Return to BlogWhy did the board join the Recruitment Mentors Journey?
Recruitment Mentors wouldn’t be in the place it currently is without a passionate, aligned team behind it.
The board are not only integral to the short and long-term strategy of recruitment mentors, but they were deliberately selected due to their expertise and commitment to the sector.
We sat down with each individual from the board to find out their “why” when choosing to be a part of Recruitment Mentors.
So, let’s meet the board!
Nicole Plinston
Nicole is the Co-Founder and Director at This Is Prime, which is a specialist graduate sales and recruitment company.
She boasts over twenty-four years of experience in the recruitment and sales space and brings her strategic knowledge both as a business owner and a recruiter to Recruitment Mentors.
Calum Morrison
Calum is a marketing strategist, advisor and writer who has helped steer several startups to become scale-ups in the SaaS and RecTech space over the last decade.
He’s worked with Sonovate, Crunch, Cube19, Ebsta, Hoxo Media, and Azzouz Branding. Alongside Recruitment Mentors, he also runs his own marketing agency.
Robert Hanna
Robert is the Founder and Director at KC Partners, a recruitment consultancy that specialises in the legal sector.
He invests and advises multiple recruitment firms, as well as hosting his own podcast “Legally Speaking”.
With over twelve years of experience, Robert is passionate about Diversity and Inclusion as well as mental health, and is actively involved in the industry both as a speaker and a mentor.
Neil Clough
Neil is the Managing Director at This Is Prime, a specialist graduate and sales recruitment company. He’s been a motivational speaker for the past 7 years, as well as a contestant on The Apprentice.
Boasting over a decade worth of sales experience, Neil is perfectly placed at Recruitment Mentors to advise from a strategic and technical perspective.
What attracted you to recruitment mentors?
Nicole
It’s a unique concept that is exclusively dedicated to helping recruitment consultants on their journey to success. Recruitment Mentors also aligns well to our values and mission at This Is Prime, and that coupled with my passion for learning and development made this the right decision for me.
Hishem came to me in the initial stages and showed me statistics on recruitment businesses in the UK, and those statistics confirmed to me that there was an imminent need for this platform. Recruitment Mentors breaks down learning barriers as well as creating a space where people can share their struggles.
Calum
The vision and reason were undeniable. Progress without limits. I like innovation and authenticity, and there wasn’t anything like Recruitment Mentors that was aimed exclusively at recruitment consultants.
I backed Hishem. If you know Hishem, you’ll know why. There’s a genuine mission there and a relentless drive to deliver it.
Robert
It’s something that is missing in the industry. From my own experiences, I trained at an excellent firm, however, it’s common that some firms have a “we know everything here” mentality, which limits the growth of people.
I got involved because of Hishem, he has no hidden agenda. He has a genuine passion for what he does and I think that’s evident for all to see.
Neil
The concept of Recruitment Mentors attracted me to it, especially as it aligns incredibly well with This Is Prime. It’s about creating future leaders of the industry, and that’s what we’re all passionate about.
Hishem was a key factor in attracting me to RM. Naturally, he’s trying to do good for the industry, and it’s evident from speaking to him it’s all about adding value to recruiters, his personal ethos overall was a large motivator.
What was it about the values and mission that resonated with you?
Nicole
It encourages people to always be learning – and that’s so important. Things evolve all the time in the industry, and you’ll always be faced with different challenges. This is a platform which has a real mission to encourage ongoing learning and progression. That sort of knowledge and influence is completely priceless.
Of course, there will always be a place for external training, but it’s not real-time. Recruitment Mentors is real-time support and help. The mission is simple and clear!
Calum
There are a lot of wider goals and intentions that are folded into the mission and values we decided on.
A big part of what we wanted to do was champion agency recruitment, the consultants within them, self-starters, and the calibre of consultants. Things that are often talked about, but that we knew we could impact.
Robert
The main thing that resonated with me is that it’s about making a change. There’s always been a stigma attached to being a recruiter – it doesn’t carry the weight of a Doctor, a Lawyer etc.
The platform aims to increase professionalism within the industry as well as how we’re viewed externally. That’s what really stood out for me.
Neil
Always be learning! Whatever stage of your career you’re at you should always be developing. The attraction for me was that it’s collaborative and the values are centred in elevating the profession and adding value.
A lot of people think that anyone can do recruitment, when in reality it’s not that simple. We need to dispel the stigma that is still attached to being a recruiter.
How do you think the community will positively impact the industry?
Nicole
I think it already is impacting the industry! The content that is being produced and utilised by the founding members and mentors of the community is amazing. It’s all going back into the industry one way or another.
Now more than ever, especially after multiple lockdowns – this community is the perfect space for recruiters to deal with the daily challenges of working from home and being able to discuss real-time situations.
Calum
In so many ways. It’s going to augment the L&D available to those that have it, and open the door to those that don’t.
This simply can’t be replicated in-house or by an independent trainer, but it can complement both. We’re creating a magnetic space that’s only going to grow in value with size. Plus, the multiple lockdowns have been tough, so having a community is more important than ever.
Robert
I think from a mental health perspective we will definitely see a shift. People struggled in 2020 due to feeling isolated, and now have a community where they can join and share their issues without any judgement – I think that’s a really powerful thing.
I think in the future it will help with retention levels and confidence levels across the sector. The community is about learning whether you’re a 400k biller or a 100k biller. Recruitment Mentors is about encouraging a more inclusive sector!
Neil
I think it will help people to develop into better versions of themselves. It’s about collaboration – you’ve got people from some of the biggest agencies in the world and some of the smallest who can all learn from each other.
I think it will impact the industry positively due to the accessibility of the community. Anyone who is looking to improve can join!
How do you see the community evolving over the next 12 months?
Nicole
Well.. it’s going to be huge, isn’t it!? It’s such a unique platform adding so much value. I’m blown away already with how engaged everybody is. The community will continue to grow and the goal is to add value to every single member who joins.
Calum
Ultimately we want the learning to be faster, more accessible, and more impactful for those in the community.
We’ve got some big announcements in the pipeline… when we started imagining this in 2019 there were no restrictions with lockdown… that should give a hint.
Robert
It’s going to encourage knowledge sharing. It’s a chance for people to see that after twelve months it’s given them better traits, skills and developments! We want people to look at Recruitment Mentors and think “I need this in my life”.
Neil
We need to deliver on our membership numbers which is obviously the goal, however, the main priority is adding value to each member before we consider growth. We need to deliver to the people we already have – and focus on quality, not just quantity.
Recruitment Mentors in twelve months time should be the norm. If you’re not a member – it’s not normal!