Our newly hired Recruitment Consultant, Stuart Cox had no prior recruitment experience before joining us here at Concept but had plenty of sales knowledge and experience. Stuart was introduced to Concept by a current team member who knew he would be an asset to the company as he had the right personality and passion for succeeding in this industry. As he didn’t have any prior recruitment experience, he enrolled on our “Concept Recruitment Academy” training programme, a six-week intensive course on everything recruitment, from utilising the CRM system to learning about the candidate and client experience in a specialist vertical.
Here, Stuart tells us more about how Concept has aided his major career change…
Before moving over to Concept, recruitment wasn’t something that I had previously considered, especially at 34 years old – a career change to something like this was not something I had planned.
I worked in a Telesales role within the Health and Fitness Sector for years, communicating with new and existing clients. Health and fitness is something I enjoy as I’m an avid gym-goer and have previously been a personal trainer. I found it very daunting to be leaving an industry I loved, but I knew I needed to make this move to create a career for myself.
I first found out about the recruiter vacancy through a friend who was currently working at the company- she told me how they were offering the academy to people with zero experience, which piqued my interest immediately. It can sometimes be off-putting when companies need people with experience, so the fact that Concept is offering this training is excellent!
When I first heard about the role, I was concerned it wasn’t for me as I was worried about the level of “cold calling” I assumed was required in this role: which I had not done since I was 19! However, Paula, my Sales Manager at Concept, along with other Senior Managers, put me at ease throughout the interview process and were all very transparent about the role and what was involved.
I am currently going through a 6-week Concept Recruitment Academy training with eight other new recruiters, which guides you through all the aspects of the role and helps those with apprehensions. Despite being off on annual leave for a week during my 6 weeks of training, I have picked up my first self-sourced client and can now start actively working my roles and building my desk!
The transition has been made a little daunting by the COVID pandemic and the means to work from home. This meant that as soon as I started, I was spending 2 days in my home office, alone. Although, I need not of worried about this. I am greeted daily by video calls from my team and the wider business to ensure I am settling in well. On the days I’m in the office, we have “bubbles”, enabling us to remain safe.
The support from Paula and the wider team has been excellent, both when working from home and within the office, and I’m delighted that this previously daunting experience is turning out to be the right fit for me. I am excited to see what the future holds through my career in recruitment at Concept Resourcing! Watch this space!
If you want to find out more about how you could join us at Concept Resourcing, please take a look at our “Join Us” page or speak to Chloe Swain.
