From IT consultancy to recruitment

Madhuri Srinivasa

After relocating from Bangalore to Tokyo with her husband, IT consultant Madhuri Srinivasa found herself looking for work in a completely new city and culture. Not long after arriving in Japan, however, Madhuri joined Robert Walters — and in the process, discovered a whole new world that combined her specialist IT experience with the exciting challenges and opportunities of a career in recruitment. We caught up with Madhuri, now a consultant in our Tokyo office, to learn more about her move into recruitment and why it could be the right move for you.

What were you doing before you moved to Tokyo?

I was working client-side for an IT consultancy in India, managing IT projects on behalf of a major international consumer goods company. It was a great role, as I had to have really strong communication skills to work with clients to understand their requirements, but I also had to have the technical knowledge to relay that information to our team of developers.

What made you want to make the move into recruitment?

I hadn’t really planned to work in recruitment — it wasn’t an industry I was familiar with back in India, so it wasn’t until after we’d moved to Japan that my husband heard about Robert Walters and recommended I look into it. Once I started reading about recruitment, though, I felt like it was something I should have been doing all along.

In a lot of ways, the basic concept of recruitment was like my previous job — talking to clients to understand their requirements, then working to deliver a solution that works for them. I had always enjoyed working with clients, but what really excited me was the opportunity to work with candidates, as well.

What sort of things do you do as a recruiter?

It’s a really varied role, so while there isn’t really a ‘typical’ working day, the core of my role is all about building and maintaining relationships. On any given day, I could be catching up with clients to be briefed on a new vacancy they need filled, researching potential candidates, or even introducing a candidate to a client. Either way, I think it’s important to go out and meet people face-to-face, rather than just speaking to them on the phone — I think it really helps build their trust in me.

What do you like best about your job?

It’s exciting work. Even though the recruitment process loosely follows a cycle, every scenario is unique — there’s always a new challenge to solve. You’re working with different companies and different candidates, and they’re all looking for something specific. For clients, I need to understand what type of person and what kind of skillset they need, and for candidates, I have to understand not just their salary expectations, but what they’re looking for in their next career move. It’s exciting to figure out how to manage each situation so that everyone is satisfied.

How has your career progressed since joining Robert Walters?

When I joined as an associate in January 2017, I was given a lot of support. There were a lot of great training opportunities — I learned all about recruitment and helped develop my soft skills — but I also had the support of my senior colleagues, who helped me settle in, meet clients and build my portfolio.

A little less than two years after joining, I was promoted to consultant. It’s been a rewarding experience because the time I spent building relationships with clients as an associate means that they now come directly to me, because they trust me to find the best person for the job.

What advice would you give to someone considering a move into recruitment?

If you enjoy working with clients and want to use your communication skills to help people find a better job, this is the right place to be. Your technical knowledge will be a huge advantage, too — it will help you better read and interpret job descriptions, but most importantly, it will help you speak to clients and candidates in a way that reassures them that you understand, at a detailed level, what a particular job entails and what a candidate will need to be successful in the role.

How would you describe the culture at Robert Walters?

One of the biggest reasons I joined was the people. It’s such an international team, and everyone is so friendly and professional. And, because of our team-based work culture, you’ve got a great support network — everyone really wants you to succeed, and they celebrate your successes, too. For example, last year I received the IT Director’s Choice Award; I was, of course, very surprised and honoured, as I had only been in recruitment for two years but was already being recognised for my work. That’s why, if you’re new to recruitment or you think that it’s something you might want to do, Robert Walters is the right company to be in.

 

Interested in a career in recruitment? View and apply for our latest jobs today.

Stories from
our people

»