Head of the Class – Using Mentoring to Have a Greater Impact

After flying solo for over 10 years at my own search company, I was beginning to miss the comradery, challenges and intricacies associated with office life. I needed a change and wanted to work in a larger, more collaborative team environment. After 7 months at DMJ, I haven’t been disappointed – there is a wonderful culture and team dynamic here at our Farringdon office.

Some aspects of my career were feeling a bit flat, and the monotony of recruitment had gotten to me. One unexpected benefit of joining a growing team full of young and hungry researchers and associates was the opportunity to undertake important mentoring tasks. The company’s growth has helped me feel at home quickly (quick growth ensures the ‘new guy’ isn’t so for long) and allowed me to increase the scope of my role. I’m more here than a man with a telephone and mentoring allows my efforts to multiply through the growth of our junior staff. As Henry B. Adams said, ‘A teacher effects eternity, he can never tell where his influence ends.’ Guiding a junior associate through the recruitment process (especially when successful) offers not only increased job satisfaction, but an additional chance to have a positive impact on an organisation I have begun to love.

I was thrown into the deep end when I began recruitment, given minimal guidance and training and left to sink or swim. Thankfully, I swam however, that certainly doesn’t mean it was the best way to learn and many weren’t able to adapt. Employee retention is important, as recruiters tell their clients daily, and it’s true for recruitment organisations themselves. 87% of millennials believe learning and development in the workplace is important and 70% of all employees would be likely to leave their current job to work for an organization known for investing in employee development and learning. I’d like to think that I have had some sort of positive effect, however small, on the high-retention rate we’re currently experiencing with our new researchers and associates.

Most of my working life has been focused on recruitment and it was something I risked falling out of love with. Not only has working at DMJ given my career the boost it needed but, unexpectedly, has allowed me the opportunity to ‘give back’ in some ways – feeling not only the joys of making placements myself but through the junior staff I’ve had the opportunity to guide as well. If you’re beginning to feel stagnant in your current role, consider enquiring after mentoring opportunities within your organisation, or even without. It gave me an additional sense of purpose and usefulness and could do the same for you.