As Oyster Partnership gears up to hire the first Academy of 2021, we caught up with Head of People, Hannah Clarke to find out what she’s looking for in the next round of recruitment and how to shine in your interview.
It’s exciting times at Oyster, what does 2021 have in store?
We’re fortunate to be in a position to be able to move forward with our first Academy of 2021 and we’ll be looking for 10 individuals to join the temp team towards the end of April.
As well as having ambitious hiring plans for the year, we’re looking to open new divisions and move offices in the Autumn.
It’s going to be a busy year!
Let’s talk about the Academy for Trainee’s… what should potential hires expect?
The Academy, as it’s fondly called, is our training programme and it’s something we are all very proud of. It has been created internally and it is delivered by the Management Team.
The Academy lasts twelve weeks, starting from the first day of employment. It’s interactive, informative, and a lot of fun.
Without giving too much away, trainees should expect to be involved in role plays, presentations, and open forums; it’s definitely not a ‘sit down and listen to us’ type of programme.
As well as being taught how to recruit, we also have a great session on mindset and the importance of your personal brand. The training programme has been designed in order to allow individuals to get to know everyone in the business whilst learning from each other and having the support and guidance from the Managers.
What’s a misconception that Trainee’s have about the recruitment industry?
In my opinion, Trainee’s think the job itself is a lot easier than what it is and with that, they expect to be earning commission quicker than they do in reality.
We’ve always been very honest about our expectations regarding this at the interview stage. It takes time to build your brand in the industry, in fact, I think it’s fair to say that it takes years. ‘Quick wins’ might be ok in the short term, but if you’re looking for a successful career with longevity, solid relationships with clients and candidates take time.
You’ve just started the hiring process for the April 2021 Academy. What attributes are you looking for?
We’re proud that we don’t have any barriers to entry (for example we don’t require a degree or a certain amount of sales experience) we’re more interested in someone’s attitude and their ‘why’.
We look for people who want to learn, will listen, and who will understand that this isn’t going to be easy, but they are willing to work hard non the less.
What makes a candidate stand out?
Someone who has done their research. Anyone who knows me knows that it is one of my pet peeves when I interview someone and they haven’t done their research.
We’re hiring Trainee’s, so I don’t expect people to know everything about recruitment but there are so many ways that people can easily do basic research – the Website, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Glassdoor. I don’t expect someone to reel off the entire website word for word, but at least spend 30mins having a look at us.
Why should someone join Oyster?
Recruitment is Recruitment, every agency does the same thing. What makes Oyster different is the people that we employ. Oyster Partnership isn’t at capacity by any stretch of the imagination.
We have ambitious plans for the next 10 years so someone joining us in April 2021 even as a Trainee, will have the opportunity to manage a team, open a new division, or even a new office.
It’s exciting to know that everyone has the chance to make a difference, regardless of where you have come from, you just need to make it happen. We have high expectations, I am aware of that, but if you join Oyster you’ll be joining a great bunch of diverse individuals. We work hard but we have fun.