Celebrating 20 Years!

20 Years. Wow, 20 Years! This month I celebrate that I have been recruiting the Operations and Middle Office world for 20 years.

Recruitment is a challenging job. It requires persistence, thick skin, and determination. But nothing beats a good honest day’s work, enthusiasm, and a smile. The cornerstones of how I have lived and breathed my career to date, and how I train others to embrace the hurdles and challenges thrown at you daily. People come from all different walks of life and backgrounds, have unique desires; by being able to give everyone a chance, and to just be honest and try for them, then hopefully your reputation will be positive.

My recruitment journey started following the devastation of 9/11, when made redundant from JP Morgan and had to find my own job ringing around my counterparts and contacting companies directly. A former manager rang me and asked if I wanted to do it for other people as a recruiter. The rest is history. To be a success, you must be able to navigate the ever changing landscape that recruitment throws at you.

During my time I have seen many things. Good and Bad. Smartphones, Social Media, Emojis/Memes, GPS, and Wi-Fi have become prominent. No one watches live tv and streams what they want to watch. Climate change is real, with people buying electric cars and recycling more. Not forgetting Boris telling us to stay home for the best part of two years whilst a pandemic swept the globe.

We are now living in a financial services world where we see computers trading the markets. FinTech firms are more trusted than high street banks. Crypto currencies now exist. We are almost living in a cashless environment. However, nothing will ever compare to recruiting during the Great Recession of 2007-2009. Those were the darkest of days, yet I still managed to produce successful high achieving recruitment solutions whilst others struggled. Those times really contributed to deciphering what is needed to be a proven and tenured industry recruiter.

Maintaining relationships is of paramount importance, whether you are a client, candidate, or vendor, and you must treat each person you meet with respect. You will never know when you will need to reengage with them again, and it should then be accommodating.

Throughout the years I have met thousands of people, got to know them, and tried my very bet to make sure I have done everything I can to help. I have seen careers blossom, watch people become well trained, seen many counterparts get married and start families, and proud to have assisted hundreds of businesses and thousands of job seekers with their employment needs. I have worked with some incredibly talented recruiters, supported many inspirational leaders, made lots of friends, suffered with many hangovers, and have some rather hilarious and sometimes flabbergasting recruitment stories to tell.

Without you all, I could not have had the amount of success I have achieved. Whilst I am yet to see England win a major footballing championship or my golf game reach single figure handicap, I am however proudly married with 2 beautiful daughters, and the owner of one of the go-to names in Financial Services Recruitment. I am so proud to say I am the owner of CassonX and how we have built its strong market perception.

Thank you to everyone who has made the last 20 years so enjoyable.