8:00 am
Officially, my working day doesn’t start until 8.30am. However, I like to get in the office early and usually grab some breakfast and have a chat to my team whilst I organise myself for the day ahead. This is also often a good time to get hold of senior level candidates, who will be more difficult to get hold of once they get caught up in their day.

8:45 am
I go through the applicants for all of the roles that I am working on at the moment, and call all the relevant candidates to register them with McCarthyHR and discuss their fit for the role and their career aspirations

9:45 am
Catch up with my team to check how they are getting on with the roles they are working on, and discuss any client matters that they need my support with.

10:00 am
I focus on searching our database for candidates who match the brief for my current roles. Each day I speak with an average of 15 candidates to go through an in-depth initial screening process and discuss potential jobs with them. I also catch up with any candidates who are currently going through an interview process and see how things are going with them. Looking for a new role can be really stressful, and it’s often difficult for candidates to take time out of the responsibilities of their current job, so I make sure that my candidates know that they can always pick up the phone to me when they are feeling the pressure.

12:00 pm
I interview someone who is hoping to join the McCarthyHR team. I really enjoy this part of my role, as it means that I get to shape the future of the business by bringing in talented future consultants. After that, I have lunch and reply to emails and messages for the morning.

2:00 pm
I spend time working on a new business account for a large high street retail brand, who have approached us to work with them on building their Regional HR team. I contact several new contacts to introduce myself and explain the McCarthy way of working. The calls go really well, and our new clients seem impressed with our approach. They are a great brand, and I update the team on how things are progressing, as we’ve all been looking forward to working with them.

3:30 pm
I do another quick check on how the team are getting on, and one of my consultants has a candidate who isn’t going to be able to make an interview that we have arranged for them, so I call the client and the candidate to smooth over the situation. It's really short notice and the client had planned their day around the interview, but I explain that the candidate has tried everything they can to make it, so we re-arrange for the following day. Crisis avoided!

4:00 pm
I have an Assessment Day for one of our clients tomorrow, with 6 of my candidates booked onto it. I call each candidate and check that they have all the details for the day, and know what to expect from it, as well as making sure that they don’t have any last minute nerves or questions that I can help them with. It doesn’t matter what level you are, everybody suffers from nerves, and Assessment Days can make even the most confident of people feel nervous.

6:00 pm
I have a quick round-up of the day with my team, and we share any successes. The newest member of the team has just placed their first candidate, so we celebrate together. Recruitment is a great job, but can be quite pressured at times and, like any job, it has its own unique challenges. Having a good team around you is so important. Not just to celebrate the successes together but also to support each other if one if us has had a tough day.

6:30 pm
I start to plan ahead for my day tomorrow. I’ve got a big presentation in a couple of days to a client who is expanding rapidly and want to understand how we can help them to deliver this expansion. I’m going to spend tomorrow perfecting the presentation, so I want to make sure I’m really organised so I can fit in everything! I finish my day by chatting to a candidate, who has just finished their first day in their new job that I placed them in. The candidate was on a total high, having had a great day, and delighted that they’d made the decision to accept the role.