After studying Law at University, I decided this wasn’t where I saw my career going and I jumped into recruitment at Dataworks as the first hire into the US team. A year and a half later and a few office-moves in between, I have now taken the chance to change roles into a Talent Partner; So what prompted what could be seen as a sideways switch and why do it?
Thrown straight in
I joined Dataworks at an early stage. This was something I wanted as I felt I could make more impact, but this came with its challenges and expectations: as a new company I needed to hit the ground running.
The training I received was great from the start. Like many others though I feel I learn better being thrown in at the deep end and that’s what happened. I found myself working the position very quickly, with the attitude of “faking it until you make it”.
As time passed, my confidence in the role continued to grow and I found myself being relatively successful, placing some very specialist roles and billing well. There have been ups and downs in the market during my brief time in recruitment, however I had done well, and considering I hit the year mark in the role, I had lasted longer than many others do.
Perspective
One of the biggest challenges when being new to recruitment is comparing yourself with others. You might see someone is billing more than you… but they also have a considerable amount more experience.
One of the most important things to do at this early point in your career is only focus on yourself and the results you’re making without comparing them to others.
It’s also then really important to stay grounded as it’s easy to get carried away after a good month. If you let up then the results may be hit moving forwards.
Celebrate the wins, no matter how small they are, from arranging your first interview to closing the biggest deal to date. It’s a tough role with many ups and downs so celebrate when possible.
Opening my eyes
When I started in recruitment, I only really knew about the 360 role which involves both sourcing candidates and managing them through processes as well as signing new clients and managing that relationship. It’s a tough position with many elements, it takes a lot of work, and you have to keep at it even after the setbacks.
What became evident from my time in recruitment is that I thrived on and was good at finding candidates and helping land their perfect role.
After a conversation with the founders here at Dataworks, my eyes were opened to the opportunity of becoming a Talent Partner. This position focuses more on placing candidates into roles, the business development work is less about finding new clients and more building and maintain relationships with existing clients. It’s not something I had thought about and I probably wouldn’t have if it hadn’t been suggested to me.
I had essentially been doing this role anyway, but now we could put the correct title to the work I had been doing. I am still able to do the elements of the role I enjoy and have great opportunities moving forward… just in a slightly different direction.
Applying this to other roles
You may have your career set out in front of you and you think you know exactly where it’s going to go. However, it’s not always the case. Sometimes it may transpire that there’s an element of a role that you don’t enjoy, or it could be the company that you’re in that just doesn’t suit you. At this point, it’s worth considering what can be changed in that role. You don’t need to push to move upwards if ultimately you’re not going to last if the role isn’t for you.
It may feel like you’re starting again or even going backwards if the role isn’t as prestigious, but I would suggest after the move I have made, if there is a better suited role out there for you, take that jump.
In the industry I recruit into, you see these moves a lot. It might be someone that is a senior data analyst moving into a more junior data scientist role or transitioning into an analytics engineer role. The move may be seen as sideways, but your career lasts for a long time… so one sideways move now to get into something you enjoy is worth it!
