Eilidh Graham joined Rutherford Cross in October 2021 in her first recruitment role. Here, Eilidh shares her path to a career in recruitment, and her experiences in her first few months with Rutherford Cross.
After finishing my studies in Business and Law in 2021, I wasn’t sure where I wanted to go. I had originally chosen to do a joint honours degree as I felt this gave me more flexibility in job opportunities however come Summer 2021, I still had no idea which path I wanted to follow.
Throughout University I had worked in the restaurant industry, and I had been promoted to a manger role which I loved. However, following the pandemic and a bout of redundancies I found myself looking for a role more aligned to my degree.
I joined the graduate programme of a global retail organisation and although I found it extremely helpful to my growth and development, I felt like I was just a number. I was used to my close-knit restaurant family, and I had gone from this to an organisation with over 100,000 employees. I changed my LinkedIn profile back to ‘Open to Work’ in dismay. Only a few days later I received a message from Rutherford Cross Director, Hazel Wynn asking if I was open to hearing about working in recruitment.
Considering a Career in Recruitment
When Hazel first reached out to me I was extremely hesitant. I had never considered recruitment before and I didn’t understand how the role would work or if I had any of the right credentials for it. Hazel invited me to have a quick chat about the industry, to answer any questions I had and to see if I would be a good fit.
After I had spoken to Hazel my outlook was completely transformed. I realised I had a lot of preconceptions around recruitment that weren’t accurate, and I was delighted to be invited to interview. Following the four-step interview process I was formally offered a role with Rutherford Cross starting at the end of October.
Starting Out at Rutherford Cross
As with anyone making a new career move, I was anxious. I questioned if I had made the right choice. I was not convinced my current role was for me in the long term, but what if this was worse? What if the culture and values were bad? What if I didn’t fit in?
All of these fears were squashed within the first week, if not the first day. The team made sure to have me meet all members of staff in 1 on 1 casual meetings where the purpose was just to get to know everyone.
I met the other teams in the Livingston James Group over Teams calls and got to know everyone across all LJG brands. I was embraced with open arms by everyone and offered plenty of advice and support. Livingston James provided training to help introduce me to the world of recruitment and Rutherford Cross led training sessions on how to generate candidates and clients. In just over a month, I had filled my first job and I knew my passion would only grow from here.
Recruiting with Purpose
In the few months I have been working within Rutherford Cross I have learnt so much about recruitment and myself. I would never have believed I had the confidence to take this step and I probably wouldn’t have without the amazing support from the team around me in Rutherford Cross and the Livingston James Group.
One memory that always stands out to me that I think sums up the company, is when I met with Jamie Livingston, founder and CEO of Livingston James Group. We sat down for a one-to-one within my first week. He asked me how I was feeling and how everything was going, then he took some time to go through the purpose and values of the company.
Jamie asked me to feed back to him if I believed the values were being sustained within the company. I was taken aback by this as I have always worked for companies with ‘values’ and strong mission statements, none of whom have particularly stuck by them. However, I knew Jamie was completely sincere in asking me for this and even more so now that he has consistently checked in to make sure the values are being upheld.
I cannot wait to be a part of the further growth of Rutherford Cross and Livingston James Group. I am passionate and determined to help in supporting candidates and clients get the best out of their searches. I am genuinely grateful for the opportunities provided to me and I cannot wait to see what the future holds for me, Rutherford Cross, and Livingston James Group.
To find out more about careers with Rutherford Cross or the wider Livingston James Group contact [email protected]
