From Associate to Executive Vice President in 6 years

I joined Stanton House in 2013 as an Associate Consultant with no prior recruitment experience, just big ambitions to make my mark in the industry. As soon as I met the team, I knew this was the place for me. I’ve always believed that the people you work with, and the leaders you work for, are the most important factor when making decisions regarding your career, and the warmth and knowledge shared by the directors at Stanton House instantly made me feel like Stanton House was the place for me.

After working my way up through the ranks, taking on more responsibilities, and managing a couple of times in the London office, I was promoted to Executive Vice President and given the exciting opportunity to pick up sticks and move to Chicago to grow the business in a new market.

In just over three years we’ve built up the US side of the business, focusing on fostering a high-performance culture and living and breathing our values of Energy, Ambition, and Integrity. I’m sure I’m biased, but I believe we are building something very special in Chicago (and have now won numerous awards to back that up!)

Whilst’ it’s been an awesome journey, it has also been tough at times. The period of transitioning between the UK and the US was the hardest I’ve ever had to work as I was juggling managing two teams and my clients all whilst writing an 82-page business plan for the US embassy. We also had the inconvenience of a global pandemic about six months into setting up in the US. On the whole, it’s been the best thing I’ve done in my career, but not without its challenges!

So how did I get to where I am now?

I’ve gone from knowing nothing about recruitment to not only being a successful recruiter myself but also training many others to be successful recruiters. I would like to think I have strong knowledge in all areas of recruitment now and feel I’ve always been pushed to stand out from the crowd as a recruiter.

Aside from all the amazing, training and on-the-job experience, the mentorship and coaching I experienced over my years at Stanton House helped me become the leader I am today. You really can’t put a price on learning from other people's lived experiences.

L&D is key to finding your feet and exploring your strengths

When I joined, we had no structure in place (we were only 20 people then!) so it was mainly on-the-desk training and learning as you go. Now we have an amazing training program that includes one on one time with your manager and a lot of coaching. I’m very jealous of the structured L&D that new starters get now, and I’m confident I would have been a better recruiter quicker had I had the same!

For me, leadership training has been the most impactful area. I learned so much the year that I went through leadership training and lapped up every second of it. As someone who reads a lot about leadership in his spare time, it was great to get some hands-on training on how to apply what I’d been reading about for years.

If you’re interested in learning more about leadership, here are some recommendations:

-        Leaders eat last – Simon Sinek

-        Seven habits of highly effective people – Stephen Covey

-        Good to Great – Jim Collins

-        Leading – Alex Ferguson

-        Diary of a CEO podcast

-        High-performance podcast

‘I have always felt supported, challenged, and stretched to be the best I can be.’

I don’t take for granted the career opportunities I’ve had at Stanton House. Obviously, I’ve had to work hard along the way, but working in an environment that’s allowed me to progress from an entry-level grad to being on the board, I am hugely grateful for.

I’ve been fortunate to attend lots of quarterly winner’s lunches in both the UK and the US for my individual and managerial performances… a good excuse to eat and drink too much!

I was also able to attend the first annual winner's incentive trip to Palma which was awesome and probably my favorite (non-work) Stanton House memory. We also had an awesome time in Porto in 2022 which was equally as fun. Those trips always remind me how much I love the people I work with!

We’ve got a ton of incentives in the US and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed being a part of all of them. Whether it’s our high performers' trip to Europe or Vegas or our quarterly steak dinner, it’s great that we have an environment where we can all have fun outside of work together.

What top tips would you give to anyone wanting to accelerate their career in recruitment?

Be the hardest working person in your team/office/company. Take nothing for granted. Be grateful for every opportunity you are given and make sure you seize the opportunities when they come your way.

Take every interaction as a learning opportunity and get feedback wherever you can on how you can get better.

Don’t settle for mediocrity, BE EPIC.

To start your journey with us and to find out about the current opportunities we have available please contact Meg Appleby, at meg.appleby@stantonhouse.com, 0779 590 9781.