as if embarrassed by what they were about to reveal.
No loud alarms. Just cold facts. Ivor didn’t even blink.
“You’re not evaluating talent,” he said. “You’re going through the motions.”
Magnus stepped forward, suddenly grave.
“We run the process. But the decision’s already been made.”
He didn’t say it with shame. He said it with pride and efficiency.
“We tell candidates we’ll ‘keep them in mind.’
We tell them they were ‘impressive… but not quite right.’
We give them just enough hope to stay quiet……Then we cut the cord.”
The AI bot blinked, without remorse:
“Candidate feedback: None provided. Archive initiated.”
Ivor looked at the blank wall, as if he could still hear the silence.
“So you let them believe they almost made it.”
Magnus didn’t respond. He didn’t need to.
Because that was the point.
“Candidate feedback: None provided. Archive initiated.”
The Quiet Crisis No One Will Admit
Ivor closed the final folder. He looked at Magnus, the recruiter who never blinked, never flinched, never needed to raise his voice.
But this time, something had shifted.
“So what happens now?” the detective asked.
Magnus paused. For the first time, the smirk slipped.
Not in guilt. But in familiarity.
“They stay. They stay quiet. They keep their jobs. They play it safe.”
“They stop pushing for brand.
Stop challenging the roadmap.
Stop asking questions that get them labelled ‘difficult.’
They shrink their ambition down to the size of their payslip.
They become… operational. Invisible. Tired.”
A long silence.
“Until one day, they’re gone.
No farewell post. No replacement. Just… a reshuffle.
And no one notices they ever left.”
The AI bot dimmed, as if it too had run out of power.
The screen read only:
“Candidate status: Dormant.”
Magnus reached for his coat. He didn’t look back.
“They weren’t beaten, detective. They just ran out of reasons to fight.”
The Marketing Massacre Was Bigger Than Anyone Thought
The detective glanced around the room.
The CRO, who once called marketing a “support function.”
The CEO, who questioned its “value.”
The CFO, who scrutinised every pound but never questioned a sales incentive.
The Institutions, who wrapped themselves in ceremony while the craft bled out behind closed doors.
And now Magnus. The recruiter with a polished grin… and a pet bot trained to delete potential with mechanical precision.
Each one had played their part.
Each one had pointed fingers.
And yet something still didn’t add up.
“So,” Ivor asked, softly, the question falling like a final pin in a locked room mystery, “Who here did shoot Mary Marketing?”
Magnus didn’t move.
He just smiled, slow, knowing, surgical.
“Oh, detective… There’s still one person you haven’t looked at yet.”
He stepped toward the door, hand on the handle.
“And she’s been right in front of you the whole time.”
The lights dimmed.
The AI bot let out one final ping.
“New subject flagged. Case file pending.”
Ivor froze, breath caught in his throat.
The chair across from him sat empty. But it hadn’t always been.
He looked down at the name written at the bottom of the folder.
Mary Marketing.
To be continued……
Lost Your Influence? It’s Time to Fight Back.
If Mary’s story feels uncomfortably familiar...
If your role has been absorbed under revenue targets, sidelined in strategic conversations, or reduced to "doing" instead of leading...
Then it’s time to take your power back.
The Influential Marketing Leader Accelerator is now open.
A 10-week transformational course designed for marketers who are done playing small and ready to lead with strategy, credibility and confidence.
Built for senior marketers ready to reclaim authority, elevate influence, and lead marketing the way it is meant to be led.
If you're tired of marketing being misunderstood, misused, or diminished — this is your moment.
Enrol now and start the comeback.
Ways to Work With Me
I partner with ambitious B2B companies, marketing leaders, and executive teams to unlock sustainable growth through marketing transformation.
Here’s how we can work together:
1. Strategic Growth Consulting (for B2B Health and Tech companies)
Revive stalled growth, refocus your go-to-market strategy, and turn marketing into a commercial growth engine.
Outcome: Clearer strategy, tighter execution, and marketing fully aligned to business goals — so growth accelerates without adding chaos.
2. Marketing Team Development & Operating Systems
Audit your marketing team’s skills, reshape your org structure, and build systems that enable high performance and strategic thinking.
Outcome: A stronger, more confident marketing team equipped to lead — not just execute.
3. CMO & Leadership Mentoring
Build strategic confidence, stakeholder influence, and executive presence. For CMOs, VP-level marketers, and rising stars.
Outcome: Become the trusted growth advisor your CEO can’t live without.
4. Internal Academies & Custom Learning Programmes
Create internal academies that elevate marketing maturity across your organisation and foster cross-functional alignment.
Outcome: A more commercially savvy, strategically minded marketing team that earns trust across the business.
5. The Influential Marketing Leader Accelerator (Open Enrolment)
A 10-week online programme for senior marketers ready to lead with confidence and make marketing matter again.
Outcome: You’ll gain a strategic toolkit, influence the C-suite, and finally stop firefighting and start leading.
6. Keynotes, Workshops & Offsites
For executive teams, cross-functional leaders, or marketing teams who need clarity, energy, and alignment.
Outcome: Shared language, stronger collaboration, and renewed focus on what marketing can (and should) do.