Shane Ferguson

Employer: Badenoch & Clark
Qualifications: BSc business studies; Bournemouth University

Why did you decide to become a recruitment consultant?

I did a summer internship for a local recruitment agency whilst studying for my degree. The fast-paced environment and interaction I experienced there made me want to pursue a career in recruitment after graduation.

You obviously get to work extremely closely with people in recruitment, which means that good people skills, market knowledge and project management skills are essential. After a year's postgraduate experience generating candidates for an executive search and selection agency, I decided to join my current employer's graduate training scheme.

What's a typical day like?

Every morning we have a team meeting to establish a plan of action for everyone for the day. You can either be working on vacancies, where you manage the recruitment process; on candidate marketing, where you source and sell in the best candidates across the city; or on business development, where you capitalise on winning new and existing business. We have targets to achieve, so I like to stay on the phone as much as possible during core hours.

What's the best bit of your job?

I feel I have a real impact on people's lives, whether it's finding someone their dream job or finding an organisation the best employee. I enjoy building strong relationships with people, so the consultative approach involved in recruitment really suits me. The industry is very competitive and target driven, which also offers measurable development.

And the worst bit?

While the highs are really high, the lows can be really low. You need to be able to ride the storm and be upbeat no matter what. The long hours can also be tiring. But most annoying is the amount of admin you just can't escape!