Former digital designer Erin Kirtley stumbled into recruitment - even after encountering the bad and the ugly. As the regional manager of specialist recruitment consultancy Concept, Erin believes she represents 'the good' and is doing things differently to most.
How did your career begin?
After studying Interactive Media Design at Northumbria University, my first job was at fishing tackle manufacturer, Sonik Sports. I managed their website, social media and designed promotional material.
After a year, I decided to look at jobs in account management and approached several recruitment agencies for advice. Thankfully I came across Jo Carter, owner and founder of Concept Personnel. She helped me get the job as account manager at creative agency, Cargo Creative.
What was your view of recruitment back then?
Not great, I found most recruitment agencies I worked with didn’t have a clue about the industry; they didn’t make much effort to find the right fit, for me or the company and I felt pressured to attend interviews. I enjoyed working with Jo as she took the time to find out what I wanted, what I was good at and found me jobs to suit.
How did you get into recruitment?
After three years at Cargo, I needed a change. I spoke to a few people about opportunities and ended up chatting to Jo again; she was recruiting for a new consultant at Concept at the time. It was all a bit of an accident, but that’s how I stumbled into the sector back in 2015, with absolutely no experience of recruitment.
Why Concept?
I’d always got on with Jo and liked the way Concept did business; they knew what they were doing, and it was a completely different experience to using other recruiters. We pride ourselves on taking the time and trouble to understand candidates and the companies we work with to solve problems, instead of just getting bums on seats. We’re a specialist recruitment agency covering creative, digital and marketing jobs across the North East, Scotland and more recently from a new office in Milton Keynes, where Jo is now based.
How does Concept differ to other recruitment agencies?
Each of our recruitment consultants have experience of working within the creative, digital or marketing industry. We understand the creative process; the technical terminology and we know what kind of personality is best suited to the roles in which we recruit.
Another big difference is that none of our consultants work on a commission basis, we aren’t sales focused or driven by targets. Instead we aim to make long lasting placements that suit the needs of the candidate and the client.
Tell us about your current role and any challenges.
I have been regional manager of Concept since April last year, managing the team of four in Newcastle and overseeing recruitment within the North East and Scotland. The position is a mix of recruitment, management and business development.
The biggest challenge to date was probably the cultural shift when I took on my new role. Moving from a friend of my colleagues, to the boss took some adjusting. It’s my first management role, so has come with a bit of a learning curve. The team have been so supportive, we all work well together and having that longstanding relationship is really beneficial.
Tell us about the Newcastle team.
Steph has a history in PR and marketing and has been with Concept since 2008. She is an excellent recruiter, very thorough and genuinely cares about each client and candidate she deals with.
Lauren comes from a journalism and social media background; she had a little bit of recruitment experience before joining us last year and has gone from strength to strength. Demi joined us as an apprentice in 2016 and bowled us over with her ability. She has worked her way up to office manager and is en route to obtaining her AAT Advanced Diploma in Accounting.
More information: www.conceptpersonnel.co.uk