Macmillan Meets… Christian Bloor, Recruitment Partner at Bruntwood

In this issue of ‘Macmillan Meets…’ Amy Mottershead, Senior Consultant at Macmillan Davies speaks to Christian Bloor, Recruitment Partner at Bruntwood. Together they discuss Christian’s career to date, his transition from agency recruitment to an in-house recruiting role, as well as his advice for organisations when recruiting into their talent acquisition team.

Tell us about your career to date

After graduating, like many others I had no idea of what I wanted to go into, I just knew I wanted to be in Manchester. After a brief stint in my hometown working for a local business, I took the step to join a small agency in Deansgate - they took a punt on me really after three interviews, I was really green and, in my opinion, I didn't interview well at all. The phrase ‘fell into recruitment’ definitely fits well here.

After 6 years in a great agency, I decided to move to diversify my experience, my next step didn’t work out - but it was beneficial to get a different perspective and I met some great people. I then joined another agency in Manchester where I spent the next two and a half years.

Why did you decide to move into an in-house recruiting role?

I’ve never been motivated by bonus, when I did hit bonus, it often went on stupid things anyway - a loud Civic Type-R was one of them – a ridiculous buy.

The reason I stayed in recruitment for so long was simply because of the people I worked with and for. I’ve been lucky enough to have really supportive Directors who are still friends today and colleagues who, again, are friends to this day. I wanted to support recruitment for one business, and a business I would enjoy working for. Working closely with colleagues who support different business areas, collaborating on projects, and more strategic activity with a goal that wasn’t money driven.

Agency recruitment can be isolating at times, you can be in a juxtaposition of working alongside brilliant people but not collaboratively - responsible for your own targets, workload and objectives. So, although a little unknown to me at the time I felt in-house could offer the right alternative.

How have you found the transition from agency recruiter to Recruiter Partner for Bruntwood?

I knew very quickly that it was the right move, it certainly suited my motivations and ways of working much better. But it wasn’t always smooth sailing. Understanding objectives around diversity, learning at what point to challenge hiring managers, navigating internal recruitment - thinking more long-term strategically is something that has developed - and I’ve still got plenty of room to adapt and grow as well.

What skills from being an agency recruiter have you found have helped you the most in your current role?

There are so many…

Going from juggling multiple roles for multiple businesses takes some doing: In agency, one minute you could be discussing a Marketing Manager role for a Manufacturing company with a candidate and the next a Content Manager role for a Tech business. You have to flip between representing different companies - and on top of that, you have to learn what a business does/how it operates/team structures very quickly.

This has allowed me to learn a complex structure in Bruntwood more rapidly - and it’s refreshing to represent the same business - constantly increasing your knowledge of the intricacies of the company to continually get better at briefing candidates. On top of this, I work for the company, so I can truly articulate an accurate representation of the culture.

You also have to very effectively manage expectations within agency recruitment. You must be sharp and move quickly when needed. Knowing when to be swiftly reactive and appropriately proactive at the right times. This has helped massively to manage internal managers' expectations as well as candidates interviewing with us.

What’s been the biggest challenge about an in-house recruitment role?

For me, it is not trying to do everything myself - within agency recruitment you are ultimately responsible for your output. Internally you need to effectively collaborate with colleagues to maximise output. You have to know when to pass over work and lean on others' expertise; temper your impatience to ensure the right parties are involved in certain decisions, as well as considering other elements such as brand representation, budget, and wider strategic objectives.

What advice would you give to organisations when they’re recruiting into their Recruitment team? Do they think they should be more open to hiring an agency recruiter over an experienced internal recruiter?

Attitude is key. Our Recruitment Advisor (just been promoted after 18 months) had no prior recruitment experience. But his attitude, willingness to learn and passion for the business is amazing, so he’s picked things up super quickly.

It’s all about someone's motivations for me:

• Are they expecting bonus? For me, and of course just my opinion, you shouldn’t be motivated by bonuses in an internal role. You should be motivated to make the right hire, considering the diversity of thought in the team, even if it takes a bit longer to recruit.
• What are their motivators? Are they aligned with the business's purpose, or do they just want to get away from cold calling and think it will be an easier ride?

For me, if the role is very heavily leaning towards strategic objectives, then truth be told, an experienced Internal Recruiter is probably the best option, providing they’ve worked on and implemented a visible change to business processes/structure.

However, if recruitment is the focus and you have a high volume of roles then an Agency Recruiter could be perfect. As they’ll move fast, manage expectations, and pick company and role specifics up quickly. This accompanied by the right motivators/attitude as mentioned above will provide a platform for you to teach the importance of collaboration, and wider strategic objectives as they’ll be motivated to learn.

And finally, what’s your advice for anyone thinking of transitioning to an in-house recruitment role?

Find the right company. I got lucky. It’s hard to represent a company you don’t like working for to prospective candidates. If you do, it’s easy.

Talk to other Internal Recruiters before you apply, I did, and it really helped. For example, if an Agency Recruiter messaged me on LinkedIn, I’d happily talk through what to expect, to see if it’s for them. People are always happy to help on LinkedIn I find.

Get in touch

If you would like to discuss the above, or your search for work/recruiting into your team please contact Amy Mottershead directly at amottershead@mdhr.co.uk

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