My Recruitment Journey

Sitting down today, 11 years on from my first day at Building Careers, putting pen to paper on this blog as we relaunch our website is the right moment to really share my career journey in recruitment and why Building Careers is the best company to work for.

I have been in recruitment since I was 20years of age. I started as a Resourcer working for a national PLC recruitment organisation, Hays, where I was mentored and managed by one of the best managers I’ve had the privilege to work for. She taught me all there is to know about recruitment whilst showing me what a great manager and leader looks like. You never forget your first great boss, and I believe that they shape where your career will go.

Over the next 12 years I progressed within that business and had some enjoyable roles, tough challenges and great rewards. I also saw the recruitment industry massively change and recession hit, which was a challenge both personally and in the industry. It had a major impact in the business, staff retention, and change in market sectors to name a few.

Fast forward to 2011 and I was returning from maternity leave, having had my son Owen. Owen became my motivation then, and he is now. My life changed and I needed to take stock of my family life and work balance. I was initially working four days a week, trying to get down Liverpool Dock Road to make it into work on time, panicking that I was going to be that one minute late! Rightly so, as working for a national PLC the rules were there for everyone and sometimes not that flexible for committed working mums. It was different then, but we wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Time moves on and life can change but my focus for Owen hasn’t. He has always been the priority for me and it’s so pleasing to see him working hard and doing what he loves; golf.

Owen is a keen golfer and he’s developed his game to a real standard where he could make it as a professional in the future. I’d love him to go to university and then pursue his golfing dream and travel the world. I do what I do to make that happen and give him the best chance of that.

Joining Building Careers took some time for me, but it was just the right opportunity and we’ve developed a great business. On several occasions I was approached, at that time by joint owners of Building Careers, Mark Harris and Carl Donegan, to go and work for them and head up their head office in Skelmersdale.

Initially this opportunity was very exciting and flattering, but also daunting and risky! After lots of thought and persuasion from Mark and Carl (even though they don’t want to admit it now) I joined Building Careers UK all those and here we are today.

I’ve seen the development of three offices in Manchester, Liverpool and Skelmersdale and while we took stock following COVID, consolidating to one main HQ in West Lancashire, we are now growing the business again with other divisions and regions.

Our headcount is now at a strong 40 and I am proud to say we have an amazing team of both support staff and experienced consultants across the North West region. I say to myself all the time that without this team we are nothing and I really do believe in that statement. We are where we are now due to the hard work, dedication, commitment of every single person in the team, new faces and old!

I have genuinely never looked back - I love my job and the team around me and I am excited to see what the future brings. So much has changed in the last 12 months with some positives and some challenges along the way. Working with different people who may have different ways of working and styles can be challenging but one thing for sure here is that we always stick to the goal and people are working hard for the betterment of the business, making it the success it is.

Debbie King and I have known each other for over 20 years and although we may bicker from time to time, we do it for the right reasons and always come back the central point – the business. It’s like a recruitment marriage!

Personally, away from recruitment, I have my own goals. I want to one day have a holiday home in the UK or abroad. I love getting away with the family and dog and chilling and taking time out. With ahigh-pressured role and a big team to manage, you need that time away to recharge and that’s important as it ensures the business gets the best version of me when I’m back managing.

Social Value and working in the community is a big part of who I am and our business recognises this. Being a Governor at school on Merseyside and being able to give something back, is something I enjoy and I’m 100% committed to. Also, I’ll be heading to Ghana and raising money for the building of schools over there in 2025. Social value matters tome and our business and I’ve taken up some new hobbies as I take some time to reflect and relax whilst raising money for the school through fairs.

So why work for BCUK?

To start off with, we have an excellent basic salary. It’s one of the best commission schemes in recruitment, with great holidays, extra benefits (healthcare, childcare vouchers) and a company car for senior recruiters!

Secondly, the flexibility to be my own boss and make my own decisions without having to get four hundred people to agree and sign off, whether business decisions or ones that affect my homelife. I have the work/life balance I craved when I joined all those years ago and I actually get to pick Owen up from school every Friday which is great – though I’m not sure if he will agree!

Incentives - where do I start? We have Quarterly Top Achievers Lunches at luxury  Liverpool and Manchester where we get to meet as a team and celebrate together over a few cocktails. The biggest incentive that I was lucky enough to go on was a long weekend at the Atlantis in Dubai – this was truly a holiday to remember. Bag shopping, dolphin watching, speed boats, afternoon tea at the Burj, desert safari. I felt like royalty for those four days. We’ve also had an incentive which saw the team yachting around the French Riviera!

But first and foremost – the reason I come to work every day is for this great team that supports each other through highs and lows – whether it’s celebrating with champagne on Friday or pushing for timesheets on Wednesday.

If you think this is something you want to be part of, please get in touch with me directly via Linkedin or Tamsin.marlowe@bcuk.co.uk or07725191229.

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