Abbie's MBA Journey
Looking to learn more about MBA? We thought who better to tell you than one of our key team members, Abbie!
Abbie's journey is quite unique and shows just how people can progress within MBA. Abbie joined MBA without any recruitment experience and over the past nearly four years has progressed to a senior position.
We'll let her tell you the rest...
What were you doing prior to your start at MBA?
After university I secured a place on a management graduate scheme with Abercrombie & Fitch where I trained as a store manager within a retail store in Liverpool.
Why'd you decide to join MBA?
I joined MBA because I was looking for a position that offered more reward and job satisfaction. I hadn't actually considered recruitment and knew very little about the industry, but after interviewing and learning more about MBA and the job, I realised it was an opportunity for me to apply the skills I'd learned from retail within an environment I could really make a difference.
What was your training process like?
My first few weeks at MBA consisted of side by side training with colleagues in my team to learn the basics of recruitment and also getting to know the client I was recruiting for. Being new to recruitment, it was really helpful to complete call listening sessions and to sit with other teams on different clients so I could observe the different recruitment styles and apply certain aspects of each to my own. The initial training was all reinforced with regular catch up sessions with my manager to discuss successes and any further learning opportunities.
Can you describe your MBA journey?
Since joining MBA I have progressed both personally and professionally. I spent my first 18 months working with one client and finding success in large recruitment campaigns and building my confidence in the market before moving onto another account and having to adapt to different processes and methods of recruitment. Being able to work on multiple accounts offers a nice variety to my role and has allowed me to challenge myself by taking on more senior roles to recruit and recruiting across different industries. As well as working for different clients, I have progressed from a Trainee Recruiter to a Senior Recruiter, which has enabled me to support with training of new members of the team.
What does your typical day as a Senior Recruiter look like?
A typical day of mine tends to start with the making of a game plan, focusing on the prioritisation of the roles I have against my name. After a recurring morning meeting with the team, I will go through each of my live adverts to review any new applications, contacting those suitable to complete screenings and prepping the CV's of candidates who meet the criteria. My position consists of a lot of stakeholder management, having regular communication with hiring managers to complete role briefings and for candidate submissions. Overall, my days really vary and I have to be both reactive and proactive and utilise my initiative in order to meet my client’s requirements.
What is the best part of your job?
The best part of my job is most definitely the reward of helping candidates gain employment. I love understanding each candidate’s situation and learning what the job in question means for them both personally and professionally. Over my 4 years with MBA, I have helped people in obtaining their very first role straight out of school, to people who are making a senior move in their career and those who are looking for that higher pay packet to support the growth of their families.
What is the worst part of your job?
One of the bad parts of working in recruitment is related to the fact that you have little control over the outcome of our work. Because the nature of the role is to work with various different people, whether that be client or candidate, there is often a level of uncertainty and environmental factors outside of our control. Therefore, you have to build a high level of resilience and feel comfortable accepting and learning from less desired outcomes.
What is the company and team culture like?
The culture of MBA is one factor that really drew me to the company from the beginning. MBA has that family feel, where we collaborate and value each other's opinions and working styles. It's the kind of culture where you get to build relationships with everyone, no matter their position within the business. The company is very value driven which gives us an authenticity within the market and across our clients which in turn builds trust and allows us to achieve success and results for our clients and ourselves personally.
