Recruitment is about connecting people. That’s what makes Chelsea Hill a great RecruitmentJunky! She’s been with the business since the start of 2020 – and despite the huge upheavals in the economy and the world of work, she’s gone from strength to strength connecting people to tech and tech support roles across the globe.

What’s your background? How did you become a RecruitmentJunky?

Well, talk about building networks – I actually met Rosie at the school gates. Our kids go to the same school and we’d chatted about how she was building RecruitmentJunky and I thought it sounded great. I think after realising I could talk for England she offered me a job!

I’ve not come from a business background. The roles I did before I had a family were all front line customer facing – which was great for me as I love meeting new people. Those skills have transitioned really well into recruitment which is all about connecting people. It’s definitely one of my favourite parts of the job. Screening candidates for roles should generally be a fairly quick process but I’ve been known to be on the phone half an hour later!

Since joining RecruitmentJunky I’ve met some really interesting people and have even stayed in touch with a few candidates I’ve really clicked with. Speaking to professionals from all over the world has been such an eye opening experience. I feel like I’ve learnt so much in a relatively short amount of time.

How do you find remote working? What’s your process?

Remote working is a huge benefit for me, it allows me to work around my kids in a way that a structured 9-5 wouldn’t. Having said that, the transition stepping back into the workplace from being a full time mum did take some adjustments. I wasn’t really sure where to begin and kept diving from one task to another.

With the support from the team I’ve realised I perform at my best when I input some structure into my day. I like to plan my day out hour by hour and I’m a huge fan of lists! Since making those simple changes I’ve felt a lot more successful.

While working from home is great for fitting around the school run there’s no doubt it can be a bit isolating at times. As a team we’ve developed ways around that issue. We have regular one to ones and team video calls but we also take the time out to have a bit of a joke on Slack. Recently, we’ve started having a Google hangout open throughout the day so anyone from the team can jump on when they feel they need a bit of a chat.

A lot of people have different approaches and it’s just about finding what works for you.

You recently got a distinction on your level 3 ‘mental health at work’ qualification – congratulations! Why was this important to you?

It can get quite personal with some candidates, particularly with everything that’s going on at the minute. With so many people furloughed and made redundant in the retail and hospitality sectors, it’s been heart breaking listening to some of their stories.

Understandably, that kind of insecurity churns up a lot of emotions and then there’s the added pressure and anxiety around lockdown and the pandemic itself. A lot of people I was speaking to just didn’t know what to and I wanted to be able to help if I could. I consider myself to be quite an empathetic person and I know from my own experience the smallest things can change someone’s day for the better. I love helping people and if I can offer some advice, or even just be a sounding board to alleviate some of those stresses for 10 minutes then I’m happy to.

The course was a really good experience and has equipped me with the skills I need to approach these situations tactfully. It also enables you to recognise when someone might be struggling – such as a despondent tone voice. It helps that mental health is becoming less of a taboo and people feel more able to open up. I’ve had some lovely feedback from candidates and it’s something I’ll definitely consider pursuing further in the future.

Do you need help finding top talent for your business? Chelsea and the team are on hand to help you. Drop us a message and we’ll be in touch.