At Deltra, we believe that with the right support and encouragement, anyone can become a great recruiter. Recruitment is an exciting career choice that can offer a multitude of opportunities, both personal and professional, even if you’ve never worked in the industry before. In fact, in our experience, some of the best recruiters often come from most interesting places.

The two newest members of our Deltra Group team are no exception. They’ve worked in a diverse range of work environments across varying sectors, from charity to education, which has helped them to develop unique yet transferable skillsets. We could see their potential as recruiters from the get-go, despite neither of them having any recruitment experience.
Continue reading to meet the newest members of the Deltra Group team and to find out just why they decided to pursue a career change to recruitment.

Before starting at Deltra as a Senior Consultant, Michelle Enright worked as a teacher in Ireland, teaching 12–19-year-olds maths and Irish. She decided to pursue a new career in recruitment after moving to London and wanting to experience working in a more corporate environment.

Tell us a little bit about your career background?

I was working as a teacher in Ireland up until about two weeks ago. As much as I liked my teaching job, I wanted to move somewhere new and exciting, and I knew London was the perfect place. I also wanted a change in career and was particularly interested in working in a corporate environment and with adults. So, once I decided to move to London, I felt it was the right time to try something new.

I decided to look into recruitment because I felt that a lot of my teaching skills overlapped with those of a recruiter. Both are fast-paced environments, and you need to have amazing time management and problem-solving skills. Organisation and effective planning are key too. I think the opportunity for commission was also attractive to me because I’m a hard worker and I like to be recognised for that.

What drew you to Deltra Group?

The vibe as soon as I walked into the door made them stand out. My first time meeting the team, I was only there for 2 hours but I gained such a good insight into how they work and their culture. I was really impressed with how they approach recruitment. Rather than being transactional as I expected, it’s more about relationship building and has more of a human touch, which I think filters down into the office. The team has such an approachable vibe and I feel like I could ask anyone for help without feeling silly.

I also really like the after-work drinks every Thursday and playing darts in the office as it gives more chance to integrate and feel a part of the team. I like that everyone is eager to meet their targets, but they also recognise and congratulate their colleagues when they do well too.

I’ve learnt so much from the training and observing phone calls and interviews with clients and it’s interesting to see how everyone operates.

How are you finding your new role so far?

Having not working in the recruitment industry before, I’ve found that the training we’ve received already has been at the right level. It’s a lot of information but doesn’t feel like you’re being thrown into the deep end.

These past few weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to observe phone calls and interviews with members of the team which has helped me to pick up little bits from each of them. It’s good to see that the way that everyone operates in a different way that’s very personal to them. I’m eager to find my own groove with recruiting and discover what works best for me.

Before starting at Deltra, Elle Slater worked as a manager at a supported housing project after realising her passion for helping others. Despite enjoying her role, she decided that a career change to recruitment could give her a new challenge to focus on.

Tell us a little bit about your career background?

Around six years ago, I started doing some volunteer work with the homeless, alongside working for a fashion consultancy company. Over time I started to realise I was enjoying the volunteer work more than my actual job. So, I started working for a company called the Single Homeless Project, which was a supported housing service for 16–21-year-olds that taught them the skills they needed to look after themselves.

I worked my way up from an entry level position and for the past four years I worked as the manager, overseeing a team of 16 people and giving support to 25 teenagers. While I did enjoy my job, it could be emotionally challenging at times, and I realised that my passion for it was decreasing. Due to this, I felt a career change could give me a positive change and a new challenge to focus on.

Having managed a team, I felt that my soft skills were quite transferable in a recruitment setting. I’d often have to sit on interview panels, post job ads and onboard people internally. It’s difficult being that little bit older and starting again, but I knew I wanted to go somewhere where I could be useful.

What drew you to Deltra Group?

Having my first interview with Julian in the beginning, felt very relaxed and easy in comparison to some of the other interviews I’d had. In fact, it didn’t even feel like I was being interviewed for a job. Then when I got to meet the team a short while later, everyone was so mature, friendly and welcoming. I felt such a warmth from the office, and it just wasn’t like the stereotypical recruitment businesses that I’d heard about before.

Another thing that drew me to Deltra was their acknowledgement of my previous role as a manager. I’m so grateful to have been brought into the business in a slightly more senior role. That was something I don’t think every business would have done.

Since starting I’ve been taken out on various lunches and been invited to social events. I feel like I’ve been accepted and feel included even just a few weeks after starting. As well, anytime I’ve asked for help from anyone in the team, they’ve dropped everything to give me support and guidance which I really appreciate.

What advice would you give to someone who is also considering a career change to recruitment? 

I would say, be careful about the recruitment company you choose to work with and do your research. A lot of places will try to sell you the dream during the interview process, but I think it’s worth finding out what the day-to-day work is like because you might find that it’s not necessarily what you’re looking for. I think it’s important to make sure your place of work is aligned with what you want.

As we continue to grow as a business, we want to keep encouraging candidates who don’t have vast experience of the recruitment industry to consider it as a viable career option.

We’re thrilled to welcome such an interesting group of people into Deltra Group and we’re already starting to see fantastic progression from each of them. We’re dedicated to making sure each member of the team has the tools and guidance they need to progress and have bright careers in recruitment.

If you’re interested in making Deltra the next step in your career, you can find out more about life at Deltra here.