Opinion
In association with:
Talent
spotter
Pragnesh Karunakaran of
Red Recruitment talks all
things recruitment with sales
coach Stephen Murtagh,
a.k.a. The Exhibition Guy
Whatdo you look for in a candidate?
For me it`s all about real people and its
great having all the qualifications in the
world but attitude and creativity are the real
success factors. The exhibition industry is a
very dynamic and demanding space so having
people who really buy into the concept of what
we do is really important.
What can companies do differently to
attract potential staff?
Work and structures have changed a lot
since I started my career over 30 years ago and
as we move with the times, it’s important we
as employers give our team more flexibility in
the way they work, be it remotely or the actual
hours they do. Companies need to look more
at individuals’ situations rather than adopt a
blanket work practice across the board.
What skills are lacking in the industry and
what are companies looking for?
Training continues to play a big role in
people development and more and more of
the younger generation are buying into the
real value of being better at what they do.
As an industry I feel that sales people are
relying too much on digital and not getting in
front of their clients more. It’s ironic that as
an industry we are promoting a face-to-face
medium via digital.
What are the key attributes you look for in
candidates?
Business as in life has changed and the day
of the flash salesperson is gone and for me its
70 — April
very simple, I look for people who are real and
can build a strong relationship with our clients
that is built on trust and delivering for them
every time. I look for people who are not afraid
to back themselves and take a chance but who
will also admit when they are wrong. I look
for candidates who are not afraid to question
things if they are wrong. Our clients are real
people and so are our employees.
How much importance do you place on
CVs?
There is an old expression that ‘Paper never
refused ink’ and the more glamorous the CV,
the more sceptical I am. I would offer someone
a job based more on how we get on face-to-face
than on paper. I look for the progression in
their career and the length of time they spent
with employers. I am also very interested in
their outside work interests are as this can
give you a great feel for their roundedness.
Personally, college degrees and masters are no
match for how well they can interact within
my business.
What could the industry do to attract
more talent?
As an industry we should be looking at
promoting the dynamic side of the business
and how as an industry you can work across
multiple sectors and also how transferrable
these skills are. On the negative side, I feel the
event industry can be guilty of promoting it as
a totally fun place to work all the time and this
can lead to disillusionment when people work
in it for a long time.
Pictured: Pragnesh
Karunakaran (top) and Stephen
Murtagh (bottom)