posted 06 Dec 22
Part 3: My first week in recruitment
You can read part one of Alfie’s story here and part two here.
After I discovered Search and secured a role as an Associate Consultant, I found transferring from student to legal recruiter initially hard.
It’s a 100 mile-per-hour industry and it’s easy to get lost in the onslaught of information. Processing this information is one of the most difficult adjustments, trying to remember the names of the candidates, clients and all of the terminology. However, it’s amazing how quickly you adapt to this new world and, by the end of the first month, you feel like you’ve worked in recruitment for years.
A colleague who joined a month after me is a prime example of this. He was a self-proclaimed ‘deer in the headlights’ for the first week, and told me he felt he needed a week off just to arrange all the notes he’d written. Needless to say, by the end of the second month he was already writing his third deal and now (nine or so months in) he is one of Search Legal’s top billers.
Search has been particularly valuable to my development. As soon as you join, you are enrolled on their ‘Core Development Programme’ which gives you bi-weekly training sessions in groups with other divisions of the company. As well as this, my manager coached me one-on-one on exactly how to interview candidates, speak to clients, take on jobs and find and recognise good candidates. Even now, he will go through my daily plan and check in with me multiple times a week to see how I’m getting on and make sure I’m on track. Without this support I wouldn’t be close to the point I am now. I’m so glad I joined a company like Search where I was given clear, structured training and consistent support.
I was promoted in my first five months at Search and I will shortly hit my next target; I’m only able to do this due to the specific and clear goals laid out in front of me. This means that, unlike a lot of other industries, you won’t get stuck treading water. It is completely down to you to achieve your potential.
My final point is seemingly the most important and I can hand-on-heart tell you that I don’t dread Monday mornings. This came as a realisation to me when I was thinking about every job I’d previously worked (clubs, pubs, shops, warehouses, etc) and how I’d hated them with a vengeance. I watched the clock all day and could barely enjoy my days off because of the thought of the next shift.
At Search, I look forward to coming in. It’s exciting to see how interviews have gone, if candidates will take their offers or if I can hit the ground running with a new candidate. Whilst I have days where things haven’t gone my way – candidates may have backed out or I may not have hit every KPI – all of my colleagues are so supportive. They want to work together to achieve team goals and as long as I’m working hard, there is always understanding that dips will happen.
Interested in working for Search?
Search invests in its people like no other company (we’ve just been awarded Investors in People Platinum Status – again) and this certainly makes it an enjoyable place to work.
Interested in a career in recruitment? Find out more.
