Getting Started In Recruitment: Q&A With Jack Mcmanus

Are you curious about getting started in recruitment?

After completing a placement year within a recruitment agency during his degree, Jack Mcmanus knew he wanted to create a career for himself in recruitment. Joining VIQU in May 2024, Jack quickly embedded himself within our team and has secured over £65K in placement fees so far!

I was pleased to sit down with Jack to learn how he got started in recruitment, his career journey so far and his advice for individuals looking to explore careers in the recruitment industry.

What were you doing before getting started in recruitment at VIQU?

Jack: Before joining VIQU, I had just graduated from Nottingham Trent University where I studied Psychology. Although I liked the subject, I knew pretty much as soon as I started my degree that it was not going to be my career. In order to increase my employability for once I graduated, I decided to partake in the ‘year in industry’ option my degree course offered. I did a year’s work placement at a recruitment agency in the construction sector, which made me realise that I wanted to get into recruitment when I left university.

Why did you choose recruitment for your work placement year?

Jack: I always knew I wanted to do a work placement whilst at university, and recruitment stood out immediately as a good option for me. I’m quite chatty – I’ve always liked talking with people, so being in a job that is predominantly about getting on the phone and connecting with people really appealed to me.

I really enjoyed my placement year, and it made me realise that recruitment was definitely the career for me. It also meant that when I joined VIQU, which was my first job outside of university, I was able to transition well into the team and quickly got up to speed.

Why VIQU?

Jack: Getting started in recruitment was my focus after completing my degree, as I knew that was the career I wanted to go into.

I looked at a few different recruitment agencies in Birmingham, but the thing that struck me about VIQU was how friendly and inviting the whole team were. In my preliminary interview with Melinda Queck, she explained the specifics of the role and discussed the company benefits structure and culture, which helped me make a better and clearer decision on where I wanted to work. Then, I had conversations with Matt Collingwood and Danielle Keegan (who would become my manager), and everyone was really friendly and very honest about what it was like to work at VIQU.

I was really attracted to the career progression opportunities that were made clear to me during both interviews, as well as the commission structure. I found other recruitment agencies I met with were a bit vague about their career opportunities and commission structure, so I really appreciated the transparency.

Talk me through your day-to-day responsibilities…

Jack: As a delivery consultant in the permanent recruitment team, my tasks revolve mainly around resourcing, these include:

• Being involved in client meetings to fully understand the role and candidate requirements
• Writing, reviewing and posting job adverts
• Contacting relevant candidates who are already registered on our CRM system
• Scouring through CVs and job applications sent through to us to find suitable candidates
• Speaking with candidates to vet their skills and experience and to find out what they want from their next challenge
• Presenting the shortlisted candidates to the client
• Managing the recruitment process from diarising interviews and gathering feedback, to supporting negotiations at the job offer stage
• Speaking with recently onboarded candidates to ensure they are settling into their roles and to gather relevant feedback

What are your favourite parts of the job?

Jack: Working in an IT specialist recruitment agency, I really enjoy finding out about the latest technology and advancements from the professionals who are at the cutting-edge of it. It’s really interesting to talk with people who are so passionate about what they do.

Being a chatty person, I really like making connections with people and having the opportunity to support them throughout a recruitment process is very rewarding. You can empathise with their ups and downs and it’s an amazing feeling when you tell an individual that they’ve got the job they worked so hard to prepare for.

I also really enjoy the social side of recruitment – recruitment attracts a mix of personalities, so there are always interesting conversations going on in the office.

Tell me about your main career highlights …

Jack: My first placement will definitely stay with me. I’d had a number of disappointing placements fall through at the last minute when I was first getting started in recruitment at VIQU, which did affect me a little bit and made me question whether this career was the right path for me. Then, I built a really good relationship with a candidate and was able to secure them a great opportunity. When the deal went through, I was so pleased, it brought back my confidence and made me feel a lot more secure in my abilities.

Also, personally, I’ve really enjoyed the team socials at VIQU, particularly our Christmas conference trip to Spain last year. We went on lots of great activities, such as dirt road buggy driving, quad biking and a Segway tour! It was a fantastic experience, and I had a brilliant time doing new things with my team.

What are you looking forward to next in your career?

Jack: I’m still quite new to recruitment. I’m getting to grips with all aspect of my role and gaining a lot of confidence through each placement I make, so I definitely look forward to progressing further at VIQU. The next move for me is to become a Senior Delivery Consultant, where I can help support some of the trainees coming into the business like I experienced when I started. In a more senior role, I’d have the opportunity to work more closely with the clients too, which I’d like to explore and understand more about.

I am also looking forward to our next Christmas conference – the location hasn’t been announced yet, but I am so excited to go. If last year’s conference trip is anything to go by, I know this trip will be amazing!

Do you have any tips for anyone getting started in recruitment?

Jack: Recruitment can be quite difficult at times, there are high highs and low lows. I find it easiest going into work and facing everything with a positive attitude, but keeping an awareness that things can change, and things might go wrong.

Candidate dropouts and vacancy withdrawals happen, but stay positive because there’s nothing stopping the next deal from going well!

If you are interested in getting started in recruitment, check out our Join Us page here for our latest internal roles, and click here for more interviews with our team.