Time for Change

So its been nearly four years and I've decided to change direction now.

I've enjoyed working for online recruitment company's and also high street agencies now for nearly four years and after much heartache, blood, sweat and tears - I've decided to look for work in a different industry.

My rationale for getting into recruitment in the first place was to help people, but something I've started to realise is that recruitment isn't the right place to do that:

The industry is governed and run by money so its interest, surprisingly is always going to be in that. Which is a hard thing to work against when my main motivator wasn't money, something I learned can be taken advantage of:

I worked at an online recruitment company for two and a half years and in that time, I learned the key to success (promotion and better money) was to survive and just stay put. I watched 30 people leave the business in my time there, including MD's and senior managers, which only helped to move me up the food chain; being the only person in an online business that knew how it worked had its perks.

Moving on - I eventually worked out though that soo many people leaving is actually a sign of bad thing (go figure) so I was offered a chance to interview for a high street agency, who blew me away with the offer of better money and prospects - which at that point seemed attractive to someone who had been working for just about minimum wage and hadn't been on holiday for five years, with massive bills to pay.

That lasted for four months - I was actually told whilst on holiday (first in five years) that they were closing the branch down due to lack of profit.... over the phone!!! on holiday!! The kicker was i'd paid for "my desk" in the branch it was the rest of the people that hadn't and the company didn't have the management structure to support keeping just me on - the guy that told me was promoted to director 6 weeks later..... and they kept the branch open to help maintain the local business I had won for them.

I had as it seems a touch of luck though as one of the candidates I was working with, had found work working with one of the worlds biggest agency's, who happened to be looking for a new member of staff at my local branch. I interview their and got the job in three days.

The job seemed to be going fine, for the first time in my 7 year relationship to my fiancee, I was able to organise a spa day for her with a photo shoot to. Until i tried to book the time off for it, which was denied, even though I gave them a months notice the branch managers time off took priority over mine.

So I quit - the reason I work is to live, not vice versa. This brings me up to date now. which is unemployed a bit scared and not sure what to do. What I do know is that I'm happier now, knowing that I never have to compromise any of my morals again. The problem is that doesn't pay the bills.

I'm adding a paypal button to this page as I would like to start saving money to help with our financial situation and also to help my fiancee; a long time sufferer of crohns. She has tirelessly worked for years, whilst also running an ebay shop, and taking the shortest spells she can from work, when she has been admitted to hospital. The whole time my mission has been to help people but the whole time in my recruitment career - I feel like I'm failing the one person that has helped me the most. Please help me give something back to her.

Specialising.....

So I've been working as a resourcer for the better part of a financial quarter and I'm starting to take stock on my achievements thus far there is a point to this honest, how can you know where you're going unless you know where you've been.....

I have found 16 people work 12 have been in automotive the remaining four are in various sectors that my company has pitched into due to the nature of my companies business we have great success in finding vacancies i think my enthusiasm has been the key to sourcing candidates for all industries.

My boss has started to pay attention to this trend and I'm starting to realise that the whole world is just too big a place to save all at once go figure. So lets focus on the one industry I seem to be having success with.

In my opinion the success in automotive recruitment that i have found thus far, was a happy accident. The nature of my role is to source CV's for vacancies to fill by a very enthusiastic sales team who source vacant jobs. This model works fantastically as I can literally drown myself in the important part of recruitment, putting people back into work.

I have been fighting against something which I thought would limit my ability to work effectively.... specialising. I wouldn't call myself a specialist as i barely know how to start a car no seriously can't drive, should learn soon mind! But I would say that I am investing alot of time, energy and my bosses money to find more jobs to match to the overspill of CV's I have. The one benefit to this being that I now have a pool of candidates that I know intuitively so the second I have a new job, there is an interview to follow soon after.... I'm now accomplishing targets, I'm developing a two month pipeline for revenue, meaning I'm happier in my job and able to focus more on the tasks at hand.

I am still the NewRecruiter I was four months ago but with a new outlook on this very competitive market, Automotive recruitment will be where i make my mark.

Thanks for reading again guys, take a look at my new page also and comment at will about the content :-)

Day five..... Friends, work and relationships

Well it looks like I'm starting to get some traffic/ viewers on a daily basis.... I'm not sure who you are yet but, I hope you like what you read.

I'm starting to realise a few things about life in recruitment; or my life in recruitment i should say, i try voicing my opinion at work and i notice subtle differences in how the more experienced guys receive my views, I'm not radical or obscene apparently just overly empathetic.

Any of the of the friends i had before starting to work in recruitment, use my new found career as a means of helping themselves, before i continue ranting i will say i love all my friends dearly. I am privileged enough to hold the keys to new career opportunities and they try to take advantage of that. On numerous separate occasions I'll have a friend have a bad day at the office and as result they need to find a new job. I'll pull in favours and spend alot of time preparing opportunities for them to take for them to realise they don't want to take the risk, resulting in interview cancellations which in this trade i notice can be bad at the best of times, I'm working on a theory..... but then the friend feels embarrassed and stays out of touch for a few months. What do you do eh?

This aside I've noticed a subtle change in my behaviour towards work, I've developed a strong sense of pride about what I do... I can help to change people's lives, so far I've noticed for the better.
My company has been going through some considerable changes recently for the better. With new procedures, targets M.I reporting etc.
I was tasked to call and speak to all of my candidates that had been successfully been appointed, something which was far more rewarding than first appears. I've now found 15 people in my short spell new jobs and all of them were genuinely happy.
It also highlighted another topic, how they were sourced/ found. I'm not the best of advert writers, making rookie mistakes like spelling mistakes and revealing the company, but i do seem to have knack for finding people. 12 out of 15 I found! 3 of that 12 have relocated for the jobs, but all had nothing but praise for what i had done.

I know the stats are probably tiny to seasoned guys but i feel a good sense of achievement. What i do notice is how people can be come intoxicated on this. To the point of letting that pride becoming arrogance, I'll remember to keep myself in check.

This job has done me a world of a good for my own confidence, as i really feel proud of what I'm starting to achieve, the cost of that pride i feel is relationships; this job can be overwhelming at times, aside from the obvious long hours, there's no kill switch.

I'm sitting here thinking about the week ahead; the looming deadline for the all important targets due to be met in 9 days, the meeting I have on Monday with a guy double my age, with a lack of self confidence- who's going to need some help for a second interview we have for him, the change in dynamic in the team as the new procedures are implemented! If it wasn't for this I think I'd be annoying the missus, with yet another boring conversation about work!

Finally before I go, I mentioned some goals I'd like to achieve this year well, I've started to cut energy drinks out of my daily routine, I haven't had one in two weeks ha that makes me sound like i was addicted- dear oh dear! I'm now also down to four cigarettes a day, was smoking around fifteen to twenty. Apparently people are noticing changes in my personality I'm seem more focused and controlled. Halve your caffeine and nicotine intake and see what happens to you!

Thanks for reading guys, be back soon :-)

New Year, New Start? (..... Day four)

Well for someone so young I'm starting to feel all kinds of nostalgic nonsense, the company i work for now has its first set of comparative financials and it seems were doing well..... actually increasing profit on last year by at least 30% Yep that's right have no idea about financial Speak, but understand beating targets, this seems like a good start. We have a steady workforce, I say steady but I now mourn the loss of another colleague, gone to pastures green, to the corporate internal recruitment world. She will be truly missed.
Something I've been so grateful for is the diversity in characters I've met, to work with people from three decades of recruitment essentially three generations. Its played to my interests, learning the history yes i emphasise the story  in his-story. anyone that works in recruitment will appreciate what i mean, is it just me or is there at least of those guys in every office that has a story for every perceivable situation.... ever?

So anyway..... babbling again, i came on here to document at least one copy of my new years resolutions....
- Get at least one follower on my blog :-( I'm tempted to invite the first person out for a drink, they must be clearly delusional and worth all of my attention for reading this far.
- Quit Smoking Bad habit, i know this - I live to the stereotype of what salesman were like in the GlenGarry Glenross Days. One of the best films ever made! Have you got the brass balls?!?! Nicotine, caffeine and raw nerves. I'm cutting down at the moment, watch this space....
- Propose!!! It's been five years! For goodness sake I'd be fed up with me by now, time to bite the bullet- take the plunge and all those stereotypes.
- Challenge myself and find someone a job from a new industry to me, at least once a month, this month a sales engineer. Next who knows.....

This seems like an achievable list..... no doubt I'll add more as time goes on......

Thank you to any bored souls who have made it this far.....

What Next? ( A long overdue day three)

Okay so this is my third entry/ rant/ stream of conciousness and i'm starting to feel self concious, should there be a goal with where this is going? Do I want to remain anonymous?
I think for now i just want somewhere to go to write my thoughts of the week and then have the opportunity to look over my own development as time progresses. For example i've learnt that I think i might come over slightly complacent about how things are in recruitment creating a bad impression of the company I work for, the reality is that I couldn't be happier, okay there's clashes in personality, but where would the fun be in having an office full of the same mindset? There in lies the challenge and the variety to stop yourlsef from getting bored and complacent. There is probably over thirty years experience within recruitment in our small but developing team and they all have their strengths and have so much to give, My only complaint is about the anecdotal air they seem to have about EVERY situation, it can breed scepticism and disharmony in the client/ candidate relationships we have to balance on daily basis. History has always been a pasion of mine, as i feel it important to be able to disconnect and analyse your past to establish where you want to go and how to get there call it the freud in me.
So what next? I think now i've ranted enough for now, I will try and focus things onto more topical conversations, there is alot of competition and drama in recruitment, I'll try to give my tuppence worth, from hopefully a legible and refreshing point of you, IF i ever start to get followers/ readers, I hope i don't offend but give you something different to digest.

Time flies ( A late day two)

Okay i did have every intention of making this a daily thing, but I've been a good little worker and been busy, I think the impression is that this time of year can be slow for recruitment companies, but i think that's just narrow minded, people still need work and certain companies are going to be busier this time of year, I think this is the problem with recruitment, companies choose to specialise in a particular area and have no sense of urgency because history dictates this is a slow time of year for their field. I see recruiters at sales people, and isn't the rule of sales "your only as good as your next sale?" So why would you want to settle with a slow month?
Rant over
Okay so I've been doing this for 9 weeks now and I've successfully found 8 people new jobs, and have another 2 due to start, they varied in their jobs from mechanics to copywriters all of them deserved the positions and have been a pleasure to represent. Its been exciting and scary at the same time, reminding me of my own interviews. The one thing that surprises me most is how nervous the interviewers can be..... both during the process and after, it makes this so satisfying when we succeed together. Don't get me wrong there has been some huge mis-judgements on both parts, but like with life you have to make mistakes, right?
The one thing that is becoming more obvious about this "career choice" is that its a lifestyle choice, it does start to take over your life. I find myself thinking and worrying about my candidates during their first day, I'm taking phone calls at 9pm to gossip about their first day.

funny thing, I was talking to my new boss, she was telling me about arguments she would have with her fella, get a phone call from a candidate- then have to switch on the "happy" recruiter, while he was steaming in the background at how she could be soooooo nice to them and been sooooo mean to him -

I cried with laughter as the day she told me I had a similar experience with the missus the night before.

I'll say this once for me to do this to the best of my ability I realise I will owe most of it to the love, support and patience of my better half. I love you and hope I can bring you the same happiness x

Whats interesting is my time with the company I'm at, I started there 16 months ago when the company was conceived as a telemarketer and as you would expect, people have left, and new people have replaced them..... what makes this great is the buzz you get from the enthusiasm in the new people, its fair to say commercially the service is great because the services are cost effective, but for money motivated individuals this is the biggest challenge, as we do have to work almost four times as hard to achieve targets/ commission. So i sympathise with the appeal of other companies offers, but won't waiver from my belief in this companies goal.

Again I'm feeling miles better, i hope this is remaining either entertaining or legible enough for you to stay interested.

Day one........ the facts

So...... the only word that i've not managed to backspace over.....
Where to start..... i'm a mid twenties, mildly happy, day dreaming, hard working...... mess, that needs a creative outlet and somewhere to let out the madness that jumps around my head.
I only looked at "blogging" because you can apparently earn money while going nuts on the keyboard, but i'm starting to realise this could be fun!
I'm settling into what i hope will be a career with a new recruitment company, i say new but we've actually been around for a year, things are just starting to get interesting now though making money getting noticed and most importantly FINDING PEOPLE JOBS.
Maybe its just me but, recruitment is a business service designed to help find the best people for a job.
I joined a recruitment company becuase of several bad experiences with several agencies; i worked thirteen temp jobs, ranging from sign writing sounds fun, but it really wasn't - imagine a room filled with A3 card, those stinking pens, and not a single window to crack open, i saw the seventies i think in that room! through to your typical data entry job, all "apparently" temp to perm positions, but never actually getting to the perm part. I started taking it personally until i met someone that explained somethings to me, because of the cost of the recruiters sign on fee it made it impossible for most SME's to beable to afford to take me on, and because of the terrible contracts that are in place the companies are too scared to speak to me after i've gone in case they receive some back-lash.
After this education i decided to join a recruitment company to undo this damage, okay that sounds arrogant i know, but whats wrong with ambition? Aside from the cost, i think its become more about survival, bigger companies that have thrived, pre-recession are simply just chasing that invoice that will keep them solvent, rather than look at the bigger picture, we're in a recession! people need work, rather than bait candidates for leads work together to get more people back to work! i'm hoping this makes sense, i guess the beauty of this is i don't need to care, I'm feeling better now though,

Till next time,