Going the extra mile pays off in advancement opportunities

Elske Koek realized during her studies that a commercial job seemed more fun than being a teacher. After spending two years as an au-pair in Australia, she decided to apply for a job at Robert Walters. Her recruitment career progressed quickly.

From studying to becoming a teacher to recruitment, that is quite the interesting career path.

"Halfway through my second year of studying I already knew that a career as a teacher didn't suit me. I missed a certain thrill, it wasn't commercial enough. Eventually I finished my education to become a teacher, to at least have a degree even if it wasn’t in a field I was interested in. However, I remained curious about what a career in business would look like.

What did you do after finishing your degree?

"I went to Australia to do something different for a while. I thought it would be fun to explore the world and travel for a bit, since I hadn’t been outside of Europe before. In Perth I started working as an au-pair. This was somewhat in line with my education, and you can start working immediately which was very convenient for me. After a year my visa expired, but I knew I wasn't ready to leave Australia yet. I applied for a new student visa, moved to Sydney to work there, but also enrolled in a Leadership & Management course. I followed several subjects such as economics, project management, financial management, recruitment and HR which I found very interesting. This confirmed my belief that studying commercial economics or business economics would have been a better fit for me.

After two years in Australia you returned to the Netherlands. How did you end up working in the recruitment sector?

"I knew I wanted to pursue a career in a commercial field, but this didn’t necessarily fit with my education. A friend who already worked as a recruiter told me that an economic or business education is not a requirement for recruitment, as long as you have a higher educational degree and a commercial mindset, are sociable and strong-willed. I was deciding between several different recruitment agencies but ended up choosing Robert Walters.

Why Robert Walters?

"At Robert Walters, you start from the bottom and work your way up. As a newcomer you join a bootcamp where you learn everything you need to know about recruitment together with other newcomers. This was very important for me as it aided me in mastering the whole recruitment process from interviews with candidates, to sales, to meeting with clients. This differs from other recruitment organizations where you would usually start out with a buddy that teaches you everything one on one. However, I really enjoyed having a group of peers to train and share my experiences with.

Additionally, I immediately noticed that there is a good atmosphere at Robert Walters. And it was clear from that start that are plenty of growth opportunities as well.

Speaking of those advancement opportunities: after a mere 2.5 years you got promoted to managing consultant. Can you explain your success story?

Laughs: "Hard work, but above all perseverance. The first six months were quite though. But luckily, I had a great manager who supported me and provided me with help when needed. After a while there comes a point where you know how the process works and where you have to go the extra mile to beat the competition. And this extra work eventually pays off in the form of advancement opportunities.

What's fun about working at Robert Walters?

"There are a lot of social activities. Additionally, the company culture is very pleasant, and colleagues are friendly”.

On the work front, there are numerous possibilities for development in terms of salary and content. And from the beginning there is a clear growth trajectory if you’re interested in becoming a manager. You’ll for example receive support in the form of specifics trainings that prepare you for the role.

In addition, you will be working for a company with an international character and with various different customers, this variety keeps the work interesting. Should you be interested, there are also international opportunities available.

Lastly, how do you spend your time outside the office?

"I go to festivals a lot; I play sports and I recently started playing golf. Furthermore, i like to read. But above all, I like social activities, drinks with friends. And I enjoy wine a lot. I recently had the pleasure of participating in a wine course and I’m definitely going to follow this up soon!

Learn More

Want to learn more about recruitment? Have a look at our vacancies or contact our talent acquisition expert Rens van der Wacht via rens.vanderwacht@robertwalters.com or tel 020 - 644 46 55.

Thomas can put his experience as a top athlete to excellent use in his work as a recruitment consultant. And when playing sports with colleagues.

Charlotte is a mother of three young children. She explains how she combines her family with her job as a recruitment consultant: 'It's convenient that working from home at Robert Walters is not a problem.'

Stef has been able to incorporate the knowledge of his previous working experience as a sales representative at a bank into his current position as a recruitment consultant