It’s now almost 5 years since I joined a growing recruitment company based in Putney as a Mac Recruitment specialist. Since I’ve seen it grow to a team of more than 25 people covering markets including Technology, Fire & Security, Events, and Medical, and pick up many accolades along the way.
Last week along with some of my colleagues I attended the Merton Best Business Awards where Eligo had been selected finalists as Employer of the Year, on the night it turned out that not only were we awarded Employer of the Year but also Best Overall Business, so I thought there was no better time, and no one in a better place to write about what it’s like working in recruitment at Eligo and just why those awards were so deserved.
There are literally hundreds of recruitment jobs and recruitment agencies out there looking for talented recruiters to join their ranks and earn lots of dough, but, hand on heart I’d say Eligo is uniquely special and a place I feel I’ve been particularly lucky to continually learn, work, do, and earn well. For me, this all starts at the top.
As one of the “old-timers” at Eligo, I’ve known Andy and John for a long time and have seen their vision grow with the company. Like many recruiters, they grew tired of old-school heavy handed sales techniques and severe micro-management and started the company as a place where people would enjoy their recruitment jobs. In my own personal experience, this has always been the case. It’s rare to find management that know how to run a business both fairly and well, treating each employee as their own person with their own needs. You’re given enough acknowledgment and respect to do your job properly, and regularly invited to provide ideas which are both embraced and adopted so that you feel you are constantly contributing to not only the success of your own desk but the growth of the organisation too.
Working in recruitment you experience a number of characters. Recruitment satirist Ed Hunter provided a very funny generalisation on this in one of his blogs, however, at Eligo these stereotypes aren’t so evident. There’s a term which I think goes back right to the early days of Eligo for the people who work here, “Eligoid”, which sums up pretty well the type of people here. They’re a crazy, and enjoyable bunch, each with their own personalities. It’s definitely not one size fits all, and we are all encouraged to play to our own strengths.
I’d hate to wax too lyrical about it, but working for Eligo genuinely feels like a big supportive family and that makes us all want to work harder and better. Whether it be competing for the best decorated Christmas pod of desks or introducing colleagues to your clients who may specialise in a different area of their business, everything is both collaborative and rewarding. Working in Recruitment isn’t easy, but with direct support from the Directors and the team around you, it is much easier.
This spirit extends to after working hours too. In my time here we’ve enjoyed all manners of nights out in fancy dress, attended live music nights where an impromptu encore of “Don’t look back in anger” was sung by all Eligoids, and had great incentives along the way. There’s so many little touches working at Eligo that make it such a great place to work, things you’d immediately question why you had never had them before after joining.
Whilst my field of Recruitment often leads to me taking inspiration from Steve Jobs and of course dealing with all things Apple Mac, I saw a quote the other day about how Google cultivates a community-like workplace and why it is so successful; “It’s important that the company be a family, that people feel that they’re part of the company, and that the company is like a family to them.” For me, Eligo is just like that, and it’s the reason why we really are the best overall business and employer of the year!
For anyone who feels recruitment is the career for them but their employer would struggle to win an employer of the year award, I would suggest you try Eligo, as for me, it really is not only the Employer of the Year but the best I’ve ever had.
If you’d like to hear more of a first hand account of working in recruitment at Eligo feel free to get in touch with me at anne@eligo.co.uk, or if you’d like to speak to one of our directors about working here contact John at john@eligo.co.uk or 0208 944 4180