We've all read and loved the Diary of an Estate Agent, so we thought it was time to launch our own series sharing behind the scenes action from the individuals helping to build the agent's career.
And a hat-trick is on the cards for one of our clients...
Monday
With a half marathon yesterday, and my ageing body which hasn't quite recovered yet, Monday morning could be a struggle! Today I'm hosting the Senior Leadership Team meeting, going through last week’s figures & actions.
A day packed of 1-2-1's, setting up my team for the week ahead and shortlisting for the vast number of vacancies we have!
My first client meeting is in central London with a Lettings Director, who I placed back in December for a client with a huge portfolio. They are loving life and currently restructuring the business, which will lead to several new hires throughout the year as the team expands. It’s always an interesting dynamic when a candidate becomes a client, especially when they start saying "what we are looking for is…” Hold on, let’s not forget I placed you in this role, don’t be giving me the professional client spill now!
I get a call at 7pm from a client looking to hire 2 negotiators in prime central London, they give me a very specific brief... however, we have our live jobs briefing tomorrow with the estate agency team who will have all kinds of ideas, I’m sure!
Tuesday
Running trainers on at 6am. Its dark, cold, but legs feel surprisingly good! I find running first thing sets my day up nicely.
The live jobs briefing with the team kicks off; ideas are flying about, and we are piecing bits together. I have 12 in my team, and I have to say it's the best team sheet I've had in my career. A real mix of experienced, with some at the start of their recruitment journey who I can see have a great career at deverellsmith.
Florrie is one of them. We get a call from a client who we have final interviews for, a client I love working with, but blimey the process is tough! He tries to put in a 4th stage interview to a candidate who has taken us an age to find. Flo rightly puts her foot down and although the candidate is keen, you cannot keep making people jump through hoops when there are so many options out there! The client takes the feedback onboard, and I'm really impressed with how Flo handled the tricky situation professionally. All parties are happy, and we close the deal.
After being briefed on a job for a client, I share candidate profiles who the team have all met this year. Only one of the four hit the "brief"… I use the “trust me” card and he agrees to see all four on Thursday. The thing I love most about my job is the pace, it's our job to let candidates and clients aware of that, however also when’s best to slow the process down. Moving house and jobs are two of the most stressful things in life, we must not forget that.
Wednesday
Kicking things off with a ‘ds barstool’ (an internal company-wide event) in the office with an industry-leading expert, giving us a talk about their career… I'm inspired & pumped for the day!
I have a client lunch with our mortgage desk today. Hugh heads up that team, with a brand-new client who is looking to scale big time in the next 3-5 years! We talk about how we've helped a business grow its headcount by 75 heads in the past 18 months, the industry, family, and terms of business, and share two beautiful bits of steak in Blacklock (if you haven't been, go!), but my inner Joey from the TV show Friends, doesn't like sharing food!!! I must be polite and take a very small portion; Hugh didn't seem to mind!!!
Back to the office hungry, I laugh when I find out an experienced candidate chewed gum through their 1st interview, mouth wide open. Both client and I laughed about it and start the process again! We then tell the candidate why they haven't got the role...
I've got loads of stories throughout the years, but this is another one to add to the list.
Thursday
Myself & Ryan Doyle - who is one of my managers - finally close a retained search deal for a client we have been working with for a while to fill a senior position. The person didn't exist in truth, but with us getting to know the client so well over the time working together, we ended up stumbling across this person after everything else had failed. I don’t believe in luck, however, we worked so hard to create our luck this time around. We have an extremely happy candidate and client, maybe I'll go back to Blacklock to celebrate with them, and maybe get my steak this time...
It's interview day! This time for a candidate and client in prime central London and the client LOVED the candidate, so much so that they didn't want to see any other candidates for finals next week! I'll be honest the CV wasn't at all what they were after, I met them virtually but Ryan Fox on my team who did meet him used the “trust me” card on me, and we are all glad he did!
The brilliant day is slightly tarnished when we find out a candidate took a counteroffer to stay where they are. Despite going through the process of telling candidates to speak to their bosses or finding out motivations to leave this still happens and the client is frustrated. However, they appreciate our work, and we book back one of the other favoured candidates from the initial shortlist.
Friday
We have had an excellent week and month so far, with eight deals going through this week alone. We seem to have real momentum now, although it's hard finding stand-out candidates at present, and we aren’t wanting to send candidates to market unless the hat fits. It’s a lovely Friday morning meeting and we have an internal move with Lolly, an ex-estate agent who has been with deverellsmith for a year in the investment team. She joins us under Ryan Doyle, we are delighted to have her!
I get a call from a client who has been sent an immediately available candidate via another recruiter and asks my opinion of them. I say they are fantastic, and you should hire them if you can secure their services… not something you'd expect, but I have a client's best interest at heart and appreciate they value my opinion.
Terms are signed with the Mortgage company we met with earlier this week, which is brilliant news. I then get a call for a Lettings Director for a client I've placed two people with recently, following only two interviews! I joke I can make it a hattrick, but I advise running a retained search as he needs to see more of the market shortlist, as well as have better control over the process, and they agree.
We both agree, if the candidate in mention gets the job then he'll buy me the hattrick ball...!
I get home to the madhouse and cannot wait to spend time with my beautiful family, ready to switch off and go again next week!
.png)