A Day in the Life of Ryan, Our Senior Recruitment Consultant

We spoke to Senior Recruitment Consultant, Ryan Mitchell about a day in his life at AKA Recruitment.

What is a Senior Recruitment Consultant?

I’m not sure there’s one way of putting it. A Recruitment Consultant is responsible for attracting candidates for jobs and matching them to temporary or permanent positions with client companies. I suppose being a Senior Recruitment Consultant means you have been in the role for a couple of years at a minimum and have a large client and candidate database and a good record of successfully placing candidates in complementing positions.

Why did you want to become a Senior Recruitment Consultant?

I actually fell into the role. I had no direct experience in recruitment before joining AKA Recruitment. I’d come from a background of customer service, retail and hospitality. Recruitment seemed like a new and interesting challenge and I’ve been able to use a lot of transferable skills from my previous work experience.

What advice would you give someone interested in a career in recruitment?

There’s no one way of getting started in recruitment. What’s more important is that you showcase your willingness to learn!

How have you progressed in the role?

Since beginning the role I have not only cultivated an understanding of an entirely new industry but I’ve also developed some key skills. On a typical day, a lot of things are happening – I’m alway kept on my toes! My organisational skills have definitely grown. My people skills have also developed as I have learned what different candidates and clients are looking for from me as a recruiter and adapted to meet their needs.

What are your core skills?

The non-negotiable skills needed in this role include account management, customer service and sales. An understanding of business development is also vital. There is, ofcourse, also a lot of general admin in the role.

How long have you worked at AKA Recruitment?

Three years and one month.

What makes AKA Recruitment a great place to work? Why is it different?

AKA Recruitment is a really great environment to work in. All of my colleagues are really down to earth and friendly. It makes such a difference being able to walk into a nice place for work everyday. What makes AKA Recruitment stand out is the value they place on personability – they get to know you as a person and are very flexible in helping you to do your best work. This extends to the way we work with clients and candidates, it’s so important to develop a relationship so that we can see exactly what it is we can do to help.

Can you describe a typical day in the office?

Honestly…no! So much happens spontaneously and it’s all about working flexibly to adapt. Usually the day starts with catching up with any messages or missed phone calls and then touching base with candidates booked in to interview and wishing them luck! Next I work with clients, working on building relationships, gauging vacancy updates and business development. Around lunchtime I’ll catch up on admin and follow up on leads. I’ll prioritise any roles needed for candidate sourcing. I end the day with candidate resourcing – preparing candidates for interviews and following up on feedback from interviews and application.

What projects are you most proud of?

I’m most proud of bringing four large automotive candidates to AKA Recruitment. It was the culmination of building an understanding of how different automotive companies work and relationships with HR and operations management teams.

What does the future hold for the world of Automotive recruitment?

The future will be challenging. The automotive industry has changed massively because of the impact of Covid-19 and the consequent economic changes. Working packages are changing as employers understand that people are wanting more of a work life balance.

The production of vehicles has been hugely affected leading to the prices of products increasing. All of our clients are busy but it’s good to hear when they are thriving after a turbulent 2020/21.

What exciting things are on the horizon for AKA Recruitment?

Expansion. Our industrial side has expanded a great deal and we are continuing to expand in the automotive and commercial sectors. We now have a very stable team and it will be great to see this extend in the coming months. AKA Recruitment are now a well established company in the Yorkshire region and I’m looking forward to seeing us cement ourselves in the North West.