The first of a monthly ‘guest blog’ feature from your favourite recruiters here at Ashley James Consulting!

We caught up with a Trainee Recruitment Consultant we placed in June last year and asked them to write a blog on ‘their first six months as a Trainee Recruitment Consultant’ and they kindly obliged, it only cost us a Nando’s too… Winner!

• How have you found your first six months in recruitment?

It has been fun, challenging but fun. I have already started to experience the highs and the lows of the recruitment life cycle. The great thing is in the lows you learn so much more and then you can improve. I am not afraid to make a mistake, I just never want to make the same one twice. The highs have been great, decent commission already, lunch clubs, incentives and our team won ‘Team Of The Year’ at the Company Awards Night.

• What attributes ensured you were successful during this time?

Well, I will share with you my 3 biggest attributes that I believe have got me to where I am in this short space of time.

Attention to Detail – listening and observing the best recruiters around me and then implementing that into my own practice and trying my hardest to improve on it every day.

Competitiveness – I am the most competitive person I know, the drive and desire to win at everything I do has really helped me focus on my goals and where I want to be, giving me the best opportunity to perform at my best.

Resilience – this is a term that is always used around recruitment. I thought; “yeah I’m resilient.” however, it’s only when you’re put in this environment with things going wrong at the last minute and no way to fix them that it’s truly tested. Not only when things are going bad but if you are feeling like you are not improving or things aren’t working. You have to be resilient in the fact that hard work and effort pays off, keep to the process that works and dedicate your full attention to it and you will be successful.

• How did the expectations we set differ from reality?

I am being 100% honest when is ay AJC did a great job of explaining both sides of recruitment. Yes there are loads of great rewards, great money and a successful career path available but it’s not easy, you have set backs and it’s a competitive market. If it was easy though, everyone would do it. The company I choose to join was explained to me exactly like it is; I am so happy and really focused on having a great career.

• If you could start again what would you change / do differently?

This is a great question! I have to be honest and say no matter how well you are doing don’t take your foot off the gas. You make great friends because you work long hours and we all like to socialise. The thing is when business is going well, you are bringing in new clients and doing big deals it all seems easy, the reality is it is not and you are just getting some good luck. Focus and get the most out of everyday, plan for the next 6 months and make sure you have fun but balance it with it not affecting your work. I am now fully back on track and thankfully it was only a bad 4 weeks for me but I know what to do now and how to learn from that and make changes to improve both sides of my life.

• How have you found the training and development has impacted your success?

Instrumental. I was lucky and got the opportunity to join a company that is renowned for being one of the best agencies for training and development in the country, they have won countless awards for this. If it wasn’t for the detailed induction combined with the continual training and development I would not be where I am and with the knowledge I have. I would say to anyone starting out in recruitment, it is all about the training. The foundations of your career, getting into good habits from day one can only help in the long term.

• What achievement are you most proud of in your first six months?

Joining a winning team and making a real impact to that team. I have joined a very successful team within an even more successful company and the expectations from day one were high. Me being as competitive as I am loved this and it set the standard and I wanted to be up there. I have contributed to us winning Team Of The Year, hitting 2 holiday targets, helping grow our weekly GP to a company leading amount, furthermore I have got involved in helping others. This is because my manager respects my ability to lead and help others and I am asked to be involved. I have had the pleasure of looking after the social side of the team also, all I can really say is we have had a lot of fun with some great stories attached but the main thing is I’m proud of me, I made a big decision to change to something new, I was aware of the risks but I wanted this so I worked hard and made the first 6 months a success, roll on the rest of my career.

• What has been your biggest mistake / learning curve?

Without doubt, the biggest learning curve that I have taken so far in this game is the devotion and absolute commitment to the roles/jobs that you have. You have to work like it’s your first role with every role. If you’re not filling it, someone else is and you can develop and build big clients on the back of other people lacking that willingness and desire to go above and beyond to fill the role. I now commit myself to work every role like it’s my first job all over again, huge intensity, clinical focus and a no lose attitude. This has helped me build my desk and bring on new and exciting clients.

• Any other advice for future recruitment superstars like yourself?

If you get the opportunity to join a recruitment company, work with AJC to explore your options to find the best cultural fit for you. I believe this is more important than anything. Obviously having a world renowned training programme and industry recognised top billers is great but you work so many hours and you are around the people you work with more than your friends and family, so you have to love where you work.

Get a feel for the office, meet some other consultants and see if the environment fit is for you. This game is 80% mind-set so by having the right environment around you, you will succeed. Then when you find the company give it everything, 100%! This industry is great and the rewards are huge you just need to work hard to get there. No one in recruitment gets an “easy ride” all the top billers work harder, plan better and earn more because they give more than anyone around them.

My last point is have fun, work hard yes but have lots of fun. Recruitment is an emotional rollercoaster but the fun you will have will be amazing, the people you will meet even better. I have some really close friends within my company already and I have been here 7 months; I can’t wait to see what happens going forward. I am massively excited and I hope you are too.

We’re sure you’ll agree, there’s some really insightful and helpful tips that we’re sharing with you, we hope you enjoyed the content and make sure you hit subscribe and follow our social channels for our next feature.