RECRUITMENT
Calling – Anthony Antoniou started out in sales but has now found his perfect niche in recruitment .
SUCCESS THROUGH PEOPLE
How recruitment firm attracts , develops and retains the best recruiters
WORDS : SARAH DALE PICTURES : TOM BANKS
70 | Tees Business
When Anthony Antoniou left school , the dream wasn ’ t to be a recruiter . In fact , like many of his classmates , he wanted to be a footballer .
“ I ’ m yet to meet the person who left school wanting to be a recruiter – well , except my son ,” said Anthony , who is a director of Imperial Recruitment Group .
Anthony started out in sales before “ falling into recruitment ”, but once he got a taste of the industry , he knew it was for him , and some would say he has the personal attributes that make him perfect for the role .
Along with Jason D ’ Silva and Patricia Dodsworth , he is one of three directors of the recruitment group , which is based at the Imperial Centre in Darlington .
Established in 2005 , there are two main arms of the business : Imperial Workforce ( temporary ) and Imperial Professionals ( permanent ).
The recruitment industry has faced a variety of challenges and transitions in recent years .
In temporary recruitment , a combination of Brexit and Covid has had a knock-on effect on both employing people from eastern Europe – a “ massive source of temporary candidates ” – and finding candidates , who found themselves furloughed or made redundant during Covid and whose priorities for working conditions may have changed .
“ For Imperial Workforce , we have had to forge relationships with employment schemes like backto-work schemes to leave no stone unturned ,” said Anthony .
“ On the permanent job landscape , if I was asked six or seven years ago what the biggest challenge was , it would be creating opportunities for candidates . Now it ’ s the other way around , it ’ s candidate-led , not roles-led .
“ In the skilled world , there is a shifting balance . Candidates have all the ace cards . That means businesses and recruiters are going through a transition and must be creative .
“ If you don ’ t look after your brand , those top-drawer , stellar candidates will go to the businesses with the strongest image .”
That ’ s why , Anthony says , it ’ s vital to both “ look after your brand and look after your people ”.
“ It ’ s also essential for recruiters to get every aspect of recruitment right ,” he said .
“ You need to know why they left their previous position – was it for financial reasons , did they have a difficult relationship with their employer or co-workers , do they want a new challenge ? You have to manage candidates effectively through the recruitment process .”
So , what makes a good recruiter ?