From Digital Design to Digital Marketing Recruitment

Leif Radford joined The Candidate in May and gives us the honest truth about his journey to digital marketing recruitment, where he addresses the reputation of the industry and why he chose to go with his gut feeling, even though people told him not to do it!

It’s recruitment Jim, but not as we know It.Two months ago I handed in my notice, left my creative job as a Digital Designer and jumped into the uncharted waters of recruitment. As I finish my first month in my new role, I’ve taken the chance to reflect on some of the things I’ve personally found most eye-opening about this new opportunity.

At every stage of the application process here at The Candidate I was informed by friends, family, colleagues, people in the queue at the coffee shop and just about everyone else I came across that I was making a huge mistake. From researching for my first interview to the night before my first day, the negative feedback was seemingly endless.

I was given all of the usual horror stories surrounding recruitment, which painted a pretty bleak picture of what was to come in my new role. Stories of the cut-throat world of sales, where you only look out for yourself and step over others on your way to the top. Stories of crippling stress as you chase elusive sales targets that are intentionally set to be unattainable. I quickly learned that the general impression of recruitment was less than positive.

Fortunately, I was well prepared and self-assured enough to know that I’d figured things out for myself. I carefully listened to all of the stories, and then promptly disregarded them. You can’t understand how glad I am that I did and went with my gut instead because what I’ve learned in my four short weeks with The Candidate is: it does not have to be this way.

Almost everything I’d been told in the run up to starting here was untrue. Although recruitment is a fast-paced, target-driven, emotional rollercoaster of a job, it is definitely not a horror story. The select few here represent something that is becoming increasingly rarer. They are a team who are as willing to build each other up when things are tough, as they are to join the celebrations when things are going great.

Even the highest billing, top performing consultants are not averse to rolling up their sleeves and helping out a colleague who could really use a little help. As a result, they’re brilliant at what they do and have an immense amount of fun doing it. They prove that a team who work together can achieve far more through their collective efforts than they ever could alone.

That being said, initially it actually seemed quite strange just how strong the team dynamic was. Due to the sheer variety of personalities all sitting in one office, you’d expect there to always be some kind of conflict or drama, but there isn’t. It may be a cliché but I honestly believe that this is due to the fact that although they all have very different characters, they all share a common trait: passion.

Passionate people get behind a cause and give it their every effort. Whether it’s ensuring a standout candidate gets the new opportunity they deserve or making sure a struggling colleague makes it through a bad day. The team here have passion by the bucket load for what they do, so you can only imagine what it’s like to work amongst them.

What does this all translate into? Well, at the end of my fourth week at The Candidate, this is my advice to you: trust your own judgement, take horror stories with a pinch of salt, and if you’re lucky enough to find yourself working in recruitment, make sure you’re passionate!

Do you want to start a promising career in digital marketing recruitment? We are always on the hunt for talented people to join our fun and vibrant agency! Get in touch with us today on 0161 833 1044 or send us an email with your CV to [email protected] where one of our award-winning recruitment consultants will be in touch!

If you're not looking to join recruitment, but want to boost your digital marketing career, then take a look at our latest digital marketing jobs here or be notified of the most recent digital jobs and news by following us on Twitter Facebook and LinkedIn