What is a recruiter? Is it someone who simply sends messages on LinkedIn? Someone who asks strangers probing personal questions over the phone? Or is it, as one philosopher once suggested, “just cold-calling but with snacks and a lot of coffee”?
To answer this, we travel deep inside the fluorescent-lit ecosystem of Titan Consulting to meet a curious creature known only as Wan-Yu. An intern. A researcher. A pineapple. But more on that later.
“So, what do you do here?”
This was my first question. A question that has been asked since the dawn of internships, and sometimes, never truly answered.
“I basically pair up with Eddie,” she says, referring to Eddie Wang, her mentor, guide, and meat enthusiast. “I Cold Call,” she adds. This sounded illegal, but upon further questioning, it turns out she just helps Eddie identify potential candidates for roles. Not to be confused with calling inside a walk-in freezer, which is quite common in crime mob films.
She also assists with research and invites people to networking events, which may or may not involve handcuffs.
“When I say I locked down 10 guests for our mastermind dinner,” Wan-Yu explains, “I mean verbal commitment. But honestly, the handcuffs might be a good idea next time.”
Yes. Nothing screams mastermind dinner like polite kidnapping. (Just a sidenote, no one is getting kidnapped, it was a joke).
Cold Calls & Warm Snacks
Calling strangers is a scary business. Like karaoke but with more rejection and less Whitney Houston.
So, how does Wan-Yu stay confident? “Fake it till you make it,” she says. An American business school classic. Except in her version, it’s less about lying and more about channeling delusional optimism into Google Sheets.
She confesses that her training in this came from a school sales programme in the U.S., where she learned that confidence is key and sometimes completely fabricated. A lesson every recruiter and presidential candidate knows well.
Also, if you’re wondering how she manages to research hundreds of profiles while resisting the overwhelming urge to nap, she has a system: eat in 30 minutes, nap for 30, research before falling asleep again. It’s a cycle perfected since Taiwanese elementary school.
Pineapple Express: The Return of Wan-Yu
Wan-Yu sees her role as helping Titan connect top talent with innovative companies. She’s basically a talent whisperer with Wi-Fi.
But when asked what mythical creature or national mascot best represents her recruitment style, her answer is shockingly honest: a pineapple.
“I’m sweet,” she says. “But if you hurt me, I will stab you with my leaves.”
It’s the perfect metaphor: sharp, layered, mildly spiky, and delicious with chili powder. These characteristics in the recruitment industry make her a force to be reckoned with, she has the potential to make it right the way up.
On Snacks, Taiwan, and Emotional Damage
Wan-Yu’s passion for food is only rivaled by her passion for existential snack-related dilemmas. For instance:
Q: If you could only eat one Taiwanese snack for the rest of your life, what would it be?
A: I’d kill myself first.
Relatable.
But after being pressed, she admits she’d go with fried mushrooms sprinkled with chili. Elegant. Earthy. Low risk of diabetes. If I asked this question to Eddie, he would respond with meat.
When asked to choose between what was harder cold-calling a candidate or choosing a place to eat at a Taiwanese night market, she leans toward the market. Why? Because unlike a failed cold call, bad street food won’t cause a KPI crisis. It might cause indigestion, but that’s less traceable on salesforce.
Cooking with Wan-Yu (or Against Her Will)
Wan-Yu loves to cook, but I really gave her the short straw with this question. I simply asked If she were to cook for three people in the office, who would she choose?
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- Luke – to test his palate with Asian food and perhaps destroy it.
- Keigo – because he helped her scold an ex. (Who knew Titan was that dramatic?) Titan Consulting is here for your Career and Relationship needs.
- Anthony – for teaching her the deep psychology of getting ignored on the phone.
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Eddie was not invited. Why? Because he already got his flowers earlier in the interview. One can only be a teacher’s pet so many times before it gets suspicious.
Recruitment Karaoke
When asked if cold calling is like karaoke, she agrees:
“Some people are amazing. Others just get totally ignored.”
She doesn’t enjoy karaoke, despite being Taiwanese, but is very good at cheering others on. Which is perhaps the most powerful kind of recruiter: the one who lifts others while slowly dying inside.
Final Thoughts From Titan’s Resident Pineapple
If her life were a book, Wan-Yu says it would be a comedic cookbook with occasional emotional trauma. There’d be sad bits, snack breaks, and spicy mushrooms. In other words, a bestseller.
She is the intern you didn’t know you needed: full of insight, running on convenience store calories, and balancing her days between Excel, Slack, and intense snack-based introspection. Wan-Yu is a brilliant member of Titan Consulting, she works really hard and has a massive impact on the Business Innovation team. One for the record books.
So, what have we learned?
Recruitment is hard. Pineapples are dangerous. And sometimes, to understand a person, you just have to ask what they’d microwave after a long cry.
Wan-Yu: proof that even in the most corporate of jungles, a sweet, spiky fruit can thrive.
Article written by Kunal Mistry – Titan Consulting Business Operations Intern