MMU Graduate to Recruitment Manager

Do you know that The Candidate offer a great career path for graduates or people looking for take a new direction in their career? Check out Elliot who went from MMU Graduate to Recruitment Manager in 2 years. Read his story here!

The story so far…

I graduated from MMU in 2018 with a 1^st and (to be completely honest) had very little idea of what I wanted to do. I had ideas but definitely no clear plan, similar to countless other graduates I’m sure – especially after the events of this academic year. I think people often overlook how daunting graduating can be. Luckily, I knew my own self-worth and that I could be of value to a business, it was just of a case of what direction to go in.

Initially I gravitated towards Marketing, having really engaged with the module at University but also having had a passion for all things Digital growing up. In a way that’s how I ended up working for The Candidate - combining my passion for Digital with my natural communication and relationship building ability.

Two years later!

Having still (kind-of) considered myself a Graduate, doing all I could to cling on to that last bit of my University career, June marks 2 years with The Candidate - first and foremost a very scary thought.  I look back to where I was just after I graduated with very little direction and confidence in finding somewhere I enjoyed working. Fast forward 2 years, I’m now managing a team of 2, soon to be 4, working with some of the most well-known businesses in the region as well as some really exciting emerging brands. And more importantly, actually enjoying what I do.

Recruitment's reputation...

I’ll be honest, Recruitment wasn’t something I was initially attracted to. It’s no secret the industry has a stigma (a stigma I admit I had previously bought into myself) and that it’s for Jordan Belfort type characters. Of course I now realise that this isn’t always the case. From day one, The Candidate clearly demonstrated they were different, both as individuals and as a business. Firstly, they lead in their Market but still have the benefits of a boutique, smaller agency, whether it be flexibility of work, facetime with senior stakeholders or more importantly detailed training and development from the top-down. There’s honest progression opportunities too, not the overinflated “OTE £50k in your 1^st year” (at the cost of selling your soul) like we see all too often.

All of this comes hand-in-hand with a realistic and actually healthy work-life-balance. Not a “cold-calling, sit-there-till-8pm, super-salesy culture.” Culture is one of our biggest selling points to potential employees, but it’s something difficult to communicate in a blog without seeing in person. What I can say though is that you’re given genuine autonomy and get to be part of a really down-to-earth, likeminded team which has a real family feel. We’ve created a supportive, positive and collaborative environment to work in which is no doubt a key part of our success to date. 

Exciting times ahead!

After a very weird (but successful) 2021, it’s time to look ahead! We’re looking to add several new faces to the business, to join both my team (Marketing Recruitment) and others across the business in Tech, Analytics, Ecommerce, Agency and more.

If any of the above resonates with you and you’d just like to find out a bit more about what a role with us would look like then don’t be afraid to get in touch. I’m more than happy to explain in greater detail given I was in your shoes only a couple of years ago.

Feel free to send me an email [email protected], or give us a call on 0161 833 1044.