Commenting on Julie’s promotion, Operations Director, John-Paul Toner, said;
“Julie has been with Contract Scotland for 10 years now and, having been a very successful recruiter of temporary staff in her own right, was promoted to the position of Manager four years ago. Since then, she has been instrumental in the growth and success of the temporary side of the business and it’s because of that success, because she personifies the values of Contract Scotland and because she is integral to our future plans that she has been elevated to the position of Associate Director.
As we look to the future, Julie’s promotion is the latest step in a broader re-organisation of the business designed to create the best platform from which to continue to grow our business, retain our market leading position and continue to deliver a best in class recruitment service for both our clients and candidates.
On behalf of the board of Directors at Contract Scotland, I’d like to congratulate Julie on a richly deserved promotion and wish her the very best in her new position.”
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Our intern Denise met with Julie Fleming, to find out more about the decade long career path that’s lead to her recent promotion of Associate Director.
Denise: Congratulations Julie! How did you come across Contract Scotland 10 years ago?
Julie: Thank you very much. I applied to Contract Scotland more than 10 years ago based on a recommendation from a friend. I can’t believe how quickly the time has gone!
D: How did you know Contract Scotland was the right company for you?
J: I had interviews with competitors, however I pursued Contract Scotland because throughout the interview process, it was clear that they recruited in a unique way. It was all about getting the best fit for both a job seeker and employer, as well as building relationships. This is what I imagined recruitment to be. The other thing that I found refreshing, was that there was no sales or volume based targets to meet, which was my initial impression from other recruitment consultancies.
D: Tell us more about your career so far. How did it start and how did you progress?
J: When I left university, I joined Contract Scotland as a Recruitment Consultant. I was new to the role, and like others who joined before me, I received training tailored to my own style of learning and had a mentor throughout my first year whilst I got my head around the role.
Every person has a line manager or mentor who is able to assist when you are in need. We work in teams and you never feel like you are out on your own with little or no support. Consultants don’t work on commission or targets, so we are able to work together and help our clients and candidates without competing with one another. It is a much more enjoyable working environment that not only benefits the recruitment team here, but our clients and candidates who in turn receive a better level of service. This considered set up provided me with a solid foundation on which to learn and develop.
The retention of staff here at Contract is exceptionally good and that has really benefited me in my career too. I learned how to be a good Recruitment Consultant and latterly Manager, through being trained and mentored by the best in the industry. It helped that there was consistency throughout my training, even now I still have the benefit of a mentor.
I still feel as though I learn something new every day. There are rarely two days the same, it’s challenging and rewarding and I love it! When you are passionate about something – you give it 100% and the company has continued to acknowledge this throughout my career, from Consultant – Senior Consultant – Section Manager to Associate Director.
D: In your eyes, what made you a good Manager?
J: There are many attributes I think a good Manager possess. I believe it’s important to continually developing your skills, rather than sticking with the status quo. Not everyone wants to be managed in the same way, so communicating with your team is highly important. I felt that asking my team for feedback on my management style, allowed me to tailor how best to manage each individual and as a result develop better working relationships.
D: How do you manage your work life balance?
J: The work life balance here at Contract is very good. No one is pressured to come in really early or stay really late. We have weekends to ourselves with the odd industry event and we get Christmas and New Year off. What’s not to like?! There are occasionally late evenings when we chat socially around the office and there’s definitely a few repeat offenders!
D: What was your best experience so far in the past 10 years?
J: Being promoted to Associate Director has been the best experience, but it’s all the experiences up until that point that got me to where I am now.
I have always worked in the temporary recruitment division, so reaching milestones with the rest of the team, such as breaking record numbers of freelance workers as we did in 2016, was a big highlight. It was a team effort and we achieved it together.
D: Thanks for your time Julie and congratulations again.
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