Changing markets? What it’s really like starting out in Tech

Since joining a recruitment agency, working in the Marketing department, I soon realised I had very little knowledge of the industry. I’m keen to know more about the ins and outs of recruitment, in particular, to really understand Tech recruitment.

I caught up with one of our Commercial consultants Elliott, who before Propel, worked in an automotive and engineering firm back in Bournemouth. So like me, Elliott came from a completely different background unrelated to Tech recruitment. So I wanted to hear from him what his journey at Propel has been like so far, starting out in the Tech world.

What appealed to you with changing to Tech recruiting and why Propel?

What appealed to me was how broad the industry was. Tech has so many avenues to go into, it’s a truly exciting industry to be in. The sales focused side of the job is what I enjoy. Being given the responsibility to take on and achieve high targets, speaking to people day in day out. When I was looking at taking on this role at Propel, it was very clear they cared more about the people in the seats and had an obvious passion for their clients and candidates. Propel had such an array of amazing Tech clients, I couldn’t help but be intrigued to find out more and become a part of their huge drive.

How did you find Tech recruitment in the beginning?

If I am to be totally transparent, it was overwhelming in the beginning. Tech is an exciting industry but it also has so many sectors that it can seem daunting to know it all straight away. Learning the terminology was like learning a second language in the beginning, who knew what SaaS stood for? But despite this, I can safely say the overwhelming feelings left me very quickly. It all started to make sense after weeks of brilliant training and guidance from my team leader. The support offered at Propel is next to none. Though I had worked in recruitment before, Tech recruitment was totally new to me but despite this, I genuinely felt I could lean on everyone in the team for help. And now, just 9 months after joining, I have been the most successful than I have been in my whole recruiting career.

Now I feel excited for where Tech can go, there is so much to this industry that the possibilities are endless. I feel there is so many avenues to recruit for and here at Propel we really do have that drive to explore them all. We work as a team and help each other out on a level i’ve never experience before. We constantly have the opportunity to cross sell with the Clients we take on. We work as one big team, we don’t have team segregation. Our objectives are to focus on our smaller divisions but our aims are to give 100% to our clients and candidates.

What’s your favourite thing about working in Tech recruitment at Propel?

The learning. In Tech I am constantly finding out new avenues of the Tech world. I get to work with amazing, exciting and genuinely interesting clients who are making huge moves in the industry and what I like is that I feel a part of that. I have the chance to really dig into what our clients do in their business before getting to know what they want and require in their headhunting experience. The Tech industry really is never going to get old, it is the future and with it constantly expanding, I am excited to be a part of that growth. The possibilities are endless in this industry and I can’t wait to see where it may take me.

By Elliot Pike, Consultant