The Recruitment Mentors Podcast

On this episode I’m joined by Kieran Kenny, founder of Zelus Recruitment.This episode is slightly unconventional, as he’s one of the few recruitment business owners that I’ve had on the podcast who has a) set up very young and b) set up with less than two years’ experience under his belt! These types of episodes are always incredibly interesting, especially for the audience who are aspiring entrepreneurs, as you may see a lot of similarities with yourself in comparison to Kieran.For recruiters who are wanting to learn more about the art of relationship building and creating a process, this one’s for you.For the junior consultants out there, this is an excellent podcast to learn more about a young entrepreneur who may have less experience than you currently do, but can add an exponential amount of value.You can connect with Kieran on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kieran-kenny-75908876/Timestamps:How did you get into recruitment? [0:36]Where did that confidence come from? [5:19]Setting up on your own [8:59]How did it feel? [11:31]Business development strategy for Germany [14:54]What made you push through the hard times?  [15:55]How did it feel to do your first deal? [17:21]What’s your personal network like? [18:27]Social life and work [19:49]What changes did you make to push on? [20:55]BD with a purpose [25:35]How did you learn about your USP and your market? [27:09]Learnings [33:10]Difference between headhunter and recruitment consultant [36:19]How were you before Covid-19? [37:31]Post Covid-19 [41:16]The importance of good foundations [42:42]What do you deem as success? [48:50]What’s your mindset going into year 2? [52:38]What would you say to the people? [53:52]I hope you enjoyed the episode, the best place to connect with me is on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hishemazzouz/If you would love me to cover certain topics with future guests please drop me a message. Finally, if you have been enjoying the podcast and you have two minutes then it would be greatly appreciated if you could leave a review. Simply it will enable me to reach more people with the podcast, you can easily leave a review with the following link - https://ratethispodcast.com/rollercoaster 🙌

On this episode I’m joined by Chris Bennett from Evolution Recruitment Solutions.After 2 years initially working within Oil and Gas recruitment, Chris joined Evolution Recruitment Solutions.He started to carve out a new patch within technology, and now works specifically within the nordic markets, with 5 direct reports.This is an excellent podcast for those who are wanting to learn more about cold business and how to grow out a patch, particularly if cold calls aren’t your strongest point. Chris talks about this in a lot of depth as well as the basics of recruitment and how he has developed as a manager.You can connect with Chris on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-bennett-12705285/Timestamps:How did you enter recruitment? [0:45]First role in recruitment [3:20]How would you summarise your first 18 months? [4:54]Evolution and what it is like [5:57]How did you grow a new patch? [8:58]Building out a candidate network [12:00]How did you approach that meetup? [14:26]Blogging your event [17:28]How long did it take to bring on clients? [18:41]How did you push through the tough times? [21:28]Year one [25:40]How did you plan to expand the patch further? [26:24]Year 2 [28:52]What did you double down on to get to a 10k milestone? [30:00]Why did you start focusing on a new patch? [32:28]How long have you been building the team for? [35:40]What were your best methods of getting new clients? [37:25]Effective introductions [41:30]Where do you see recruiters go wrong with BD? [43:10]Management [45:19]Understanding overseas recruitment [51:39]How have you changed your approach during Covid-19? [55:24]Articles and marketing [57:06]What advice would you give to yourself knowing what you know now? [1:00:19]How do you see things changing in the next 6-12 months? [1:02:00]I hope you enjoyed the episode, the best place to connect with me is on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hishemazzouz/If you would love me to cover certain topics with future guests please drop me a message. Finally, if you have been enjoying the podcast and you have two minutes then it would be greatly appreciated if you could leave a review. Simply it will enable me to reach more people with the podcast, you can easily leave a review with the following link - https://ratethispodcast.com/rollercoaster 🙌

Wow, what an amazing milestone. 200 episodes of The Recruitment Rollercoaster Podcast.A huge thank you from me for supporting and listening to this podcast.A massive thank you to each every one of the guests who have been part of the podcast so far.I'm so grateful for all of you giving me your time and tuning into the podcast each week it honestly means a lot.I have some exciting announcements to share with you all in the coming weeks so please do keep your ears and eyes peeled.Again just a HUGE thank you from me

On this episode I’m joined by Andy Morrell, CEO of Oscar.He was originally brought into the business thirteen years ago, and sought out to transform the way that they operated overall. This is an excellent episode as we dive into a lot of interesting topics, the most notable being scaling internally as well as creating a culture of trust. It was really insightful and I loved picking Andy’s brains, especially when it came to “top billers” and how he managed them.For recruiters who are wanting to learn more creating a culture of trust, this one’s for you.For the junior consultants out there, this is an excellent podcast to learn more about the inner workings of a recruitment business!You can connect with Andy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itandoilandgasrecruitment/Timestamps:What did the business look like? [2:33]First few years in the role [7:42]What was the long term vision? [11:18]What did you focus on implementing? [15:09]Graduates [19:00]Where was the business 5 years ago? [22:21]Sustainability and eliminating oil and gas [29:23]How have you got better at hiring and hiring triggers? [32:38]What makes a role model? [34:06]Strong female role models [38:52]What key things have you had to do as a leader that has had an impact? [44:07]What has the business done to impact the retention of staff [49:42]How did you cultivate a culture that acknowledges mental health? [56:23]How did you get people to open up? [58:47]How have you opened that conversation with people? [1:02:20]What do you think is going to happen over the next 6-12 months in the industry? [1:05:23]What would you say to the people? [1:09:51]I hope you enjoyed the episode, the best place to connect with me is on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hishemazzouz/If you would love me to cover certain topics with future guests please drop me a message. Finally, if you have been enjoying the podcast and you have two minutes then it would be greatly appreciated if you could leave a review. Simply it will enable me to reach more people with the podcast, you can easily leave a review with the following link - https://ratethispodcast.com/rollercoaster 🙌

On this episode I’m joined by Laura Briggs, founder of Laura Briggs Recruitment. I was buzzing to hear her story and talk about all things recruitment, marketing and Covid-19.Three key things that we expanded on during this episode.If you’re a recruiter who is still apprehensive about personal branding and marketing, I urge you to give this episode a listen.If you’re a recruiter who wants to learn about value proposition and how to generate inbound enquiries, this is also an episode for you.I think you’re all going to love this one.You can connect with Laura on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurabriggsrecruitment/Timestamps:How did you get into recruitment? [0:57]Why did people think that you couldn’t do it? [1:58]Changing career at 27 [2:43]Joining Reed - perceptions [4:29]Why couldn’t you pick up the phone? [7:28]How did you build the desk from scratch? [9:28]What was your time frame to be successful? [11:20]Why were you picked to do that market? [12:28]Where did your entrepreneurial spirit come from? [13:37]How long did it take you to make your first placement? [17:10]How was it not being held accountable? [18:16]What made you start to think more about the business strategy? [20:44]What were your long term goals? [22:29]Which resources did you use? [23:48]How did your brand help you? [25:52]Since investing in your brand, what are you surprised by? [29:47]How have you dealt with negativity online? [31:08]How do you split your week? [33:19]Covid-19 [34:39]Have you made time to invest in yourself? [38:44]How do you view the next 6-12 months? [42:11]How do you celebrate and who do you celebrate with? [44:48]What are your thoughts on the future of recruitment? [48:14]What would you say to the people? [50:43]I hope you enjoyed the episode, the best place to connect with me is on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hishemazzouz/If you would love me to cover certain topics with future guests please drop me a message. Finally, if you have been enjoying the podcast and you have two minutes then it would be greatly appreciated if you could leave a review. Simply it will enable me to reach more people with the podcast, you can easily leave a review with the following link - https://ratethispodcast.com/rollercoaster 🙌

On this episode I’m joined by Ephram Stephenson, owner of Kona & Co and former owner and founder of Building Careers Australia. Ephram’s story is one that’s incredibly interesting, as he was able to build and scale a business as an expat, with very little recruitment experience initially. We dive into a lot of topics on this episode, inclusive of hiring, expanding internationally as well as exiting Building Careers Australia and what that was like.For recruiters who are wanting to learn more about the Australian recruitment market, this one’s for you.For the junior consultants out there, this is an excellent podcast to learn more about mindset as well as interesting processes to qualify your candidates thoroughly.You can connect with Ephram on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ephramstephenson/Timestamps:How did you get into recruitment? [1:09]How did you get so much success? [2:48]What did the Australian recruitment landscape look like? [3:54]Starting from the beginning… [5:56]The financial crash [11:55]Core processes that were put in place by an ops manager [15:52]Difficulty letting go of the reigns [18:05]Key things that your ops manager did to make an impact [20:48]Training and development [21:27]Implementing technology [23:38]Why does training impact profit? [27:28]Incentivising consultants [31:40]Transforming digitally [34:20]Exiting the business [35:48]Private investor [38:43]How did you phase out? [41:07]How did you feel? [42:31]What did you do on your time off? [44:17]What did you implement in your new business that you’d learnt from the last 15 years? [49:22]Future of recruitment in Australia [52:34]Parting words [55:28]I hope you enjoyed the episode, the best place to connect with me is on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hishemazzouz/If you would love me to cover certain topics with future guests please drop me a message. Finally, if you have been enjoying the podcast and you have two minutes then it would be greatly appreciated if you could leave a review. Simply it will enable me to reach more people with the podcast, you can easily leave a review with the following link - https://ratethispodcast.com/rollercoaster 🙌

On this episode I’m joined by Michelle Flynn, from Michelle Flynn Coaching.She has a vast background in recruitment, working at the infamous SThree group at Computer Futures.Today, she works as a coach - after her own difficult experiences when it came to mental and physical health in the workplace.This is a slightly different episode, but within it there’s a ton of key takeaways and points that I think will resonate with many listeners of the podcast.We chat on this episode about stress, diet and exercise, as well as being able to talk openly about mental health, too.For the junior consultants out there, this is an excellent podcast to educate yourself on burnout and how to communicate your stresses within the workplace.You can connect with Michelle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelleflynn/TimestampsSThree [1:53]What made the ingredients of their culture? [4:46]Mental health during your twenties [6:13]Diet and exercise [10:30]Health and wellbeing [14:35]Working with a health coach [17:50]Relationship with stress and how it impacts the body [20:30]What should our relationship be like with stress? [25:38]Rock bottom and how to prevent it [28:49]The value of exercise [33:52]Breathing [35:39]Calm list [37:52]Advice so people can cope better with mental challenges [39:26]How can people communicate openly in the workplace? [43:59]Parting words of advice [48:12]I hope you enjoyed the episode, the best place to connect with me is on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hishemazzouz/If you would love me to cover certain topics with future guests please drop me a message. Finally, if you have been enjoying the podcast and you have two minutes then it would be greatly appreciated if you could leave a review. Simply it will enable me to reach more people with the podcast, you can easily leave a review with the following link - https://ratethispodcast.com/rollercoaster 🙌

This week I’m joined by Ashley Lawrence, owner and Founder of Trinnovo Group, which contains three brands that operate across technology, life sciences and financial services. He started his recruitment journey working for the infamous SThree group, and from there set out to grow a number of successful recruitment brands. Hearing Ashley’s journey was brilliant, but more importantly this episode focuses heavily on building a sustainable and attractive culture, as well as Ashley highlighting the key hires that he would make if he did it all again.For recruiters who are wanting to learn more about growing a sustainable culture, this one’s for you.For the junior consultants out there, this is an excellent podcast to learn more about innovation and how important it is to work for a company that supports this.You can connect with Ashley on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleylawrencecrg/Timestamps:Journey in recruitment [1:40]Opinion of SThree culture [2:15]The CEO of SThree [9:38]Growing recruitment businesses [13:15]How much did it help having a network of recruiters when you started each business?[15:56]The importance of having a plan [19:24]What’s a typical day for you? [21:27]How has it helped you have a competitive advantage? [25:36]Putting the importance on values [28:13]Who would be your first three hires? [30:26]Psychometric testing [37:13]How have you ensured that you have a purpose? [42:20]Common traits that left you confident to be part of their journey [47:33]What have been the biggest factors to your success so far? [52:14]Covid-19 [56:01]How has investment in your culture helped you achieve? [1:00:01]What do you think will be the biggest shift in the industry? [1:02:16]I hope you enjoyed the episode, the best place to connect with me is on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hishemazzouz/If you would love me to cover certain topics with future guests please drop me a message. Finally, if you have been enjoying the podcast and you have two minutes then it would be greatly appreciated if you could leave a review. Simply it will enable me to reach more people with the podcast, you can easily leave a review with the following link - https://ratethispodcast.com/rollercoaster 🙌

Claim your Hunted profile today with your exclusive and amazing offer which is only valid for Recruitment Rollercoaster Listeners!Use the code - ROLLERCOASTER25 to get a HUGE 25% off all of Hunted's annual subscriptions.https://portal.hunted.comIf you're a recruiter then make sure you set yourself up a profile on https://www.hunted.com/ to get access to the best companies in the industry.This week I’m joined by Mark Neilan, Investor and former Owner of Finlay James Recruitment.He spent just over 13 years at Finlay James, and was employee number 4 when the business was created. We spend this episode talking about his professional journey as well as his personal struggles when he left the business a few years ago. For recruiters who are wanting to learn more about building a successful business which would look attractive to investors, this one’s for you.For the junior consultants out there, this is an excellent podcast to learn more about the investment world and the importance of the processes within a recruitment company.You can connect with Mark on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itsalesrecruitment/Timestamps:Get off the beach! [1:39]How did you enter recruitment? [3:59]Finlay James [6:20]Biggest learnings at Finlay James [10:36]Did you get any advice when you were growing? [11:51]How did you lead a business? [13:53]How long has it been since you left? [17:34]First year out after 13 years in [18:15]How did you keep your head above water? [21:02]Investing in recruitment companies [25:30]What qualities do you look for when investing? [26:58]What prevents people from taking the leap? [33:50]What makes markets and areas attractive? [36:47]How important is it for recruiters to have a solid business plan? [43:34]What've been the common things you’ve seen that have helped people grow quicker? [46:07]Non-negotiables that you need to invest in [51:55]How involved do you get with your investees? [57:43]What’s your idea of a recruitment company that is successful turnover/profit wise? [59:38]Words for people who are fearful of starting on their own [1:02:40]What would you say to the people? [1:03:11]I hope you enjoyed the episode, the best place to connect with me is on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hishemazzouz/If you would love me to cover certain topics with future guests please drop me a message. Finally, if you have been enjoying the podcast and you have two minutes then it would be greatly appreciated if you could leave a review. Simply it will enable me to reach more people with the podcast, you can easily leave a review with the following link - https://ratethispodcast.com/rollercoaster 🙌

Claim your Hunted profile today with your exclusive and amazing offer which is only valid for Recruitment Rollercoaster Listeners!Use the code - ROLLERCOASTER25 to get a HUGE 25% off all of Hunted's annual subscriptions.https://portal.hunted.comIf you're a recruiter then make sure you set yourself up a profile on https://www.hunted.com/ to get access to the best companies in the industry.On this episode I’m joined by Adam Richardson, Founder of Strive Sales.His journey is one that is unique, as he left recruitment for just under four years to try a new business venture, before diving back into the world of recruitment and setting up his own company. This episode is an interesting one as we cover a lot of topics.Getting investment, building out internal processes as well as how to nurture a sustainable recruitment business. It’s one of the few episodes of this podcast where we go into detail about the importance of having an Operations Manager, something which is clearly crucial when growing a recruitment company.For recruiters who are wanting to learn more about growing a recruitment business and picking the right investor, this one’s for you.For the junior consultants out there, this is an excellent podcast to learn more about the inner workings of smaller recruitment businesses, as well as some BD tips to help you diversify your approach in this “new world” we are now in.You can connect with Adam on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-richardson-687b48112/Timestamps:How did you get into recruitment? [2:22]How much has it helped being in business with someone you trust? [6:00]Experience in your first recruitment role [7:09]How did you achieve what you did? [9:52]Best piece of advice you received during that time? [11:43]First business venture [14:50]Where did the fearlessness come from? [17:31]How did you cope with selling a business to then going back into recruitment? [21:02]What happened in that first year that you didn’t expect? [23:30]How can hosting an event make me money? [25:34]What was the set up at Insight? How did you get people to join? [30:22]Strive recruitment [33:08]What’s involved in scaling a business? [39:22]Investing in recruitment businesses [45:39]Holding yourself accountable [48:21]What other decisions have you made that you think were influenced by your investors? [51:51]How can you have an L&D program in a small business? [54:44]How do you deliver training, development and progressing your consultants? [57:45]Biggest challenges [1:00:07]Hardest decisions in the last 12 weeks? [1:02:16]Your journey with business development [1:03:32]What does the future look like for you? [1:05:53]What are you most excited for? [1:10:42]What would you say to the people?[1:11:38]I hope you enjoyed the episode, the best place to connect with me is on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hishemazzouz/If you would love me to cover certain topics with future guests please drop me a message. Finally, if you have been enjoying the podcast and you have two minutes then it would be greatly appreciated if you could leave a review. Simply it will enable me to reach more people with the podcast, you can easily leave a review with the following link - https://ratethispodcast.com/rollercoaster 🙌