Senior Recruitment Consultant – Talentwise
After leaving further education, I joined the media industry. I started out at EMI records in London doing digital work.
I later moved back to Nottingham where I started doing digital artwork for Games Workshop before joining the Nottingham Evening Post. I spent 10 years there designing artwork for adverts before moving into planning. Then the newspaper industry started to take a dive, and I could see the way it was going. It just so happened that a friend of mine had an opportunity in recruitment, which is where my first foray into the industry began. Two years later, Ford & Stanley beckoned.
“We’re one big giant family – I see them more than my own!”
It was a bumpy ride during COVID and I was glad to return to the office once lockdown rules eased. We had skeleton staff but quickly built it back up. I’ve now been here five years and I can honestly say I truly enjoy my job – as clichéd as it may sound, we’re one big giant family. I see my colleagues more than I do my own family, so it’s perhaps just as well we’re all one solid unit!
“There’s no ivory tower here”
If there’s been one positive from COVID, it’s the realisation that we are stronger together as a team because of it. We all had to start again effectively, as the industry was hard hit, now we all help each other more than we ever did before. It all works so much better. The management team are all embedded in the everyday stuff too; they’re involved on the frontline as it were, and it fuels a positive work culture. Not many places do that. There’s definitely no ivory tower here!
“Work hard, play hard, but also find time for yourself”
For anyone looking to join us or considering recruitment as a career, first and foremost confidence is the key. Don’t come in here thinking you can approach the market better as you’ll fail – listen and learn. Ford & Stanley have got a formula that works. Work hard and play hard, but it’s crucial to have time to yourself otherwise you’ll get burnt out. It’s a long game. You’ll get rewarded for hard work here, but it’s all about balance.
The advice I’d give to my younger self is to not take life so seriously as I used to overthink things. Work hard, yes – but enjoy life!
“My father-in-law helped make me into who I am now”
My father-in-law is the one person who inspired me. He taught me how to be a family man. He worked hard all of his life to ensure he provided for his family. He also treated people the way he wanted to be treated and I live by that ethos. It’s made me into who I am now.
