A Recruiter’s Perspective on the latest Startup Grind event — Summer Party with Ophelia Brown and Mike Butcher

6:00pm the networking begins… hundreds of individuals fighting to pitch their start-up idea. Complimentary beverages are flowing alike the conversation in the room. You can spot the more professional networkers dropping in and then out of a conversation as soon as the realisation strikes that there is no commercial value in pursuing the connection made. Then you have the newer members of the networking community either standing in a corner staring hopelessly into their drink or at the edge of a circle of conversation waiting for their turn to speak.

Then there’s me. A recruiter. It’s a real shame that as soon as you mention your title to the more professional networkers in the room you can almost hear the alarm resonating from their brains. A reaction I experience most days. As soon as potential candidates or clients pick up the phone you can almost see the discomfort on their face and their minds scrambling as to how they can remove themselves from the conversation ASAP. A negative stigma undoubtedly encapsulates the recruitment industry but it is time recruiters, like myself, break through this bubble and rebuild all that has been tarnished by rogues along the way.

Recruitment, as ever, is vitally important to corporations of all shapes and sizes. We contribute to the organic development of companies by delivering the best talent to their doors. Recruitment has also reached an age of rapid adaptation; much like the tech market here in London. We are living in a time of digital transformation. Instead of suits and polished shoes we have embraced T-shirts and Vans. Instead of hard copies of CV’s stacked under our arms you will now see a tablet stowed neatly in our hands. Not only our appearance is more digitally inclined but so is our approach to recruitment. Hudson has even developed a psychometric assessment tool for digital leadership. So once the alarms had quietened in my fellow networkers’ minds they seemed taken aback that there was a recruiter that clearly evoked passion for their profession and their industry! Maybe I can dare say Hudson and I were a breath of fresh air; a very modest breath of fresh air.

7:00pm the talk kicks off… Mike Butcher and Ophelia Brown battle it out and talks ensue ranging from Mike’s leather jacket, Ophelia’s lost phone and then to the more thought provoking pieces. Ophelia highlighted the uncertainty of the start-up market post Brexit with talent and cost being of the gravest concern. What followed was Ophelia’s worry that we might just lose our talented European techies as it becomes harder to enter the UK. This, the majority of the room, along with myself agreed with. However, Mike did raise the prospect of artificial intelligence being employed in the UK to process VISA’s faster and the tension in the room was partially ironed out. The talk ended with a loud applause which fabricated the appreciation from myself and others into sound.

8:00pm — last chance to pitch that idea folks! Attendees leap from their chairs, rejoin forces and the familiar buzz of networking fills the air until the night draws to a close. I reflect upon the time I spent among these entrepreneurial individuals, the knowledge I have acquired and the ideas which have intrigued me. Characters such as Kuljit, the Founder of Desi High Street, who has taken the admirable plunge into starting her own business after a career in pharmaceuticals. It is imperative to meet entrepreneurs like Kuljit and understand their ideas and motivations. Who knows these guys and girls could have found the next big thing! CityMapper, Zoopla, Deliveroo… All of these ideas started somewhere and to connect with founders at such an early stage of their ventures is quite humbling. Now I can watch these ideas flourish from the nervy rushed pitch practiced in a mirror to money making businesses.

The Summer Party was an eye opener, I learned a lot, shared a lot and thought a lot. Thank you to everyone for your conversations, ideas, comments, insight and for welcoming a Recruiter to such an event! The more we understand the more we can help. On to the next one!

I would love to hear your thoughts on the event or if you’re didn’t manage to attend, any comments on start ups and talent.