Climbing the recruitment ladder: Two Promotions in Two Years

Climbing the recruitment ladder: Two Promotions in Two Years

Anyone who knows TwoScots as an organisation knows we’re absolutely obsessed with building high performing teams with a difference – that difference being our relationships. Relationships with each other as well as our external market.

Honestly, no other team epitomises this than our Accounting Support duo affectionately nicknamed Jack and Rose after a particularly fantastic Zoom pub quiz edit (what a 2020 sentence, eh?!) James and Selen work together seamlessly having joined TwoScots within the same year as Resourcers and risen through the ranks in unison to Consultant and recently to Senior Consultant.

As our team expands throughout the new year, we want to really make an example of these two because honestly they’re a dream case of a recruitment career going off with a bang. Not only have they managed to gain two promotions in quick succession but they’ve carved out an entire department for themselves, taking ownership of and creating strong relationships with some of Australia’s most reputable businesses. But really, to see why they’ve done so well we need to get their opinions so I’ll hand you right on over.

On joining the team

Selen: We both came into TwoScots fresh but pretty differently, didn’t we? I came in from a retail management role rather than already having established a corporate background. I’d had a couple of promotions there too having come in as a Christmas casual before becoming the manager and hiring, training and running two teams.

James: Definitely different! I had been an Accounts Payable Officer but unfortunately was made redundant. Then when I was looking for new work and meeting with a number of recruiters myself one of them asked if it was a career path I’d ever considered.

I hadn’t but it got me thinking, researching and really interested. I was so excited for the opportunity with TwoScots when it came that I actually jumped in the air.

S: Same! I loved the development and support I could offer in my retail role and alongside studying for my HR degree, recruitment just made sense.

I just remember sitting in reception waiting for my interview and everyone who walked into the office had a smile. It was an amazing indicator of the culture and I loved it right away – I actually turned down another Recruitment job offer because I knew this was the team for me.

Starting out as a Resourcer

J: Being a resourcer gave me a really solid grounding for my career. It enabled me to focus on the candidates and work out what excelling with candidates really means both for myself, the job seeker, the client and the overall business.

It also instilled a sense of speed in me that is necessary to being a recruiter. We’ve got to find the right fit but as a temp staffing recruiter I need to make sure that I can get clients that person pretty quickly to fill their immediate needs. That’s also where the culture piece comes in, you could be the best person on paper but if you don’t fit the organisation’s culture then it won’t work for either party.

S: Being able to shadow more senior consultants was also a major learning of being a Resourcer. I thrive learning on the go and being able to watch different people and their styles enabled me to cherry pick skills and techniques to suit my personality and the situations I was in.

The most satisfying moment was probably when a senior colleague went on holiday and I needed to step up to cover for her. It was my first glimpse of moving from behind the curtains to centre stage and not only let me put what I’d learned to practical use but also let me prove my abilities to the senior team and to myself.

J: That moment when the consultants and my team could trust me to act alone is memorable for me too. Knowing that they would trust my judgement and let me start to take a little more control of my own projects was an indicator that I was about to be promoted to Consultant.

Promotion to Consultant

S: Moving from Resourcer to Consultant was like taking the training wheels off your bike. The safety net of responsibility is removed and you need to start managing roles completely, including any difficult conversations that need to be had as well as creating opportunities for yourself during quieter times – not forgetting the added pressure of hitting a monthly budget!

J: I also found the biggest step up to be managing both client and candidate expectations rather than just focusing on the candidate side. Honesty and openness are key when trying to juggle multiple, sometimes opposing priorities for different people.

The creation of opportunities is something I needed to get to grips with too. When I was first promoted it was a really busy period and I thought it was just fantastic – when there were tougher moments, I had an amazing team who kept my spirits up with encouragement and experience.

Those periods taught me patience plus the skills to hit the ground running on new jobs whilst offering an outstanding level of service. Those quiet times are also when I have learned the most about the market and have the time to establish new relationships and widen my scope. For me, those things are my biggest success – as well as running a marathon with my team!

S: Agreed on all of that – during the quieter or more difficult periods, especially in 2020, the structure of setting myself goals consistently really worked for me. It kept that fighting spirit going as well as the motivation of having achieved something.

I’ve loved the variety of challenges I’ve been able to set myself during my time at TwoScots. I’ve been part of running events; from getting people onboard as attendees through to networking with them at the actual event. My proudest moment was actually at a TwoScots event when a client specifically asked to speak to me for the first time. It was my first year at TwoScots and that’s when I knew things were starting to come together.

I’ve also enjoyed running wider initiatives such as our internal mentor program where myself and some other more experienced colleagues worked with junior recruiters in a structured weekly program. We’d run conversations and initiatives around different topics. It took me right back to why I wanted to come into recruitment as a Sales Manager with a team to run and hit targets with.

What’s next?

J: I think we’re both pretty keen to get into management. I certainly want to share my experiences and develop a team at some point. As well, of course, as working with clients to achieve results in the long-term.

S: I’d love to lead too, as you said. I’m also excited to continue other initiatives like running marketing sessions and the mentor program to really give myself a wealth of experience and opportunities for further growth.

J: In terms of Accounting Support as a business division, I think it’s going to be a flourishing market as businesses continue to change and adapt. In 2020 a lot was on hold and so now people are ready to move and do it quickly. Things that were earmarked for last year will be put into place now and businesses will need good staff to action that.

S: As well as the fact that many businesses will be building teams back up which were cut last year. It’s going to be a candidate’s market as a lot of jobs vacancies will starting appearing. When we joined TwoScots, Accounting Support was the biggest division. I’m really excited to see it grow again over the next few months – both in the external market and our own team.

The environment has also changed drastically. People expect flexibility and a division who always relied on documentation had to become paperless overnight. So businesses will be looking for people who are innovative, self-motivated and tech savvy.

We’re looking to grow our Accounting Support team as well as multiple other divisions throughout 2021. If you’d be interested in a career trajectory like Selen and James’, get in touch with Jeremy Cowan at [email protected] today!