Researcher at Conway Consulting
BA American and Canadian Studies, 2017
What does your role involve?
I am a researcher for an executive search firm in London and primarily take on the research and business development aspects of executive search. I search for candidates using a variety of online platforms and reach out to them via email or LinkedIn messaging. I conduct talent mapping and market mapping exercises, predominantly for new clients, in order to find the best candidates and where to look for them for the specific roles. I am also involved in the business development for the company, working with my colleagues and MD to find new clients and roles. My role involves a lot of administrative tasks as well, such as scheduling of interviews and meetings and online administrative organisation.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
I have a lot of responsibility in my job and a lot of flexibility and independence over how I conduct it. I also work with a very small team (there are only 5 of us) and as a result we all get on really well and are able to work together productively and easily. My MD is increasingly giving me more responsibilities which means I am always busy, which I thrive on.
What’s most challenging?
Learning the specifics of the role and clients, as a lot of them are financial services roles with technical language and specifications. As a humanities student, I don’t have much knowledge of the specifics of the financial market and am still learning.
How did your time at Birmingham help prepare you for this role?
Having a research based degree helped immensely in providing me with the basics (eye for detail, perseverance, commitment, organisation etc.) that I use every day in my role. Additionally, the simple things such as time management and the ability to work independently on projects that I cultivated over my time at Birmingham are invaluable. My year abroad also gave me the confidence to talk to lots of new people on a regular basis, something I also do a lot of in this job.
What advice would you give to students interested in your industry or role?
To do your research on which type of recruitment you want to go into and what exactly the role you are applying for entails. Recruitment as an industry has a slightly negative reputation; if you want a more research based role with a focus on quality research and work over quantity of sales then I would recommend looking into executive search specifically.