My Life as a Recruitment Consultant: Lisa Thiess

Welcome to the second instalment of our series "My Life as a Recruitment Consultant", where we give you the chance to meet our team, and also find out more about the day to day life of Recruitment Consultants.

Lisa Thiess is a Senior Consultant specialising in Civil Construction recruitment for QLD. Lisa has a degree in Business Management (HR), and is an accredited member of the RCSA (APRCSA status). She has 5 years+ recruitment experience, and outside of work she enjoys a multitude of activities, including roller-blading, kayaking, competitive target shooting, networking events, mountain hiking, and international travel.

How did you get into recruitment?

I fell into recruitment after being referred by a close friend who believed that I had the right skills to succeed in a recruitment position. I had no previous experience and my working history was in the medical field.

How easy or difficult did you find it to pick up the basics of the recruitment role?

I found with the right training and development recruitment came very naturally to me.

What sort of things do you do on a day to day basis?

Within my recruitment role there is loads of variety from interviewing candidates, client meetings, conducting reference checks, scheduling interviews for candidates and clients, providing feedback and giving advice. I also have the opportunity to learn about the engineering industry, together with building a strong commercial and business acumen around the civil construction sector.

What are the best parts of the job?

The earning potential within recruitment is very attractive together with the sense of achievement and self satisfaction of a successful placement. I also enjoy the interaction with both clients and candidates that are professionals in the engineering field as you gain so much knowledge from just speaking with people.

And which are the worst parts?

The administration to the role and the continuous audits - however both are necessary to ensure quality control within the role.

What was the biggest mistake you made as a novice recruiter, and how did you deal with it?

I actually forgot to invoice a client for a placement. This was easily rectified by sending the invoice with an immediate payment date, and the client was understanding. However I was not the most popular person in our accounts department!

How do you think the recruitment industry is perceived by our clients and candidates?

There is a mixed response to that depending on an individual's experience with an agency. I think in general the perception of clients is that we are a necessary evil and a great help, and for candidates most view agencies as a time saver to secure the right position.

How do you differ from your competitors in the same field?

I personally take the approach of being efficient and helpful rather than a hindrance. Also by being proactive for candidates in their job search and completely thorough with the recruitment process, whilst remaining completely transparent and consultative

What advice would you give to someone considering a career in recruitment?

It is important to be strong minded and be able to pick yourself back up when things get tough. The key is to remain positive and have thick skin. This role has many highs and lows, and it is imperative that you don't make the mistake of focusing on the lows.