Starting a new job in the middle of a global pandemic
My story
Earlier this year I made the difficult decision to make a career change after working at my last company for four years. I was due to leave at the end of February to take time off travelling before I started putting the feelers out for my next role.
To start my travelling I had planned a trip Thailand where I visited Phuket, Phi Phi and Krabi. When I arrived back to the UK mid-March I was supposed to then be heading to Dubai and Stockholm to make the most of my well deserved break in between jobs, however due to COVID-19 these trips had to be cancelled and I was left with no job, and no holidays!
Luckily I knew of some friends who had created a niche, start-up recruitment consultancy who wanted to bring me in to the team. I was immediately interested due to their professional philosophy and ethos. After a few video conversations with the team, I was hired.
On boarding from Apsida
With the chaotic, borderline post-apocalyptic world I’d arrived back to following my trip to Thailand, I am so grateful the Apsida Management Team made my on boarding as simple and stress-free as possible. A week before my start-date, all of the equipment I needed to efficiently work from home had been delivered to me including a brand new laptop with all the systems, logins etc. pre-configured and even the smallest details were thought of. On Day 1, another new starter and I were introduced virtually using Microsoft Teams where we were brought up to speed on processes, the new systems and a general “welcome to the team”.
One thing I have noticed is that Apsida have invested in great systems and state-of-the-art equipment, which makes the challenging job of recruitment a little easier and helps you feel like a valued member of the team right from the word go.
First few days
After just a few days I could feel the job market had changed. I had left a buzzing market and returned to a world of uncertainty where both employers and employees alike were in a slight state of shock. This was a very different environment to the one I had left and although I am a positive person, this naturally made me a little doubtful.
I have a lot of recruiter friends working in Life Science recruitment or other recruitment sectors and some of their employers, in my opinion, did not treat their staff in a fair way considering the global pandemic was already stressful enough as it is. However Apsida took a very calm, considered and ‘human’ approach to the situation offering flexibility and understanding to make me feel at ease. This has enabled me to build strong relationships with clients in the right way by pipe-lining for the future and the rest of the year is going to be a very successful period.
Daily routine
One of the most important things I found when working from home is having a routine. I’ve read articles, books, spoken with friends, and all of the most successful people have a routine of some sort. Now I would love to tell you that I am a perfect human being and that I stick to this routine religiously, 5 days a week however, no one is perfect! I try and follow this as often as possible to keep me motivated and on track:
7:00 am: Wake up. 15 minute exercise. Shower. Coffee.
7:30 am: Read. Breakfast. Daily affirmation.
8:15 am: Plan my day/week. Respond to emails/LinkedIn messages.
9:00 am: Business Development (Various strategies for this that I set out in my morning plan)
12:30 pm: Gym/Workout/Run. Lunch.
14:00pm: Work on live vacancies. Candidate networking.
17:00 pm: Administration. Adverts. Market Research.
18:15 pm: Finish work (I work later If I am working the US)
I try and finish all of my tasks by a set time. It is very easy to work late in to the night when you are working from home, which I have done on occasion, but if you set yourself a daily time limit then you find you are more productive during the day. I’m looking forward to being back in the office with the Apsida Team, the camaraderie in the office environment is amazing and really helps to keep energy levels high.
I do feel there are a lot of positives to be taken from this WFH experience. The global market will adapt post–COVID with more companies allowing employees to have home based flexibility. When done in the right way, and more importantly, with trust from both employee and employer, I believe it can work really well and the results can be highly rewarding both in revenue and employee satisfaction.
It’s great to be back recruiting again for a fantastic industry that is Life Sciences. If you are looking to bring on board new talent for your Clinical and Medical Teams, please get in touch!
Senior Recruitment Consultant – Clinical and Medical