Let me tell you a story.

It’s my story actually, and I hope it inspires you to find the best person to lead you down the right road in your career. At the end of my first 6 months in recruitment, I went into my probationary review meeting confident that I was hitting all of my activity targets, was clearly working hard and putting in the hours needed to succeed in this industry. I thought I had it aced. It turns out that whilst I was clearly working hard, I wasn’t necessarily hitting the targets that mattered and my manager decided I needed more guidance and support to really get where I needed to be.

Perhaps at that point, she could have let me go. Could have said that I wasn’t hitting the mark and just wished me luck and sent me out the door. But she didn’t, and over the next 3 months, she was there to support me and to act as my buffer. Better yet, she didn’t manage me with a ‘one size fits all’ approach – my manager really understood what my drivers and motivators were and she adjusted her approach to target these.

My manager has set the standard for the recruitment industry as far as I am concerned. She represents the very best in terms of communication, guidance, support, and if needed, a kick up the backside. Through the way she has supported and managed me during this first tumultuous year, she has helped me develop a mental checklist of what to look for in a great manager.

In any job, who we work for can be a pleasure or it can be pure agony. We get to see all types of team leaders and managers when we talk with hiring managers and we try very hard to understand what type of manager is going to be a good fit for the talent we represent. Because let’s be honest, one size doesn’t fit all and a successful relationship can only work if both parties are getting what they need out of the deal.

I hope that you are working for someone who is as supportive and inspiring as my manager, but if you don’t and are thinking about looking elsewhere, don’t hesitate to give people2people a call because we KNOW what to look for in a good manager!