Posted on 17/02/2021 by Dan Grace

Candidate Resourcer to 360 Consultant

I started working for Uniform Education in September 2019. I had no previous experience working in the recruitment sector. Prior to joining Uniform, I had been to a few interviews beforehand with different recruitment firms and I found that each firm was different and had their own method of work. Therefore, I was coming into the business with no Idea of what to expect. However, I did pick up some essential skills from my previous employment.

Considering the demands of an Education recruiter, and my inexperience the management team felt it would be wise to ease me in slowly, taking me through the training academy to prepare me for the market. I really enjoyed my role as a resourcer, it was very similar to my previous role, as I would spend most of the day on the phones, building relationships. I was well trained and made to understand in this market it is all about the candidates, and it was a great way for me to learn how to interact with different candidates. I also learnt about the different sectors within education, and the particular qualifications candidates hold. As a resourcer, you speak to many candidates daily and you view a lot of different CV’s. I am a quick learner so I was able to pick up very early on what would make a CV appealing also being a good judge of character.

I Joined Uniform Education to become a recruitment consultant but I hit the ground running as a resourcer smashing my targets each week regularly registering the best candidates available to me and the consultants would have them out working instantly. I was making a decent amount of commission and was getting shout outs almost every week, life was good. The managers could see the progress that I was making and thought it was the right time to move me up to the consultant role. I was excited to become a consultant; however I was ‘smashing it’ as a candidate resourcer and had become comfortable in that role, and started to doubt whether I would be as good as a 360 recruiter. This was the first struggle that I had to deal with when transitioning. With every promotion comes more responsibility so I knew that my workload would increase; not only would I be handling candidates but I would now be liaising with clients who were not familiar to me. This was and still is a major challenge as I am working with clients who are extremely busy especially in the times of Covid-19 where schools are going through drastic changes and I am taking over a desk of someone who has gained the confidence of the school clients over the years.

Transitioning into the role I was aware of all the challenges however I am thankful for is the training and mentoring that the managers at Uniform Education provides to ensure that we aren’t just left in the deep end and you have all you need in order to thrive. Yes, I entered a role that I had no experience in and I had huge shoes to fill but I believe the managers had made the right call in the beginning and put me in the right path. As I mentioned previously I learnt a lot from being a resourcer finding skilled and reliable candidates, resourcing candidates in the correct locations of the schools and building relations with the candidates who I had registered. Everything I learnt as a resourcer I have used to my advantage as a consultant, I am building relationships with my clients in the same way and gaining their trust and loyalty, I demonstrate my knowledge of the area which ensures that I have candidates who are local. Knowing which candidate’s will be suitable for the different schools I work with and ensuring they meet the needs and expectations. Each schools have different needs and it is essential to know whom you are sending into the schools because that is frankly how I will be able build the loyalty and trust with the clients.

I would say being able to adapt quickly and stepping out of comfort zone is what has allowed my transition from a resourcer to a recruiter run smoothly. Also with the help of the experienced managers that allowed me to block out the negative thoughts I had in the beginning and soak up all the information and skills in order to grow in the role. I’m super excited about the future at Uniform Education, and looking forward to building a career.

If this sounds interesting, and you feel ready to join an ambitious company then feel free to call our friendly talent team on 020 3794 8988 or send a copy of your CV to workforus@uniformeducation.co.uk