Our guest blog is written by Ruth Ng, a third year Philosophy student from the University of Nottingham, who recently completed the APSCO Intern Programme 2014 with Step at Finlay James; IT Recruitment specialists based across the UK.
“What do you think the job entails?” asks the interviewer, 99 out of 100 times. And frankly, most of us don’t have much of an idea at all – but we muster the most intelligent answer we can based on what we’ve read.
The #1 best way of learning what a job entails is to do the job. But that’s a bit of a catch-22 seeing as we’re supposed to know what a job entails before we get it. The #2 best way? Find out from people who are doing the job! You’ll quickly get an idea of what their experiences have in common.
Here’s mine.
My internship is with a company called Finlay James. FJ are an executive search consultancy specialising in the placement of senior sales professionals exclusively into the technology market. As a company, FJ pride themselves in being a quality establishment and also being a fabulous place to work – something I had sussed for myself through a bit of Googling before I turned up to interview but something I can wholeheartedly confirm through experience! We get tonnes of support, with my mentor, line manager and our in-house trainer all within 4 metres of my desk, there’s always someone on hand to help. There’s also a healthy measure of fun, regular incentives (Dominos lunches, bubbly, early dashes, meals out) and a good laugh along the way!
So what’s a day in the life? FJ place great emphasis on getting to know our candidates and clients, so that we can deliver a personal and efficient service. We commit a lot of time to finding out what makes candidates tick; this is something I really like because we don’t just ‘push CVs’. Specifically, the days are spent sourcing great candidates by utilising resources like our extensive database and the internet to search for top talent. Once we make contact we then focus on getting to know individual requirements and building trust before arranging an interview.
Our business aims to get placements. That’s where we make money. But more than that, we make a positive difference to our candidate and to our client. Everyone’s a winner.
This is one of the reasons why internships in recruitment are so great – they are SO hands-on and you can see the results of your own actions extremely quickly. You hear that your candidate is going out for a final stage interview with an FJ client and remember the first time you picked up the phone and made that call just to see if they could be interested.
If you ensure the company you choose is right for you and you’ve got the raw skills, energy, drive and stamina (and a good phone voice!!) then I strongly recommend you apply for a recruitment internship. You won’t regret it.
Good luck!
