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Why does the Recruitment Mentors community exist?

Hishem Azzouz

Feb 2, 2021

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4 minute read

The idea for Recruitment Mentors unofficially started when I entered my second year in recruitment.

I went from being the top salesperson in an insurance brokerage to being at the bottom of the leaderboard at a small insurance recruitment agency within 12 months.

I was hungry to develop and eager to learn about anything that would help me improve. I wanted to go from the bottom to the top as quickly as possible, especially as I entered my second year in recruitment. 

Besides a three-day training course which I went on in my first 6 months, my ‘formal’ training consisted of reflecting on bad calls or learning how to process my emotions when deals dropped out. I had to learn the hard way.

Of course – my colleagues helped me, and I had the support of the team, but it was limited to the eight recruitment consultants in the business at the time. 

I kept thinking to myself, this surely couldn’t be the only way I could develop and accelerate my career to the top of the leaderboard, could it?

The answer was, unfortunately, yes. 

This all changed when I decided to start “The Recruitment Rollercoaster Podcast”. I would spend my morning commute in the car every single day devouring personal development podcasts, and I noticed quickly that there wasn’t one dedicated to recruitment. 

At the beginning of 2018, the podcast was born, and it became the catalyst for Recruitment Mentors.

In November 2019 we hosted the first-ever LIVE Recruitment Rollercoaster event. 75 Recruitment consultants paid to attend – I couldn’t believe how many people felt the same as I had when I was a consultant. 

They were keen to develop and better themselves professionally and personally.

This was the “eureka” moment whereby I started to formulate a plan for Recruitment Mentors.

The event showcased a genuine appetite from recruitment consultants who were serious about their development. They had all paid to meet like-minded professionals whilst learning from the guests at the event.

Of course, I’d attended multiple events in the past – but these were always aimed at recruitment business owners. 

Take a look at how the event went … (We can’t wait to create face to face experiences again!)

Play Video

Why wasn’t there more events like this dedicated to Recruitment Consultants?

This question encouraged me to create a business plan and to ask for advice on the idea.

What motivated me to build a business plan and connect with people who could help make this happen was the idea that I could create a place that I desperately needed back when I worked in recruitment. 

It would give more recruitment consultants an equal opportunity to accelerate their careers!

I truly believe that if you’re a recruitment professional who has the inner drive and ambition to want to develop and become the best recruiter you can be, then you shouldn’t be limited or prevented by barriers that sit outside of your control.

Those barriers could be working for an organisation which doesn’t have a Learning and Development team, or it could be an organisation where the training styles and delivery don’t work for you.

You should be able to take your growth into your own hands.

I knew that Recruitment Mentors needed to be brought to life, so I connected with people who I had met through the podcast that I felt would be aligned with my vision, as well as making it a success.

I was thrilled to have Neil Clough, Calum Morrison, Nicole Plinstone and Rob Hanna on board to help make my vision a reality.

Fast forward to the 23rd of November, and we have now onboarded our first cohort of mentors to the community, and welcomed our first group of founding members.

It took a whole year from it being an initial idea to becoming an actual physical community that recruitment consultants could join. We couldn’t be more excited by the potential this community has!

What’s clear is our vision: to build a place that enables recruitment consultants to maximise their potential professionally and personally – in a sustainable way, through diverse community learning. 

A recruitment consultant’s growth will no longer be limited by barriers that they can’t control.

Take the growth of your recruitment career into your own hands.

Progress without limits with Recruitment Mentors!

Hishem