Every year around 50 people join us from outside of the recruitment industry. Not having direct experience of recruitment is no barrier to embarking on a career with SThree, in fact, prior business experience can be a real bonus. Mital Jethwa, Recruitment Consultant at SThree’s specialist brand Real Staffing Pharma in London, explains why.
Making a fresh start with a career in recruitment
Mital has a degree in Pharmacology from Kings College, London, and a Masters in Integrative Physiology and Pharmacology. She embarked on a career within a leading pharma company, but one year into her work in industry, Mital realised that it was not the career for her.
Whilst working within a laboratory gave her the opportunity to use the knowledge and skills gained during her education, there were aspects that Mital wanted from working life that the role couldn’t fulfil. Mital had never considered recruitment as somewhere where her skills could be put to really good use, until she came across SThree. She explains:
“I wanted to go into a more fast paced environment and work more with people; I’m very much a people person. I knew I wanted to go into sales and use my scientific background, but I didn’t know what particular sector. I wanted to have challenges that kept moving and progress at the same time.
“I had never even considered recruitment until I got sent details of a role that sounded really interesting. I knew recruitment would be people-focussed, and I knew I would love the fact I got to utilise my understanding and my knowledge within the industry in an environment which could benefit others. But I was concerned about whether I was going to be able to move the skills that I had from my research background into a corporate company.”
Providing the training and support needed
“The fact that at SThree you can specialise within a particular market gave me the confidence that I could do it. Also, the training they gave me had a huge part to play in my decision to go for the role. I was the only person from that background, I knew I had market knowledge but not having the sales experience scared me. The fact that they gave me a clear support plan of the training involved really helped.
“The best thing was that my team really valued me a lot. They were asking questions about stuff they didn’t have an understanding of - which I could explain. It felt like I was recognised in the company because of my background, which perhaps I wouldn’t have got if I was working in industry.”
Initially, Mital found there were some hurdles to overcome in her new role, but found that the right support helped: “I had trouble handling my emotions as I invested a lot of time with people. If things did not go to plan, for example getting a candidate a final interview and they didn’t get a place, I’d get pretty upset.
“There were times when I thought I was doing something wrong but my managers assured me that everyone goes through the same thing and there were ways we could overcome the obstacles. I’ve also learnt patience, looking at the end product doesn’t always help, it’s the steps you have to take to be successful.
“We even had sessions where our director would book in a time slot in your first six months to see how you’re doing; you don’t get that in other businesses. It makes you feel valued as an employee.”
Changing the perception of recruitment
“There’s a certain stigma about working in recruitment. When I came on board my mission was to change that perception and educate people about the significance of the work we do!”
Mital is currently working towards a promotion to Senior Consultant: “This is a long term career choice for me. The amount I have been able to influence here I would never have been able to do in my previous job, I know my work here has had a direct impact.”
Mital’s experience, and others like her, have meant that we are now starting to attract more experienced and industry candidates. About 5% of our employees hail from industry, and we expect this to increase over the coming years.
For more information, head over to our dedicated website section for Industry Specialists who are thinking about switching to recruitment.