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What made you want to go into recruitment?
Sarah: As a teenager, I saw recruitment as a really glamourous profession! (this was back in the early 90’s haha) I had heard about all the networking dinners and events, and I thought it must be so interesting meeting all those new people from different backgrounds. Ultimately though I went into recruitment as I wanted to help others in their career.
Gurpreet: I liked the idea of helping people find the perfect position and the challenge of medical recruitment appealed to me.
Ricky: I never thought of recruitment when studying but I came across it after I got my degree and have been in the game since. I enjoy meeting new people and hope that every working day is different, so it turned out to be the perfect role for me.
How did you feel on your first day?
Sarah: Although I have been in sales, account management, and business development for 20 years, my first foray into recruitment was as a compliance officer. It was nerve-racking as there is a lot of safeguarding and data protection involved in this role. My progression into recruitment was quite a natural step for me from compliance, and since then I haven’t looked back.
Gurpreet: I was really nervous, this was my first ever job and I was straight out of uni! Having to deal with such highly professional people was really daunting, but it turns out they're only human and I quickly found common ground with my candidates!
Ricky: Nervous, as that’s the general feeling on a first day. But ready to learn new things and get stuck in
How many years have you been in recruitment?
Sarah: I have been in recruitment now for 6 years.
Gurpreet: Just over 4 years
Ricky: 7.5 years
What’s been the most challenging aspect of your profession?
Sarah: As a 360 consultant it is difficult to juggle all your responsibilities i.e. advertising, budgets, payroll, resourcing, compliance etc but you quickly learn that time management is the key!
Gurpreet: Keeping up with all the changes this sector has gone through over the years.
Ricky: When external factors hit the market which has a knock on effect to what we can offer, whether it be shifts, rates etc I never like to disappoint the client or candidate.
Do you have a particular work memory that stands out?
Sarah: I’ve spoken to 100s of people throughout the years, but one always sticks in my mind. The candidate was an American who had been in special ops and was now moving into a professorial role in regards to Terrorism. He was a master of 6 martial arts, including jungle warfare. When I spoke to him, he really was a fascinating person, but of course, due to confidentiality, I couldn’t possibly divulge what he told me haha. The things he must have seen, hey!
Gurpreet: Well, as you can imagine, it’s always a great feeling when you get a new candidate to register. But I always remember this one specific time when a newly qualified GP called in to find out about registering with us. She was lovely and so eager to sign up that she sent me all her compliance documents whilst I had her on the phone and I got her booked out for the very next day. After 4 years of working together, we still speak almost every day!
Ricky: Receiving gifts from candidates, it’s always nice to be rewarded especially when it’s unexpected.
If you weren’t in recruitment, then what would you be doing?
Sarah: Ooh good question, I would like to think I'd be in either fashion or a profession caring for others.
Gurpreet: Hmm... in an ideal world my days would be spent around dogs (lol) – so having my own dog shelter
Ricky: It would be a job where I would meet new people, possibly travel and every day is different. I’ve done some modeling and really enjoyed those aspects of the job.
Do you have any advice for our future generation of medical recruitment consultants?
Sarah: You will need drive and ambition…and remember to treat clients and candidates with the respect they deserve, building relationships is important in this sector.
Gurpreet: Just be open and upfront with both your candidates and clients. No matter what you offer, they will work with you because of the person that you are – so make sure you always treat them the way you’d want to be treated.
Ricky: To have fun with the role and offer a personalised service. Ensure you are organised and on the ball at all times
