10 years in recruitment - A reflection
Wow, 10 years in a recruitment agency! Covid for me has been a time of frantic activity on the one hand, while allowing for periods of reflection on the other! Last March I couldn’t have imagined that 14 months on I would still be sitting at the dining table, working away, wondering at what point the world would right itself!
Last March I couldn’t have imagined how intense the rest of 2020 would be and how in 2021 with all our hopes pinned on emerging quickly from the grips of this pandemic, the path back to “normal” would be so circuitous! However, here we are and here we will stay until such time it is safe to put our heads above the parapet and make our way back into the working world in whatever form that will present itself! But I digress………
While recently reflecting on the ways of the world it suddenly dawned on me – I have been working in a recruitment agency for 10 years this month! How did that happen, how did the last 10 years creep up on me so quickly, particularly when the last 14 months seem to have dragged on?
In April 2011 my role in FMCG Marketing had just been made redundant. I was at a crossroads in my career! I had 2 small children, a husband who was working every hour – running to stand still, as many people were in 2011! I needed to work, I wanted to work but I didn’t want to continue to work in the industry I had just come from. That chapter had closed for me – but what would I do next?
As is the way with many recruitment consultants, I fell into the recruitment agency industry. How many times have you heard a secondary school student say that they hope to be a recruitment consultant? Never?? For me, the opportunity literally fell into my lap! And how glad am I that it did!! Becoming a recruitment consultant is the single best professional decision I have made!! Taking the first step was a scary one. It was hard to turn my back on the familiar and the safety of a solid career in marketing – but the opportunity for change, the excitement of the unknown and the promise of a new lease of life was too tempting. I decided to go for it, to grab it with both hands and see where the ride took me. I haven’t looked back since. My feet haven’t touched the ground and here I am, 10 years later, living my best life………albeit at my dining table for now!
I am grateful I work for a recruitment agency that has a really strong set of values, with a team of incredibly passionate and supportive colleagues. Every day is different, with new challenges and new opportunities. There are plenty of highs and with that also come the lows!! Recruitment is a really rewarding and exciting profession. It requires resilience, passion, curiosity and drive. A good sense of humour doesn’t hurt either. If you have ever thought that recruitment might be something for you – if you are at a crossroads in your career and contemplating your next steps, why not give me a shout? I’d love to hear from you, to tell you about my experiences over the last 10 years. Who knows where it might lead……….Imagine where you might be in 2031?
Photo by Magda Ehlers via pexels