Recruitment With The Personal Touch

When it comes to business, you can’t beat experience and you also can’t beat the personal touch.

Merge those two huge benefits together and you have the perfect combination. And that’s particularly so when it comes to the business of recruitment.

Recruitment, of course, is a two-way street. There are businesses searching for someone special to fill a vacancy, and there are people who are looking to apply for a new job or perhaps want a fresh challenge.

It all sounds very simple, but in reality businesses often face a lottery when it comes to finding a suitable candidate in today’s job market. I’m sure that a lot of you reading this will have interviewed many people over the years, and felt that you had the ideal candidate sitting opposite you. Their CV was outstanding, a perfect fit. But actually, as soon as they

arrived to begin their new job, it was quickly evident that their ability to do a good interview was their one and only strong point.

Of course, it can be very similar for anyone who is looking to apply for a job. They may spot an advert, do a bit of research, and decide that they’ll go for it. It looks like their dream job, exactly what they’ve been searching for, although in reality they’re not 100 per cent certain what the company does, what their culture is like, or what the job really entails.

Wouldn’t it be handy if a business could rely on someone to do the leg work and find the ideal candidate? Conversely, it’d be great for a job seeker to be able to speak to someone frankly about a vacancy and quickly find out if they were suitable.

And THAT is where Bryony Gibson and her recruitment consultancy excels. Bryony has a core of businesses that she works very closely with. She also concentrates solely on the specialist field of public practice accountancy professionals.

With more than 20 years of recruitment experience, she has a personal background in legal and accountancy work (she studied law at university) and knows precisely what sort of person will fit a particular role. Crucially, she also knows what sort of person will fit the company that is looking to fill a vacancy.

“I work very closely with international, national and local accountancy firms and pride myself on being able to use my experience to find the right people for them.” said Bryony.

“Each of the firms are very different to work with. For example, they all might be looking to appoint a junior accountant or an experienced bookkeeper, but one single individual would not be suitable for every firm. That’s where experience and an understanding of the market is so important, and is appreciated by the companies. They know that I’ll not only find the right person who can be a success at the job, but they’ll also be someone who will fit in with that particular company’s ideology and principles.”

Bryony is also the ideal person to talk to if you are someone who is either looking for an accountancy-related role, or perhaps fancy a change. She will give you straight-talking, professional, friendly and confidential market, career and salary advice and, if you are not the right person for a job, rather than waste your time, she will be able to point you in the right direction.

As part of preparing a candidate to apply for a job, Bryony will also help with CVs, polish your interview techniques, and basically point you in the right direction. Something she also does as a volunteer with Founders4Schools, offering her time to coach and host mock interviews that help students to prepare for the transition from education into the workplace. She’s also involved with The Girls’ Network, acting as a mentor to 16-18 year-old girls who perhaps come from a disadvantaged background and just need some guidance and support.

Oh, and as we mentioned at the start, you’ll be getting the personal touch because Bryony is involved, personally, in every appointment.

“It’s about quality not quantity. I’m totally upfront and honest with every single client. It doesn’t matter whether I’m talking to one of the big four companies or to an individual person who is looking for a job. If I cannot find the right fit – a square peg in a square hole – I would not risk my reputation by recommending someone who wasn’t going to be suitable.

That said however, I’d never discourage someone from taking a risk and being ambitious. Especially if the person is seriously keen and seems like the sort of person who is keen to learn and can be moulded into a company’s way of doing things; so a good fit culturally.”

Reputation is something that Bryony has built-up over the years, so much so that the vast majority of her work comes from referrals or repeat business from trusted clients. In fact, if you know someone who really should be speaking to Bryony and they end up finding a successful position with one of her clients, you will be offered a £300 John Lewis gift card as a thank you, or the opportunity to donate the reward to Meningitis Now, Bryony Gibson Consulting’s nominated charity.

Bryony is based in Newcastle but travels widely across the region. You‘ll spot her out walking with the family Labrador, and she’s a regular visitor to the gym, taking part in spinning and Pilates classes, or running and swimming. She’s also a busy mum acting as the family taxi taking her son and daughter to various clubs and events. To say that the Gibson family has an active life is putting it very mildly indeed.

So, are you looking for someone to fill a vacancy at your accountancy practice? Or are you an accountancy professional who is ready for their next challenge?

We’d also point you in the direction of her excellent new website, www.bryonygibson.com. It’s a mine of useful information and has a list of current vacancies. Companies can register a vacancy and prospective candidates can upload their CV or sign up for job alerts. You’ll also be able to read about the latest news and trends within the accountancy world.

For recruitment with the personal touch, contact Bryony Gibson Consulting.