Sandra Patel
18th July 2019
Article by Lewis Ham , Recruitment consultant
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/my-first-14-weeks-recruitment-industry-lewis-ham/
So, my first article on LinkedIn! I never thought I would see the day.
Now I am not a creative writer by any means, so just go with me on this!
This post is about my first 14 weeks with Transition Partners, how I have found the recruitment industry and the lessons I have learnt. When I first joined Transition Partners, I had no idea what laid ahead of me!
I received and set a start date of January 2019 (New Year new me and all that nonsense!). My first day was a mix of emotion; scared, nervous, and excited! I wasn’t sure how I was going to prepare myself to walk into a room of successful recruiters in the hopes of being just as good or even better than them, but I stood outside the door, took a deep breath and walked in!
So what have I experienced so far in my first 14 weeks and what have I learnt?
My initial role was ‘Recruitment Administrator’ and this was going to be my role for the next 3 months as I received professional training until I was ready hit the Job Boards and place some candidates! Fast forward 4 weeks and I get pulled into the meeting room… I received my first promotion within Transition Partners! They noticed my potential and started me recruiting whilst receiving training along the way, the feeling of being noticed and appreciated within my role was something I hadn’t experienced but was definitely something I thrived off and made me push myself further to do well for a company that gave me the opportunity!
My top three lessons:
1. The only way is up! My first week within recruitment was so slow. Trying to understand the jargon and what to look for was overwhelming. I finally started to feel the thrill of recruitment creep in towards the end of the week and now I can’t get enough.
2. Don’t panic. After a further 4 weeks, I received my first offer for a candidate, now I think I was a bit more excited than my candidate was when we received the offer from my client! I explained the offer to my candidate, broke down the benefits package she had received and I got the reply ‘that sounds amazing, let me speak to my husband and I will give you a call tomorrow to give you my decision.’ Now that was fine, no problem, I was warned that would be the answer – however what I wasn’t prepared for was the sleepless night I got that night wondering whether she would accept and overthinking everything I had done and said! The next day arrived and I rang my candidate… no answer…! What!! How can she not answer?? Does she not know I’m stressing over whether she’s going to accept or not! Within a few minutes I received a text and my heart dropped ‘Hi Lewis, sorry I missed your call, I’m just at work and can’t talk.. However I will be accepting the offer and can’t wait to get started’ WHAT A FEELING! A weight like no other had just been lifted off my shoulders and I was bouncing around the room with excitement!
3. Training is KEY. The amount of support, training and guidance I have received at Transition Partners has been second to none! We don’t have directors here, we have mentors and leaders! I may have only been properly recruiting for 10 weeks, however i already have a good relationship with a lot of candidates and deliver on my promises. A great entrepreneur once said ‘I ask people not to judge me on my winners, but my losers as I have so few’ and this applies us at Transition Partners.
What have I learnt about how we treat candidates?
Unlike some recruitment agencies, we treat candidates as individuals and we invest a lot of time and effort into you, making sure we find the best role suited to your personality and skill set! We know recruitment should not be a load of hassle, stress or unclear. We also believe it should not be a numbers game and you won’t find us trying to sell a role to you, that we know isn’t right. Transition Partners pride ourselves on the relationships we have built over the years with candidates. We’re best known as technology, digital and business transformation specialists, but the truth is, there’s more to us than that. Great recruitment isn’t just about technical skill. It’s also about the right attitude, soft skills and cultural fit. We roll up our sleeves, remove the complexity and use our combined recruitment experience to help our clients and candidates succeed. It’s a relaxed, resourceful, responsive way of making good people come together.
If you are still reading, I am sorry for the mistakes I might have made, but I hope you have found it fascinating and a enjoyed the little insight to my first 14 weeks into my life long career!
Now if you want to work with me and you’re looking to take the next step in your career, 0113 457 1007 / 07789 287918 or email me lewis.ham@transition-partners.co.uk.
Thanks
Lewis