Niamh's Blog - Life as a Recruitment Consultant at Nigel Wright Group
We are always looking for people from any industry and level, whether experienced recruiters or not, to join our growing team in the North of England. However, it is a common misconception that people believe they need to have experience in recruitment to join our team.
Our Managing Consultant Niamh Hodge has been promoted twice in just over a year and her career story with us will prove that you don't have to have any prior recruitment experience to have a successful career in recruitment.
What did you do before joining Nigel Wright Group?
I studied Modern Foreign Languages at Westminster University before moving to Newcastle. Between graduating and starting at Nigel Wright, I developed into a management position in the hospitality industry. I learnt that I really enjoyed managing people and leading teams whilst also balancing the running of a business/P&L management. I also knew that I worked well under pressure and was able to prioritise and delegate calmly and effectively. This leant itself well to working in a busy recruitment role, as it can be fast-paced and demanding at times which requires an aptitude for keeping calm under pressure!
How has working for Nigel Wright Group helped you in your career development?
I joined Nigel Wright just under five years ago and my own personal development has been a consistent focus since the day I started. As somebody starting in a recruitment role for the first time, it was super important to me that I was supported by in-depth training both on the job and from a theoretical perspective. I enjoyed that my progression path was clear from the off and I knew what I had to do (with support from my manager) to get there! Almost five years on, I’m now embarking on my own management journey in line with my own career goals which has been incredibly rewarding. I’m now super excited to be able to have the opportunity to grow and develop my own team and support them to achieve the goals they’ve set out for themselves.
What’s been one of your proudest moments working at Nigel Wright Group?
If you’d asked me when I joined what I was hoping to achieve from a career with Nigel Wright, I would have told you it was progression, development and to one day be able to develop my very own team of people! I joined as a Consultant in 2019 with no recruitment experience and I’ve recently been promoted to Managing Consultant, a huge career milestone for me within my first five years. I’m proud of what I’ve managed to achieve thus far and grateful to Nigel Wright and my line manager Charlotte Owen for steering and championing me along the way.
What would your advice be to anyone looking to join us?
A role in recruitment is what you make of it, and if you’re prepared to work hard and keep going when the going gets tough you’ll be on the right track to making a success of it. If you haven’t worked in recruitment before, you might be wondering what on earth we do every day! I’d advise you to get in touch and ask questions/explore what a recruitment role at Nigel Wright really entails because it might not be quite as you think. If you’re considering a career in recruitment for the first time, I can speak from experience when I say the training and development offering is excellent and sets you up to succeed if you’re ready to challenge yourself! I’d also say, you’d be joining a fantastic group of people (if I do say so myself…) who only aim to encourage and support one another which is something I feel makes us special.
What inspires you on a daily basis?
I feel most inspired by our values as they very much align with my own set of values in life! As a keen sportswoman, passion for winning and teamwork are definitely two of my key drivers, on and off the netball court! In my opinion, there’s no better feeling than knowing you’ve not only got the job done, but you’ve done it with integrity and to the best of your ability. Things don’t always go the way you’d imagined in the world of recruitment – people are unpredictable by nature, which is why there has to be a human element to a recruitment process. If I’m having a difficult day, resetting myself and bringing it back to our core values inspires me to do the right thing, keep going and deliver service excellence!
Interested in joining our team?
If you’re interested in becoming a Recruitment Consultant, we’d love to speak to you. Nigel Wright has been the preferred talent partner across the North of England for the last 30 years and we are currently looking for Recruitment Consultants to join our team. Find out more about us by visiting our careers microsite and visiting our internal vacancies page to apply for one of our roles.