Working As A Recruitment Account Manager: Q&A With Adam Smith

After 9 years working for the same recruitment agency, Recruitment Account Manager, Adam Smith, decided he wanted to take a risk and take on a new challenge. Joining VIQU’s Key Accounts team at the start of 2024, Adam has managed to build upon relationships with our closest clients and accrue an impressive desk.

I was keen to sit down with Adam to learn more about what a career as recruitment account manager looks like, and why he decided to pursue new opportunities at VIQU.

Did you have a career prior to recruitment?

Adam: Yes – after leaving college, I enrolled in the Tesco Trainee Management Programme, as a way to fast track my career into retail management. I was on the scheme for just over one year, but I decided it wasn’t for me. There was a lot of working nights and unsociable hours, and retail no longer seemed like the sector I wanted to make a career in.

After a short stint as an estate agent, I was approached about starting a career in recruitment. The soft skills I had gained through the management programme and then from working in an estate agency meant that making the jump to recruitment wasn’t too much of a culture shock. So, I started a new career, and I worked at the same recruitment agency for 9 years before I came to VIQU.

Did you have any misconceptions about recruitment?

Adam: Honestly, I had no clue how recruitment worked and didn’t know how agencies made money! I moved directly from job to job after leaving college, so I had never worked with a recruiter before. I didn’t really know what to expect when I started in recruitment, but I wanted to try something new and the challenge excited me.

What attracted you to recruitment?

Adam: When I went to the job interview at the first agency I worked for, I was really attracted to the environment. It was busy, with lots of people talking on the phone. It seemed quite exciting. The agency had a nice modern office and there were lots of people who were my age starting out in training just like me. I thought the environment was something I could easily fit into.

What made you want to join VIQU?

Adam: Over 9 years with my previous employer, working as a recruitment account manager, I had built up a good desk and created some great opportunities for myself. I had moved from a junior role right up into management and looked after a whole team of people. However, I needed to take a risk. I didn’t want to carry on as I was, and only experience one company throughout my career. I knew it would limit my opportunities.

As I approached my 30s, I knew that this was the time to make a change before I began to think about things like starting a family. I knew taking a risk would no longer be possible at that point.

VIQU’s Head of Talent Melinda Queck approached me about a possible move to VIQU, and after multiple conversation with Mike McEvoy (VIQU’s Key Accounts Director), I liked a lot of what he had said and recognised the big opportunity on offer at VIQU.

It was a big leap of faith as I was going from an agency where I had built up a large desk of clients and grown some great relationships. I joined VIQU just under a year ago and it’s taken time to adjust and sow some seeds, but I am starting to build myself back up and reap the rewards.

You currently work in VIQU’s Key Accounts department. For anyone reading who doesn’t know, could you explain what account management is?

Adam: A recruitment account manager role is essentially based around building and maintaining relationships with key long-term clients.

You are the face of your company and are your client’s main point of contact, so you have to be on the ball and answer any questions they may have, managing the entire process and their expectations.

In account management, you often have a number of roles on the go at once, so you need to be organised and have good attention to detail to make sure everything is running as it should, and that service levels are maintained.

You are the person the client is relying on to deliver time and time again. If you don’t, you run the risk of damaging that important relationship.

What attracted you to a role as a recruitment account manager?

Adam: I always knew that I wanted to be client-facing and to be heavily involved in building those key relationships, but working fully 360 and having to secure new clients through business development was just not for me.

I find that developing and nurturing good relationships with clients comes quite naturally to me and it’s something I really enjoy.

What are your career highlights?

Adam: I have a few highlights in my career as a recruitment account manager that I am really proud of:

• In my previous agency, the small team I built hit £1million in billings – that was a really proud moment for me.
• Making the leap from my previous agency to VIQU is also something I am really proud of. I was in a comfortable position in my last job and could have just coasted and remained at that level. Instead, I took a risk, and I’m sure in years to come, I’ll look back thinking that it was the best decision.
• Personally, as well, recruitment has helped me build a good life for myself. I have bought houses thanks to my success, gone on some amazing holidays and had many great experiences.

What are you looking forward to in your career now?

Adam: In the next 10 years, I want to work hard to set myself up for life financially-speaking. One of my main reasons for joining VIQU is the fantastic earning potential – the commission scheme is one of the best I’ve seen. So, I am planning to continue building my desk and to take advantage of every opportunity I have to grow at VIQU.

Any tips for potential new recruiters?

Adam:

• You have to be prepared to put in the hard work and the hours. It takes a long time to learn the industry and the sector you work in, but once you get it, it’s much easier and is very rewarding.
• Don’t put yourself down. Recruitment is challenging. It takes a while to build up your pipeline and your client base, so it’s unlikely you will see the high rewards quickly, but they will come if you’re determined and work hard.

If you are considering a career in recruitment (perhaps as a recruitment account manager!), check out our other team interviews here. If you would like to see our latest internal opportunities, head to our ‘Join Us’ page here.