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Courtney Bald

Courtney Bald locations, international, Courtney Bald...

A day in the life of a recruitment consultant or should I rather say a the day in a life of me, Courtney Bald, as a recruitment consultant. It’s fair to say that anyone in recruitment knows that days can differ massively depending on the type of industry, role, and team you are working on. 

Here at Nexus we work with several international markets including Australia, South Africa, the Middle East, Asia and parts of the UK. I run the South African desk, which includes a complete '360 degree' role where I work with clients and candidates throughout the entire recruitment process.

My day in the office starts at 6.30am sharp, which works well for my industry because due to the time difference between the UK and South Africa, I am generally able to catch clients and candidates first thing in the morning. I find that many of my candidates would rather have me call them before work than having to take a personal call during office hours. After speaking with my clients and candidates I tend to clear out my inbox and plan my day accordingly. Around 7.30 daily we have a mini meeting with all members of the Nexus team, where we discuss what we have going on in our relative markets. After that comes breakfast, where a bowl of oats and a cup of tea usually keep me going until lunch - eating at 5am when I wake up just seems far too early!

A very important aspect of my day is always my clients and candidates, especially concerning ongoing recruitment processes and interviews that have recently taken place. Feedback is always an important part of the recruitment process, which is usually obtained from the Partner who interviewed my candidate, which also provides the opportunity for me to further my knowledge/understanding of a firm's operations and current requirements. 

Things always pop up in a day – it's unrealistic to say you can stick to a diary minute by minute, I schedule calls almost 6 months in advance sometimes, people call in to chat, or that perfect candidate emails you and you have to pick up the phone straight away. I try my best to stick to calls I have scheduled, I hate letting candidates down if I must reschedule. Speaking with my candidates is important to me, even if only to catch up, as it builds an element of trust between us which is important for the recruitment process to be successful.

Next thing you know it's 11am which means lunchtime at Nexus; due to our early start we have lunch at a rather unusual time! I try my best to bring my own lunch to work, something healthy like salad or chicken and veg, but let’s be honest, nobody is perfect and sometimes it's off to the shops for a sandwich 'meal deal'… which always results in me picking up sweets too, hence why I try to avoid visiting the shops at all! I am lucky as not many of my candidates need to speak to me during lunch, due to the time difference between the UK and South Africa our lunch time never seems to overlap.

Moving to the UK from South Africa has been a huge change for me, especially when it comes to the weather, so lunch in the summer time is the best, as I can sit outside in the park eating ice-cream with my colleagues. In the height of summer, you could almost forget we're not in the UK, but such weather doesn't last long!

After lunch, my afternoon is usually filled with working on hiring mandates, speaking with my network, and making enquires with firms. This is usually done on a no-names basis, as everyone in South Africa knows each other when it comes to the legal fraternity so it gives me the opportunity to present a candidate to a firm without sending over their CV. 

Advertising is a huge aspect of what I do to attract the right candidates and to let my network know what is out there, and thanks to our Marketing Executive Rebecca Thompson, I can do this in a unique and effective way that reaches my target audience. 

Before you know, it's 3pm – it's home time! One of the biggest perks of working at Nexus is that due to the early starts, you get to leave the office at 3pm. Of course, I am available to speak with candidates outside of office hours but I get my afternoon off to spend them as I please – usually this means it's time to hit the gym but on occasion it means drinks with the girls or time to catch up with friends and family from back home in South Africa.

To find out more about how Nexus can help you find your dream job, contact Courtney Bald oncbald@nexuslr.com / 0044 161 870 6776

To see all our latest South Africa vacancies, click here.