I started as an Intern/ a Researcher on the Graduate Programme in the Financial Services practice immediately after my Bachelors at Warwick Business School – PageGroup has lived up to its FTSE status in providing me with the right training – on the job and off the job, in helping develop my career and providing me with the skill set required to progress. I was promoted in 3 months of starting to an Associate Consultant, working on relatively easy searches as I learnt my trade and won Rookie of the Year Award for my efforts in 2015! I was promoted again the same year to a Consultant and was on a mission to carve my niche in Financial Services. 2016 was an extremely challenging year for the region, especially in the Financial Services industry – but I’m still young so I put in the hours and finished #1 across our Michael Page brand in the Middle East and won the Consultant of the Year Award. I was then a Senior Consultant for over a year, and was recently promoted to a Managing Consultant! I have been recognised through nominations and awards multiple times through the years, have been to Jordan for having a great quarter, have been to Mauritius on our Annual High Flyers incentive, am off to Romania on my Birthday and that’s just since 2014! It’s been a great ride so far, and I could not have asked for more.
Why did you join PageGroup?
It’s fairly unconventional to get into recruitment straight after a Bachelors at a B-School – I think just 2 of our entire class did! It’s not really a career you go to University for, but fall into – I’m fairly extroverted and love interacting with people, and my role offers that. I saw an intellectual challenge in owning my market – knowing the products, keeping abreast with developments in the industry and the macro economy and engaging with key stakeholders in the industry and business – I didn’t really want to lose what I had studied at University and the role has allowed for that. It was also the career progression at a big brand which attracted me – PageGroup has certainly lived up to it! I’m unsure if there’s many careers out there which offer the right mix of interaction, intellectual & emotional stimulation, progression and stability in a truly multicultural environment – if I’m honest, I’m not sure I thought through it all in 2014, but it was possibly the best career decision for me.
What are your career aspirations with PageGroup?
As a business which is growing at all levels – my desk, the office, the region and around the world, there’s a lot of opportunity to further carve out a role for myself and progress. By 2020, I see myself managing a successful team at the Group and/ or starting a new practice and/ or a new geography – I’m not certain because there’s great opportunity wherever I look, and all options remain open, but I definitely see myself managing people & shaping successful careers the way mine has been shaped so far.
What is most rewarding about your job?
I love that there’s progression because I don’t see many careers offering that within region, and that’s really true for graduates in or from the Middle East – it’s a really common reason as to why people change jobs, and I know that because it’s my job to! More than the progression perhaps, is the transparency with which it operates – in the targets, in the work you do, in the recognition, in the feedback – I feel like I’m always learning, always growing, and working towards something; this keeps me motivated to in-turn work towards progressing. Not a bad cycle at all!
Do you have any advice to anybody thinking about joining PageGroup?
I had a really supportive group of University friends who saw me in a role such as this, but I also know that recruitment wasn’t really a career option at my University – all my friends were joining Investment Banks & Consultancies, so I can see why it can be difficult for most to herd away. I think it takes a bit of courage to look at options outside the conventional roles available after University – Banks, Consultancies, the Big Four – I think these are great options, but they aren’t for everyone, and not everyone wants them either. It’s important to think outside the box, recruitment or otherwise, but if you’re exploring a career in recruitment, it has to be with PageGroup. I believe we’ve got the best training in the industry and have had so for a while, we have a very youthful & fun work culture and are all really easy to get along with – you’ll l see when you meet us! We can offer a truly global career, complete with the right challenges and tools to come through.
