Having undertaken a degree in Law and Marketing at Otago University, I realised that being a lawyer full time wasn’t for me. I got into legal recruitment as I felt that recruitment merged the sales and marketing side of what I studied with the practical knowledge of law that I learned all into one role, plus I felt the nature of the job suited my personality. Going out and meeting people and having a positive influence on their lives is what most excites me about the role as a Recruitment consultant.

My first role was with an Auckland-based agency back in 2014 as part of their sales, marketing and legal recruitment team. After doing this for a while, like a lot of Kiwis, I caught the travel bug, wanted to progress my career and work for the best at the same time. That’s where I found the opportunity with Robert Walters. The role came through a contact in the UK, and after a few Skype interviews, I was offered the job before leaving the country. I started out as a consultant in the in-house legal recruitment team, specialising in the commerce sector at our head office in London. Within eight months I was promoted to senior consultant and a year and a half later, I was promoted to manager where I stayed until I left the UK in February 2021. Robert Walters offered me the opportunity to become a sponsored employee in the United Kingdom, and although it was a tough decision to leave the team in London, the draw to come home was too strong.

I always kept in contact with the Robert Walters Auckland office while I was in the UK and when visiting NZ on holidays, so when the time came to return home, having those connections certainly helped with the transition. After chatting with a pair of directors in the Auckland offices prior to my move home, I was lucky enough to be offered a position as the manager of the legal and professional services team.

I think the best thing about being a recruitment consultant, and specifically a consultant for Robert Walters, is the fact that we have the opportunity to help people and have an impact on their career. It is such a unique industry that affords you the chance to interact with high level, senior people from such a range of industries and get to understand their businesses and structures. Obviously in my case, the opportunity to take my career across two countries is another highlight for working for a global organisation like Robert Walters.

The best advice I could give someone looking to build a career in recruitment is that while the core fundamentals of finding people jobs isn’t hard to grasp, having the emotional intelligence, knowledge and the ability to influence clients & candidates’ decisions is the part of the role that some people may need to develop over time. Taking time to understand emotions and feelings when talking to candidates and clients is critical, because in reality what we do can have a great impact on the life of the individual and the organisations that they go on to work for.