This month marks our 9th anniversary so we thought we would interview our Managing Director Siobhan Courtney to find out how she started a career in recruitment and how she has built a successful recruitment agency.
How many years have you been in recruitment? 22 years
What made you choose recruitment as your career path?
I was a prison officer at HMP Wormwood Scrubs at the time and has just completed my post graduate in business management, Badenoch & Clarke were advertising In the Guardian newspaper and I thought it was a HR job so I applied and miraculously got it.
What motivates you within the industry?
I genuinely still get giddy when I make a difference to someone’s lives by getting them a better or more highly paid job. I do a lot of senior placements and office opening for firms which I love as you can genuinely see (sounds a bit twee) but that I and my team have made a difference. As a business we love it when we get recommendations (which thankfully happens all of the time) from both candidates and clients as it shows we are doing the job properly and as the owner that makes me incredibly proud.
When did you decide you wanted to start your own business?
I set up Eventus Recruitment Group as I had worked and managed bigger and smaller recruitment firms and felt there was still a non-flexible attitude to work life balance so I wanted to encourage established recruiters to join an “adult” environment by working at home, I was clearly ahead of my time …..ha ha !!!
What has been your biggest success since launching Eventus Recruitment?
Developing the brand and being the ”go to” for many law firms as being a recruitment firm who they can trust and one that does the job with genuine integrity. Opening the Lancaster office for those that don’t want to be at home, opening the finance and HR divisions and having the 2nd cohort of the Graduate Trainee Scheme starting soon is another exciting phase. I am also immensely proud that we have provided a work place where people want to come to work rather than have to, that means a lot to me.
How do you think the industry has changed since the Coronavirus?
From a client’s perspective business relationships have proven to be paramount, there aren’t as many jobs out here and thankfully we have remained busy due to the existing relationships we have within our dedicated business groups. The more traditional firms and companies have definitely become and I believe will continue to become more flexible with their working patterns as they have seen that it does work, which in a world of such drastic change, as a result is definitely a good thing.
How is Eventus Recruitment adapting to Covid?
As mentioned we have always had a large flexible working from home bias so from that perspective it hasn’t changed. We are back in the office (for those that choose to be) and we are lucky that our office enables us to be able to adhere to the regulations easily. We are offering interviews and meetings by the usual alternative methods of zoom or in person covid adherence obvious) to suit each individual
What exciting plans lie ahead for Eventus?
So many, we are placing a larger emphasis on our locum division, myself and my Associate Director both come from locum backgrounds and we very much want to have a dedicated locum consultant to do this to build upon our already presence. We (as mentioned) are launching our next cohort of our graduate recruitment scheme later this quarter and I am concentrating purely on developing the South East further which I am incredibly excited about and as always we will continue to build up the team with the right people with the right ethics and integrity so we can very much continue to do what we do best.