Birthday Buzz !
We are a year old this week! That’s one year older than I thought we’d be. It’s been a bit of a breath taking 12 months preceded by 2 months of umming and aahing about whether to take the plunge; how I was going to take the plunge and if I did; what would be different about us? If I didn’t; would I always regret it ? And what the hell else would I do? Thank God I didn’t wait to see what happened with Br*x*t? (it feels like a swear word to me).
Well I did it, and thanks to the support of clients, candidates, @shakestudios, friends and family I can honestly say it’s the best decision I’ve ever made.
A year on and we are a team of 3 ( 8 if you count all the dogs, as they are very often under our desks or in my case, ON my desk #badgerpig). We have a small but loyal client base, and have helped over 70 people into new careers.
Still; in fact more than ever now, I get such a buzz from helping someone get a new job. In some cases, candidates come to us with low self confidence and a confusion about what path to take next. There is nothing better than helping someone to see their worth and then watch them get their dream job and come out the other side brimming with smiles and confidence. Sometimes we even get flowers and chocolates 😊.
The stories behind the placements:
Quite often in our industry; it’s all about KPIs, Revenue and “bums on seats” and people don’t hear about the stories behind each candidate and the huge changes that new jobs can bring to someone’s life. In our short time of being open we have had some really heart warming stories……
Vanessa wanted to move from Italy to the UK to be with her boyfriend – she was trying to find a role near him in Hampshire. Through her incredible customer service and languages skills we helped to secure her a role with a major cruise line just a few minutes walk from where he is. All within a week of registering with us. We love a love story!
Christian’s partner was due to have their first child and he really wanted a role that would allow him to work from home so that he could play a big part in their new family….we helped to secure him a home working role which he was overjoyed about! (He might regret that 😊 )
Lesley was aged 59 when we found her a new senior job in an industry that she had never stepped foot in before – we recognised that she had all the right, transferable skills and a personality that really fitted with the team. She loves it and they love her! She said she felt a total new lease of life.
Age has not been any barrier for our candidates, we have placed 4 people in their 60s since we have been open – we love this fact! We hope to double this at least next year.
Stuart was working night shifts but had recently been diagnosed with a condition that was hard to manage with his rota. He had exceptional customer service skills and we were thrilled to have been able to help him find a role doing what he loved with some normal hours – this was a game changer for him.
Silan came to us feeling low after receiving a couple of interview rejections. We could see the experience that she had to offer and after several conversations helping her with interview skills and building her confidence we were delighted that this week she was offered her dream role. There were tears 😊 She has her sparkle back.
We also placed a Vogue model into a reservations role for a tour operator …and the grass proved to be greener – she had always wanted to work in travel. Who wants to spend their days sidling up to the likes of David Beckham anyway !
We love giving back :
We have been in to talk to students at A level Colleges and Universities about the types of roles that are available in the Travel Industry and giving them individual advice on their CVs and interview tips. We love helping to educate the next generation and we get some great tips from them on what new app/social media site we need to be getting our heads around #tryingtobedownwiththekids
Next week we are spending a day with a local secondary school giving the Year 11s practise interviews to help build their confidence and get them thinking about this next stage in their lives. We’ll be kind 😊
We have also had some disasters, (been late and got lost for visits, typos on print work, chosen the wrong suppliers (EXPENSIVE MISTAKE), had jobs that we have really struggled to fill but I hope we have learnt from them all.
We do feel very lucky that the clients we work with have had faith in us, what with us being a new kid on the block, but I hope we have shown them that our enthusiasm, care, honesty, tenacity and persistence is at the heart of what we do and Louisa, Carol and I can’t wait for Year 2. I feel very lucky to work with the team that I do and the clients and candidates that we support.
2020 – Bring it On !