If you’ve chosen a career in recruitment, the question of ‘why?’ won’t be uncommon to you. My team and I get asked on a monthly if not weekly basis – what made us choose a career in the recruitment industry.

Ultimately working in recruitment is working in a high-pressured sales environment, but if you thrive on offering the highest level of customer service in an incredibly competitive industry then it’s the place for you.

You don’t have to be Einstein and you don’t have to have specific qualifications but you must be a people person in order to succeed and stand out from the crowd. You also have to be able to ‘sell’ people, not things. You’re selling their skills, experience and personality to your clients and ultimately, you’re making a fundamental difference to your candidate’s life in the process. For some candidates, you’re the vehicle to enable them to put food on their table and a roof over their head so it’s not something to take lightly. If you’re good at it then it’s an incredibly rewarding career choice as the progression and earning potential are endless.

The Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) launched a report earlier this year, in which they detail the value of the recruitment industry. They produced the report as a means of showcasing the role that the recruitment and staffing sector plays in delivering a prosperous UK, economic growth and opportunities for people. One of the goals of the report was to change attitudes towards recruiters and to demonstrate to those working in the recruitment industry that they should be proud of their contribution to the UK economy and society.

Adding Value

The key findings that came out of the REC Recruitment & Recovery report that highlight the importance of staffing agencies are as follows:

  • One in five (19%) of companies that use temporary workers say that they would not be able to operate at all without them, meaning that temporary recruitment agencies directly enable 3% of the economy, worth £61 billion in GDP
  • Every 21 seconds someone finds a new permanent role through a recruitment agency
  • Every year, over 300,000 unemployed people use a recruiter to find a permanent job, more than twice as many as those who go through the Job Centre
  • Recruiters have played a vital role in battling COVID-19, keeping vital services running
  • The pandemic has accelerated the rise of remote working, and more than a quarter (28%) of large businesses are looking to explore or continue hiring people who live far away from their office. Recruiters are helping to facilitate this remote working revolution, which could boost UK productivity by £9 billion
  • 77% of companies say that on average the workers that they have found through a recruitment agency are a good match
  • 62% of companies said that using an agency helped them increase the diversity of the candidates that they considered.

Why Athona

Athona was established in 2003 by Stewart London, who has worked in recruitment his whole career. His passion for finding solutions for clients and candidates alike and watching his own internal employees develop and thrive is a key motivating factor for his continued career in the staffing industry.

With over 100 employees, some of which have worked for Athona since the very start, we decided to ask, exactly what made our people choose a career in recruitment and what motivates them to continue making a difference to their clients and candidates.

The overwhelming sense that working in recruitment gives you a purpose and you can see the difference you make to a candidates’ life first hand is what the majority of our employees stated as making them proud to work in the industry. What makes them proud of working for Athona is that we do the right thing and never cut corners with our service.

We take our purpose of Affecting Futures very seriously at Athona. It’s not just the company ethos, it’s what we live by day in and day out. Put simply the healthcare professionals we place save lives and the education professionals we recruit change lives.

The company is large enough to make a profound difference to our clients and candidates with our reach and multiple service offerings, but we’re small enough that every employee feels like they are making a difference to the journey Athona is on. We promote from within and staff development is key to Athona’s success. We also think outside of the box, in order to get the right skillsets into the business. Almost 40% of our employees have been with the business for 5 years or more and that is testament to how well we look after our employees and how supported they feel by the leadership team.

Of course, recruitment businesses can’t be successful without their support staff’s input to the sales process from marketing to compliance, HR to finance, there’s an abundance of scope if you’re thinking about a career in the staffing industry. The support roles are very varied and need to meet the requirements of numerous stakeholders, which means that every day is different.

At Athona we are always on the lookout for new talent so if you think a career in recruitment is for you, or you’re already working in the industry and looking for your next move, then get in touch with us today. From resourcers to business development consultant, finance professionals to compliance team members, we are always keen to speak to individuals that want to make a difference to our clients and candidates and grow with us.

Want to become part of the Athona family? Take a look at our latest vacancies or email careers@athona.com to find out more.