Aimée Gleave: Moving from industry to recruitment

Aimée joined the Cast UK team following 3 years working in procurement for a global manufacturing and tier 1 automotive business. Aimée has been at Cast UK for 3 years now and is the Managing Consultant of our Procurement and Supply Chain team, recruiting within the Engineering and Manufacturing sectors, where much of her previous procurement experience has been attained.

We spoke to Aimée to find out why she chose a career move to the recruitment industry and what benefit her industry knowledge has provided:

1. What attracted you to a career change to the recruitment industry?

I really enjoyed working in Procurement and particularly enjoyed getting involved in strategic activity, which was supported by my CIPS studies. But I always wondered if there might be a role out there for me that I enjoyed more on a day to day basis, and crossing over in to specialist recruitment seemed to be a good solution. I love meeting and working with new people and I like to think I’m a good ‘problem-solver’… I’m passionate about developing my own career so helping others do the same was very appealing. I also really like talking and I do a lot of that in my current job!

2. How did you find the transition from industry to a career in recruitment?

I did a lot of research before making the move so I came in feeling prepared, and as a result the transition was actually pretty smooth. Of course it can take a while to build up your client-base so you have to be quite resilient in order to give yourself time to gain momentum, but I took learning out of every experience and enjoyed the journey!

3. How would you describe our working environment?

Pretty intense and fast-paced! There is absolutely no time for clock-watching in this job. When we are in the office we are constantly on the go and I’ve taken multi-tasking to a whole new level! But we have lots of fun and it’s great to celebrate each other’s successes throughout the day.

4. How useful has your industry knowledge and experience been in your new career?

I don’t believe having prior industry experience necessarily makes you a good recruiter as there are so many other skills required to make a success out of recruitment! But I have undoubtedly found my own experience to be invaluable. I believe it helps me to understand my clients’ requirements in much more detail and I can relate to some of the challenges and pitfalls that they may also be facing. Candidates also seem to appreciate talking about their future career aspirations with someone who understands what they do so I think it helps on both sides. My conversion rates have always been high as a result of the understanding I have of candidates’ and clients’ requirements.

5. What is the most rewarding aspect of the job?

There is nothing better than breaking the news to a candidate that they have just landed their dream job!

6. What advice would you give to any industry professional considering a career in recruitment?

Do your research first and make sure you join a business whose values you share. Recruitment requires lots of drive, commitment and hard-work so you also have to be willing to put in the effort to see results!

If you are considering a career change from a Procurement, Buying, Supply Chain or Logistics role, contact our internal recruitment team today on 0161 413 6902 or email rachelwilliams@castuk.com