We’re excited to talk to one of the latest additions to the Deltra team, Kevin Suddaby. Kevin has come on board as a Principal Consultant, which makes him our first external hire that we’ve made at the Principal level. We decided to grab him for a quick chat to find out more about him and give you insight into the life of a recruiter.

We spoke about his recruitment background, his move to Ibiza, and why he chose to come back to recruitment and work with us in London. We also touch on how he’s settling in and his future plans at Deltra.

Welcome to Deltra, Kevin. Tell us a little about your background in recruitment.

I started my recruitment career at a large recruitment firm working in engineering, oil, and gas. I stayed there for quite a few years; I learned the ropes and was consistently one of the top billers within the permanent side of the business.

My manager left to start his own recruitment company and he asked me to join him. I wanted to shift focus away from engineering, and that move gave me the chance to build my own financial services desk from scratch. Again, I became one of the top billers, but I wasn’t satisfied focusing solely on permanent positions. I wanted to broaden my skillset, so I left after 6 years with them.

I joined another agency that wanted me to set up a financial services contract desk. I focused on change management within financial services. I won some big clients and eventually became the top contracts biller across the business. Once that company got acquired, I left the business.

You certainly proved yourself as a talented recruiter. What did you do next?

Well, I made a slight departure from recruitment. I had worked in the industry for 15 years and wanted a change. Sound engineering was always a hobby of mine, so I decided to study for a degree in it. I relocated to Ibiza and landed a job as Project Lead & Sound Manager for Pacha, which is one of the biggest clubs there. It was a massive opportunity for me, and I got to utilise my love of sound engineering in a challenging environment.

It was an interesting shift because I had just come from placing project managers within financial services. Now, I was putting the theory that I learned about project management into practice.

After about 5 years living in Ibiza, I wanted to move back to London. Although you can get a decent full English breakfast out there, it wasn’t enough to keep the homesickness at bay. I also wanted to get back into recruitment – it’s something I love to do but also know I’m good at. So, I returned to the UK in December 2020.

That’s quite a story. Now we’re up to speed, what drew you to Deltra?

I found Deltra’s approach to recruitment really refreshing. You genuinely try and do a good and honest job and put people first. It seemed like the company had a very supportive atmosphere, and we had a very similar ideology.

Also, Deltra is a specialist agency that does one thing very well and has a proven track record. They’re not trying to be everything to everyone. Personally, I prefer to work for a specialist business.

As well as that, I had a desire to work within life sciences. The stars must have been perfectly aligned, because when I told you that, you said that the Pharmaceutical, Life Sciences & FMCG desk was one that you wanted to build up. It was uncanny. I had quite a few offers on the table at this point, but as soon as I received the offer from Deltra, I knew it was the right choice for me.

You’ve been with us for about 4 months now, how has it been?

I’ve loved it so far and I’m off to a flying start. I suppose I’m lucky because healthcare and fast-moving consumer goods are two areas that have boomed during the pandemic for obvious reasons, and I’ve been able to capitalise on that. The floodgates are open now, so I don’t see those markets slowing down any time soon.

I’ve settled in with the team well and I like that I’ve been having monthly check-ins. I feel like I can talk openly about where I need more support or what we could do better, and equally you’ll tell me which areas you think I need to develop. As a Principal Consultant, it’s nice to know that my opinions and feedback are valued.

What are your hopes for your future at Deltra?

I aim to keep developing my department and eventually become Practice Lead, managing a small team that works within my portfolios. That allows me to offload some of my work onto them and gives newer consultants the opportunity to learn from me on warm accounts. I want to use what I’ve learned to transfer knowledge to up-and-comers, while still focusing on business development.

If you’d like to learn more about working at Deltra Group, take a look at our Join Our Team page or get in touch directly on 0207 375 9500.