… for staff working in recruitment to get it wrong. The Daily Mail reports on recently discovered employment records on a certain Thomas Woodward, aka Tom Jones.

Back in the early 1960s, Jones the Voice’s talents were not immediately apparent to clerks at the Pontypridd employment exchange in South Wales. The handwritten files, which were rescued from a skip a few years ago and are now coming up for auction, detail the opinions of various employment officials on this dandy looking tall young man in Cuban heels.

“He does not want shiftwork,” says the report, “ because he is a member of a vocal group which is supposedly an amateur affair. From the way he is able to dress, it would seem that Mr Woodward’s little hobby is highly lucrative and this would also account for his non-enthusiasm in securing employment.”

One of the final helpful comments on Jones’ pre-stardom career states: “He has been talking about ‘going professional’ since April but he is still signing the Unemployment Register and not autograph books.” Meeow!

Weeks after this was written, It’s Not Unusual topped the charts in the UK and the rest is history.

Are there any past candidates or staff you have hired who have since gone on to fame and fortune beyond the green, green grass of home with their ‘little hobby’? Let us know what’s new, pussycats, and readers can help themselves to your recruitment wisdom.