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Why did you join HW?   The vision of being market leaders in each vertical by the end of 2020. I joined Hamlyn Williams from a very successful and already established agency in the UK, and personally, I really wanted to live and work in NYC.   After interviewing with a few firms, HW was the most impressive based purely off of the ambition that they had. HW is one of the fastest growing international agencies in the world and after speaking to the leaders of the business in NYC, I was blown away by what they had achieved in such a short space of time. No brainer for me!   How long did it take to see the vision at HW?   The success that I have seen at the company in such a short space of time. When I joined, the NYC office was 22/23 people, now we are at 40+ after 12 months with plans to double that in no time at all - It just shows how fast we are growing and how true to the 2020 ambition the company is.   What’s your biggest achievement?   I started the legal function from scratch, recruiting within the intellectual property with no clients and no candidates on the internal database. 12 months later I manage a team of legal recruiters after developing some excellent relationships with some brilliant law firms, life sciences companies and in-house IP functions. We have built a very successful team and we are only going to get better.   3 words to describe HW   Ambitious Collaborative Fun   What would you say to someone wanting to join Hamlyn Williams?   There is no limit to what you can achieve at HW. I have seen people go from complete rookie to one of the most successful consultants globally in a very short space to time.   I have also seen someone managing two or three people to opening their own office within 10 months... it is a very meritocratic environment and if you work hard, you can achieve whatever goals you have along with the fun you have along the way. If you, like Ryan, are ambitious and want to have the opportunity to develop and manage your own team, then contact us at info@hamlynwilliams.com    

Our Director of North America gives his take on the US Recruitment industry US Recruitment is a dynamic, fast-paced industry. A highly disruptive and exciting space such as this can be a challenge to understand. That’s why we asked our Director of Hamlyn Williams North America to provide us with some insight. Harry Sliufko is our North America Director and has been with the business since its inception. Harry previously excelled within the Life Sciences space, recruiting high profile candidates and working alongside industry-leading clients within the Bio-tech, Pharmaceutical, and Medical Devices sectors. Since then, Harry now heads the largest office in the Hamlyn Williams portfolio – New York City. Who better to go to for the low down on the US Recruitment industry than someone who was ambitious enough to move out there and grow the business in one of the most competitive regions on the globe? Here’s Harry’s take on the US Recruitment industry: What are the biggest trends currently affecting the industry? “I would say the Recruitment industry here is extremely candidate-driven. There are more vacancies than ever before and therefore more choice for candidates. Some say that this is even a candidate-led market where they get multiple offers coming in. I believe that candidates are having more of an influence on what the client offers (i.e. work-life balance, flexible working, office space, benefits, even stock options). For our clients, the candidate is king, but candidates are not blessed with ‘multiple offers’, we source highly-skilled candidates for our client’s roles which in the current climate are very difficult to find. The relationships we build up and nurture with our clients and candidates is what enables us to provide the most suitable talent as we can quickly find the right skill set required.” What do these trends mean for the job market? “This means that with the current high volume of candidates, there are lots of great candidates out there but with skills that fall short of the high expectations of our clients. Our job is to source the best talent and then subsequently guide both sets of customers through the recruitment process. These high-skilled candidates are extremely hard to find as they possess knowledge and experience we can only describe as micro-niche.” How does this affect companies within the industry? Does it impact hiring? “It’s important that we work with clients who are able to boast a fluid recruitment process themselves. Bureaucracy can mean a lethargic and delayed recruitment process which can turn the candidate off. Therefore, brand size and reputation isn’t all that candidates look for these days, it’s also how valued they feel, this starts with the attention paid to them by us and the client throughout the process. Clients are also consulting with us more when it comes to really taking the time to discuss how they attract the right talent. Of course, we play a major role in that and pride ourselves on the relationships we build with candidates. Clients are now looking to continuously review and improve their benefits package as this has become just as important to candidates as salary and brand reputation.” Is there a wider global trend? “This differs from market-to-market, it really depends on the economy of a country, to be honest. Take Germany, for example: they are currently experiencing high levels of growth which mean more jobs and that means a great need for highly-skilled candidates to fill these roles. When you talk of a candidate-driven or even a candidate-led market, you can include the US and I suppose, some of Europe in that conversation. It will certainly be interesting to see how this trend plays out in the near future.” What new innovations are you seeing? “There’s a whole lot of technological advancements that are seriously disrupting the industry, I would say in a positive way! It’s all about what competitive advantage is to be gained when it comes to using this technology or not. One example that I’ve witnessed is clients moving towards video applications. This allows them to actually see a candidate before interviewing themselves. The challenge with this is to ensure personalisation and make certain that candidates don’t feel undervalued by speaking into a camera rather than face-to-face. This would simply be a way to get a feel for a candidate prior to meeting them face-to-face. So far, we haven’t really felt the need to do this just yet. Our recruiters are trained extensively on their market when they join, and they’ll get to know their candidates really well over time. We feel this level of engagement is even more personal.” How would you describe overall industry performance? “For me, it’s about how we can keep adding value to our clients. Too many recruiters simply post jobs straight on LinkedIn when firing out job ads on its own simply isn’t useful enough anymore. The job market is strong right now, so it’s important to educate recruiters or they just sit on LinkedIn all day, not really adding any value. Here at Hamlyn Williams, each recruitment consultant specialises in hiring within what we call micro-niche areas, so we are able to capitalise on the strong job market within the high-growth US Recruitment space. We work on building up relationships with both customer bases so we provide our clients with unrivalled market knowledge, giving them access to candidates that they normally wouldn’t see.” If Harry’s insight has inspired you in any way and you are a business looking to hire, you can register a vacancy. If you’re looking for work in any one of the areas we operate within, please upload your CV. Alternatively, you can email info@hamlynwilliams.com for more information or feel free to call 0203 675 2920.

Why did you choose to join Hamlyn Williams?  Meeting all the managers was important to me, in most interviews I’ve been to you don’t really get to meet directors or the CEO and that really stuck with me throughout. They take recruiting and hiring very seriously and that alone made me feel even more determined and valued when I got the role. The managers made quite an impression on me and they were definitely people I wanted to work with. I knew they could help me further my career. The niche specialisms that they operate in also stood out to me, in particular, life sciences and the pharmaceutical sector.  Also, the location is great! Based In the heart of London, there’s always something to do as it’s an amazing city. Describe your journey so far, what do you like about the role and also the team? My journey so far has been great!  It’s down to a combination of my own hard work and also the team, in particular, my managing director and colleagues who have been supportive with me every step of the way in the beginning. In general, it’s a great environment for me. It’s a competitive, hardworking and vibrant environment which I thrive in. I really like to be in those types of places with that buzz and personality. The teams great, we often go for team meetings, team lunches, and because it’s quite a small close-knit team, there’s a real connection between the colleagues. You can sense that when you enter the office. What would you say to someone who’s thinking of joining Hamlyn Williams? Well if you’re a hardworking, entrepreneurial, ambitious graduate or person in general, that wants to be part of a company that really cares for you and has a platform for you to progress, then I think Hamlyn Williams will be the best place for you to succeed and start your career.

In 2015 Ali Sharaki moved out to Hong Kong to set up the first of many offices in the APAC region for Hamlyn Williams and so far it has been a major success story. Ali accompanied by Will Brown (now Head of Compliance North America) had the arduous task of building out a team from scratch with no consultants, no clients and no business. Nearly four years later the team has grown to 18 consultants, exceeded budget 7 out of the last 8 quarters, and amassed an enviable client list with KPMG, Accenture, Alibaba, Bank of America and Estée Lauder to name a few. This hasn’t been without struggle though and resilience has been the key. Originally the main focus of the business was Corporate Governance, however now our Financial Services desk has a burgeoning Front and Middle office representation and our Tech desk has branched out successfully into Software engineering, Cyber Security, Data, DevOps and Digital. With this growth in markets Hamlyn Williams HK managed to double its revenue in 2018 compared to the previous fiscal year, and we are looking on track to increase that again by 50% in 2019. Hong Kong is the ideal springboard for our growth in Asia with immediate plans to move into Shenzhen and Singapore on the horizon. The middle-long term plan is to build out our presence in China with an eye on Tokyo and Sydney thereafter. Significant excitement is already building for the Shenzhen office as we a looking to align with some of our major clients who have growth plans in the Greater Bay area. On top of this, we have recently made a senior contract hire to complement our perm desk so we can offer an even more comprehensive recruitment service. Hamlyn Williams is proud to say that we have a very diverse leadership team with a combination of local and expat talent at the top of the tree. All of whom have come through the ranks in some way or another. Our humble Director Ali Sharaki managed to achieve a staggering 7 promotions in 7 years and doesn’t want to stop there with his sights on managing the regional expansion of HW. Senior Business Leader Chris Bolton, who had significant experience in London and Singapore prior to joining Hamlyn Williams, has proven to be a wizard in training up young consultants. Long may it continue as we will need these attributes for further growth. Stephanie Liu VP of Risk, Legal and Compliance has continued to build her career in sensational fashion. Starting off with high volume hires at a mass market recruitment firm, Steph made the brave jump to join HW very early on and it turned out to be the best decision of her career. With no exaggeration from a 180˚ consultant, Stephanie has become within her niche one of the most high profile and prolific 360 ˚ consultants in Hong Kong. After building out her brand she decided to add another string to her bow and taken on a small team which is already starting to blossom. Another VP who must get a mention is Rebecca Moopen who joined us as a Consultant just under 2 years ago. With five years of recruitment and sales experience behind her, Rebecca was determined to find a platform that fulfilled her desire for long-term growth and that she did. Before too long Rebecca became a super biller and earned two promotions in quick succession. Now the goal is to manage the leading tech function in Hong Kong. Bring it on. Rebecca would be the first to say that promotions haven’t been the only benefit of becoming part of the HW team, but her compensation too! Thanks to the generous commission scheme on offer I think she would advise any young money-motivated entrepreneurs to get into the recruitment game ASAP. All these people I’ve mentioned breathe our company values, our culture is important to us and you will need to reflect these values of Resilience, hard work and going the extra mile. Read more on the Hamlyn Williams vision and values here. The platform we have built in Hong Kong creates a massive opportunity for those looking to join the recruitment industry. A highly competitive base salary for Associate Consultants and fresh graduates, plus a commission scheme that tops out at 40% (industry leading), are only 2 of the many reasons why a career Hamlyn Williams is sought after. Nothing better than that first commission check! With new offices opening there is inevitably room for leadership roles in Hong Kong in the pipeline, so for ambitious individuals looking for rapid career progression this could be the place for you! As consultants start to progress it is not rare to see 1million HKD quarters and at least one promotion a year. Without sounding too cheesy the incentives are endless. After smashing budget in Q3 last year the whole team was taken on an all-expenses paid trip to Tokyo, which by all accounts was amazing. It’s not every weekend you get a free trip to Japan. And if that wasn’t exciting enough the top billers globally are getting taken on a luxury trip to Hvar, Croatia. Not bad hey. There are also five-star fine diners clubs, team socials and deal prizes. There is serious energy about the office in Hong Kong, the culture is energetic, ambitious and focused on our goal of becoming the most successful recruitment brand across regulated markets in the region. If you want to become part of this success story at any level please feel free to reach out to our Director Ali Sharaki at a.sharaki@hamlynwilliams.com or me at c.higsonsmith@hamlynwilliams.com