7.00 AM
After hitting the snooze button one too many times, the longing for freshly brewed coffee and some breakfast eventually gets me out of bed. I spend the next hour getting myself ready for the day before rushing out the door to get my bus into the city.
8.30 AM
I make my way into the office and say good morning to my teammates. I take a seat at my favourite desk right in the middle of my team’s pod and log into my computer. After ducking to the kitchen to put my packed lunch in the fridge and fill up my water bottle, I take the time to go through my unread emails and check my calendar.
9.00 AM
I check in with each of my teammates to discuss what activities need to be actioned. Recruitment is an ever-changing industry and my team often has several different positions open at once. They’re all at different stages, so it’s important for us to understand what needs to take priority and agree on some deadlines.
9.30 AM
I check our open jobs to see whether we have had any potential candidates apply to our job adverts overnight. There are a few that look like they could fit the bill, so I take the time to give them a call and screen them for their suitability. After confirming that they’re interested and have the right skill set, I email them some more information about the position and explain what we require for the application process. I’ve also scheduled some times for me to have a more comprehensive chat with the candidates about their backgrounds and role motivations – some are available to meet with me for a coffee in the coming days and others are keen to join virtual meetings.
10.30 AM
I’m working with one of my colleagues to create a shortlist for an open job that requires a very niche skill set. I run some keyword searches on our internal database, Seek talent search and LinkedIn Recruiter to uncover potential candidates who have this experience. I find some people and reach out to them to see what their current employment situation is and see if they might be open to considering the role. Some aren’t interested, but a few of them are keen to learn more about it. I provide them with all the information they need – they're going to take a look and get back to me.
11.45 AM
One of my teammate’s best clients has sent us a new position that they’re needing to be filled. We immediately read through the position description to understand what our client is looking for. I realise that I have some awesome candidates in my talent pool that would be a great fit for this. My teammate and I give these people a call straight away to let them know about the new opening. All of them are interested in considering it! After emailing them some further information about the job, I create a record for the new role on our company database and post these candidates against it. I also post an advertisement for the role to various job boards, such as Seek and Indeed.
12.30 PM
It’s lunchtime and I’m absolutely starving! I head into the kitchen to heat up my lunch. Several of my colleagues from various business areas are already in here eating together. I join them for a casual discussion about binge-worthy Netflix shows and our company social event next week – we're going to lawn bowls! After I finish eating, I duck out to the nearby grocery store to grab a snack for this afternoon.
1:30 PM
A client has arranged a phone call with one of my teammates and me to have a chat about a role that they’re needing to be filled. We head into a meeting room so that we can jump on the phone. The client gives us some further context into the role and allows us to ask questions. I ask for some more information about the skills and experience that they’re looking for in a successful candidate and take notes that I can refer back to whilst I source candidates for the client.
2.00 PM
I’ve set aside some time this afternoon to check in with some of the candidates in my talent pools who are due to finish some contract assignments shortly. I give them a call to see if anything has changed with their situation. Some of them have had their contracts extended, so I make a note to give them a call again closer to their new end dates. Others will be finishing up as planned and will be actively looking for a new role shortly. I give them an update on the current market, take some notes on what aspects of a job that they’re most interested in and ask them to send me their updated resumes. I’ll share these resumes amongst my team so that everybody is aware that these candidates are looking for a new role.
2.30 PM
I meet a candidate for an afternoon coffee at a local cafe. They’ve never worked with us before, so it’s a great opportunity for us both to find out more about each other. I ask the candidate questions about their background, skills and job motivations and give them an overview of myself and my team. He has a really great background and I can think of several of our clients that he would be an asset to and enjoy working with. Once I get back to the office, I share his resume with my teammates and add him to my talent pool. We’ll get in touch with him as soon as a role comes through that would be great for him!
3.00 PM
One of our candidates has moved through to reference checking stages with a client! I give the referee a call and ask them some questions about the candidate. The reference is glowing. I tidy up the notes that I took while I was speaking with the referee in preparation to be sent to the client. This is also snack time for me, so I’ll devour the protein bar I bought from the shops earlier.
3.30 PM
A couple of my teammates have deadlines to shortlist candidates for some roles this afternoon. We chat about the client’s shortlisting requirements and work out which candidate’s applications we will be sent for each role. I assist them with putting the applications together to the standard expected by the clients and we get the shortlists sent across before closing of business. Our clients will give us some feedback in a few days’ time once they’ve had the chance to review our candidate’s profiles.
5.30 PM
Time to hit the gym for an after-work class. The gym is super close to the office and I usually attend with some of my colleagues – they were actually the ones who introduced me to gym classes when I started with the company. We have fun challenging ourselves with the workout and laughing at each other when we stuff up. We don’t take ourselves too seriously.
7.00 PM
I’ve arrived home and dinner is the first thing on my mind. After giving my cat some attention, I jump straight into cooking. My partner arrives home shortly after I do and takes over so that I can have a shower. Nothing worse than sitting around in sweaty gym clothes!
7.30 PM
After I freshen up, I eat dinner with my partner and we tidy up the kitchen. I’ve made sure to pack up our leftovers for work lunches tomorrow. We then settle down to watch some tv together. We’re always bingeing something on Netflix and tonight we chose a sitcom that we could laugh at.
9.00 PM
I spend some time playing with my cat and chatting with my friends from school and university mainly. Even though we’ve all chosen different pathways after graduation, we make sure to stay in touch regularly which I’m really grateful for.
10.00 PM
Time to hop into bed and wind down. Sometimes I’ll read a book or do some Sudoku puzzles, but I’ll most likely watch TikTok for a while – surely I’m not the only one guilty of this!
After a while, I’ll put the phone down and set my alarm; ready to tackle whatever tomorrow will throw my way!