We recently chatted to our Recruitment Consultant, Jasmine, who has been with Scantec for just over six months. Here, she tells us how she’s been able to kickstart a career in recruitment with the help of the skills she gained in her previous role.
Hi Jasmine, thanks for chatting with us! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Of course! My name is Jasmine Badaei, I joined Scantec in early 2022. I am a Recruitment Consultant working on the MEP desk. MEP is mechanical, electrical and plumbing, but I work specifically with electrical clients and candidates.
What did you do before you joined Scantec?
Before joining Scantec, I worked for a company called Barbour ABI and that company operates in the construction industry. I was an Account Manager there, and that role taught me how to work with lots of different systems, as well as coming to understand the progress of how a build is managed, and a lot about the construction industry as a whole. I was responsible for speaking to everyone from project managers to electricians.
That sounds great! So there’s a lot of synergy between your previous role, and the candidates and clients you work with now.
Absolutely! I think that’s what Scantec liked when I interviewed with them. I was fully involved in the industry, so although I didn't have recruitment experience specifically, I had a lot of knowledge within the sector. It was a really useful role to have before I came to Scantec, to get used to the sector itself and who works within it, before learning how to become a recruiter.
Being an Account Manager, I also did new business tasks where I brought on new clients. This is the sales experience I had prior to working here, which have been the valuable transferable skills I had to be able to move into a recruitment role. I did a lot of upselling to existing clients, too, which is another thing we often need to learn how to do in recruitment - offer additional services to businesses we work with.
Do you feel those transferable skills have helped you?
Definitely! Talking with the people in the sector helped me understand how multifaceted it is, and ‘selling’ to our clients gave me the skills and confidence to be able to sell to clients and candidates as a recruiter. I need to be able to encourage our clients to see how we can help them from a recruitment perspective, and similarly show our candidates why the role I have for them would be perfect for them.
It would have been impossible for me to start a recruitment role here without my previous sales experience, but it’s definitely given me a headstart and helped me to grow within the role at Scantec.
What would you say is the most important skill you’ve developed that’s helped you in recruitment?
I’d probably say relationship building, and building a rapport with people. Account Management helped me learn how to do that because there’s a lot of customer service involved in the role. Now I’m in recruitment, it’s very similar - building relationships with candidates and clients is absolutely essential when it comes to recruitment. You can’t be successful without it.
With the candidates that I have now on my desk, for example, I’m checking in with them constantly. I’m talking to my current clients constantly, too. This is exactly what I was doing previously - a lot of what I did as an Account Manager, I now do as a recruitment consultant.
What’s different about your recruitment role in comparison to your last job?
Recruitment is definitely more fast-paced! I know we always see ‘fast-paced environment’ on job adverts, but working in recruitment definitely is that. You’re kept on your toes in recruitment, and you need to be able to take each day as it comes - clients can change their minds, candidates can change their minds - you just have to keep going with the ebbs and flows.
I could get a job that's for two weeks one day, then another that’s for six months the next. Previously, I could look at my accounts up until the end of the year, and know where I was up to. Yes, they may have changed, but I had a lot longer to turn things around. At Scantec, I’ve learnt that things change every day here! It’s definitely not a bad thing, I’m never bored.
What do you like the most about working at Scantec?
I like the buzz - the people here are great. You’re made to feel that every achievement, big or small, is incredible. Compared to what some people at the top are billing, what I am doing at the moment is quite small, but we are measured against our individual targets which makes it more fair. Everyone is so encouraging and congratulates you no matter how ‘big’ your billing is.
It’s also great in terms of career development - everyone’s offered a career path development plan. This is why I came to the company - in my previous role, there weren’t many progression opportunities. At Scantec, there are so many different paths you can take in terms of how you want your career to develop. Some people choose people management, others choose sales - no matter what you’re good at and what you want to do, if you’re interested in building a recruitment career, there are various ways to do it here.
Why do you think people should consider a recruitment job?
If you’re interested in a recruitment job but think it may be a little bit cut-throat - that’s what I’d heard beforehand - don’t let that sway your decision, it’s not like that everywhere and definitely not, here at Scantec. Go for it. You can build a really reputable and valuable career in recruitment, as long as you’re hard working and resilient. It’s so rewarding, I’d recommend it to anyone who’s considering it!
Develop your dream recruitment career at Scantec
Here at Scantec, we are passionate about finding and developing the best talent for our business.
If you’re new to recruitment, have transferable skills or you’re an experienced recruiter and want to learn about building a career with us, we want to hear from you. Find out more or contact Andrea Davison at andread@scantec.co.uk today.
