Meet Caroline, who will be driving forward our expanded recruitment service as a Recruitment Consultant. She will bring extensive experience in talent acquisition and a passion for helping businesses overcome the time, cost, and challenges of hiring. As she leads this service, clients will benefit from our agency model, where fees are only payable once a successful candidate joins, along with tailored sourcing, careful screening, and a focus on securing the right cultural fit. With a career built on guiding organisations through competitive markets and delivering long term placements, Caroline will ensure a smooth, efficient, and confident recruitment experience from start to finish.
Can you talk us through your career journey so far and what led you to becoming a Recruitment Consultant?
My career actually started in retail. After leaving school at 18 and choosing not to go to university like all my friends, my mum kicked me out of the car at our local shopping centre with a pile of CV’s and told me to go and find myself a job! The first store I came to was Blockbuster Video (throwback!) and they hired me on the spot.
I spent an amazing 7 years running different stores around the region, and became HR ‘champion’ by recruiting and training new store managers, getting involved in employee relations casework and writing procedures for the employee handbook. This sparked my interest in HR and after leaving Blockbuster, I spent the next 10 years working in HR management roles for fashion and lifestyle retailers plus completed my CIPD Level 7 qualification.
I was actually a client of hireful before joining the team, and always admired their fun and friendly culture, their transparent and honest approach. After a decade of working in HR, moving into the role of Recruitment consultant was a bold choice but I’ve no regrets! I’ve had 8 fantastic years with hireful and hopefully will have many more.
When you begin working on a new vacancy, how do you go about finding candidates who are genuinely the right fit for the business?
Aside from doing my research into the company, through their website, Google/Indeed reviews from employees past and present, social media, etc. it’s important that I can spend time with some of the team. Every client is different. Sometimes I only speak to the recruiter or HR manager, but I’ve also been able to visit companies in person and spend time with the hiring managers and their team. This helps me really get to understand the culture of the organisation and who would be a good match.
I’m very lucky to have my HR background, which not only gives me great instincts when it comes to cultural fit, but helps me work with clients around job design, understanding where a role fits in the organisational structure and what it contributes, and really get to the heart of what the non-negotiables are and what they truly need.
Businesses often say recruitment can be time consuming and costly. How does this agency model help take that pressure off employers?
Recruitment agencies can sometimes be ‘most hated’ only second to estate agents! But I believe that’s because a lot of people have worked with bad ones. If you choose a good recruitment consultant who you can trust, then recruitment agencies can be a lifesaver.
We take all the legwork out of recruitment: no advert writing or posting to job boards, no screening a million unsuitable CV’s to find the one good one, no chasing candidates to organise telephone screening calls or organise interviews… You give me a job description, and in return receive a shortlist of fully screened candidates that I’ve spoken to and am confident are a great fit for your vacancy. I handle all the admin right up to onboarding. Leaving you time to focus on the important things.
What part of the recruitment process do you enjoy most and why?
I love giving good news! Securing a new job can be absolutely life changing for people. It’s so rewarding to be part of that process. I also love revisiting candidates over the years and seeing them stay with the same organisation and progress, get promoted and thrive.
If you weren’t working as a Recruitment Consultant, what career do you think you’d be in and why?
I would still be working in the HR space, I am sure of that. It’s my calling! I’m very fortunate that with hireful I still get to make use of my HR skills through my work with our HR consultant partners up and down the country. But if I wasn’t in recruitment, then I think my next port of call would be learning and development. I love designing and delivering training. I am a trained Insights and Myers Briggs practitioner, and so these are my favourite sessions to lead. Profiling tools can be transformative for how teams work together and what they can achieve.
Outside of work, what are your favourite ways to switch off?
I recently qualified as a Yoga teacher. See, I told you I loved training people! I studied for 3 years and qualified in September. I teach a lovely group of ladies on a Sunday morning. I’ve also got 2 horses, 1 dog and 1 son, who keep me busy outside of work. I love to be active and outdoors.
Final Thoughts
As Caroline steps into this new chapter with us, her blend of HR expertise, recruitment know how and a genuine passion for supporting people makes her an invaluable addition to our team. Her journey from retail management to senior HR roles and ultimately into recruitment consultant shines through in the way she partners with clients, takes the pressure out of hiring and focuses on finding candidates who not only meet the brief but truly enhance a business culture. Her enthusiasm for building long lasting relationships, guiding candidates through life changing opportunities and representing employers with care means our clients are in very capable hands.
Introducing Our Expanded Recruitment Service
Our enhanced recruitment service has been designed to remove the barriers that often hold businesses back from finding great talent. We understand how time consuming and costly recruitment can be, which is why our agency model keeps things simple and great value. There are no upfront fees and no advertising costs. You only pay once your chosen candidate joins your business, offering a low risk, transparent approach to hiring.
Our Recruitment Consultant will manage the full process, from sourcing and screening to presenting a carefully selected shortlist of candidates who meet your requirements and fit your culture. This saves you valuable time and helps you avoid costly hiring mistakes while ensuring the best possible match for your team.
How We Can Support Your Hiring Needs
Whether you are expanding your team, replacing a key role or exploring new opportunities, we are here to help you find the right people with confidence. Our Recruitment Consultant service is flexible, straightforward and built around quality outcomes. With Caroline leading the way, you can expect a recruitment experience that feels collaborative, efficient and fully aligned with the needs of your business.
If you are ready to begin your next hire or would like to learn more about how we can support you, our team is always happy to have a chat.
