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I have been in recruitment since I was 21 years old. I started at a corporate company called HAYS. Initially starting on a Supply chain and procurement permanent desk (that I absolutely hated), I soon went on to find my passion in the temporary construction market. I love the fast-paced environment and how you can turn things around quickly. I have always been fortunate enough to work at very large, well-known companies however, in turn it did make me look for that more boutique and personal feel.
I had been commuting from Leicestershire to Birmingham for a few years, I was then chosen to head up a new office based in Leicester, essentially, a mini start-up. It was here I started to realise that other than the name above the door, it was me who was building the business and completing all aspects of the operation and front facing role. I worked very long hours, I was stressed, and management didn’t really support me when I raised this as long term concern.
Essentially, If I was going to build a legacy for a company, work long hours and be as stressed as I was, I might as well do it for myself and reap the financial rewards. Moreover, I wanted the flexibility to be able to ‘log on’ wherever I was. I have always been a believer that your hours should match your market, so I wanted the autonomy to choose what hours and days worked best for my industry – not just the archaic 9-5 and core hours spiel.
I think over the course of a few years, I began to feel disillusioned by the company I worked for. When training new starters, I would be asked to ensure they did certain things; call during ‘core hours’, various KPIs that actually made no tangible sense, just a box ticking exercise.
I just felt I was being asked to teach new starters things that I didn’t do. I understand we all need structure, but that needs to be tailored to the individual and their industry.
There was no movement for a new way of working, a way of working I felt actually got results and built relationships long term. It became apparent that my way of working was very personal, candidate led and involved building long term targeted relationships with like minded clients.
The final straw for me was when I needed a resourcer to allow me more time to bill more money, but they wanted me to pay the resourcers wages out of my billings. It just cemented my feelings that other than working under the company brand, I was running it and evidently paying for it!
The main driver is obvious really, to do things the way I wanted to do them. I wanted to run my business the way I felt worked for me and my industry, going it alone allowed me to build a unique and personal offering.
CRS (Construction recruitment specialists) specialises in the construction market across the East Midlands. Mainly temporary placements into the Trades & Labour/M&E sector. My ethos is less clients, better quality and to remain consultative.
I would say, to simply have a solid and loyal client base which would put me in a strong position to expand the business into other areas.
Max and Laura were simply very informative and explained clearly how to go about setting CRS up. I felt their personalities and professionalism partnered well with what I was looking to achieve thus meaning we would make a good business partnership.
That they are all really nice people that genuinely care about your success. I think in recruitment you are used to the cut throat nature, and that there’s always an agenda behind every move, however, with Isotope, they want to make sure they leave no stone unturned to make sure you get the help you need. Often going way beyond what is asked of them.
Are you successful because you are good at what you do or because of the company you work for?
If it is because you are good at what you do, then have a think about what you need to continue to do your job (Job boards/databases/cash flow etc) and then just pick up the phone, ring the numbers and ask millions of questions.
Lawyer.
Why? My fiancé says I argue like a pro.
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