Oliver Gooch joined Carrington West back in 2018, having been training as a consultant whilst working in a large global recruitment agency. In November 2022, Oliver was named the Recruitment & Employment Confederation’s (REC) “Temporary Consultant of the Year”. His award came only a matter of weeks after he was promoted to Department Manager of the rail team.  

When Oliver interviews potential recruiters to join his team, he says he always asks them why they are interested in a career in recruitment. He admits, this is a question he would struggle with himself as like most people, working in recruitment wasn’t something that came across his radar. He shares; 

“I was all set to join the RAF officer training programme but I picked up an injury which delayed my entry. Whilst I was rehabilitating my sister suggested I join her in working in recruitment to keep me busy and earn some money. My injury didn’t heal as fast as I had hoped, and my wife and mother were both happy I had something to do that didn’t involve running away to a war zone. I ended up being quite good at it, and for me, the money was always an incentive to keep getting better. The rest is history!” 

Over ten years on, and a few promotions, Oliver acknowledges that his motivations have changed. Yes, the money is still important, but now he feels he is at the next stage, 

“I have set my life up to be comfortable and have what we need, so now I am looking to be able to achieve more of life’s experiences with for myself but also for my family. I want to have nice holidays and travel, but I also want to be challenged and rewarded whilst I am at work. I set long and short-term goals and I love achieving them.” 

Goal setting is a huge part of our company culture here at Carrington West. It is a way that we pull together to reach our common business goals, and as importantly how we motivate ourselves to reach our personal potential.  

“My previous role provided a great foundation in recruitment, but now I am happy that I work for a company that really listens to what its employees want. I am at a stage where I want to spend time with my family so flexible working and holidays are important. In my personal life I am now about the small wins, those small goals that make big differences. I also want to help other people grow their careers which in turn is helping the company grow. It has been exciting to see how we have evolved from 20 people when I joined to over 100.”   

That’s not to say that everything is always easy or there aren’t challenges. Oliver is a firm believer that the grass is only greener where you water it! By this he means that you can come and work for a great organisation, and be lucky with market conditions, but you do still have to put in the hard work. He advises anyone considering a career in recruitment to not be tainted by only the good stories companies push out on social media;  

“There are definitely easier jobs out there than recruitment. Knockbacks are part of life for a recruiter so if you aren’t resilient then you need to teach yourself to become resilient very quickly. It is hard work, and you really need to have that underlying reason why you want to achieve, why you go to work every day. Finding your “why” is hard, but without it recruitment is tough!” 

Winning a nationally recognised award from the recruitment industry’s main professional body, REC, has been a highlight for Oliver, but he is quick to say that it was a validation, not a preoccupation. 

 

“It means a lot, but it doesn’t define me. Too many people are fixated on accolades. It’s a cherry on the cake for all the hard work I’ve done, but whether I won this award or not, I would still be overly proud of what I had achieved that year. My mindset is always looking at what’s next, so my head is already thinking about what is next. But having said this, at some point in the future I will reflect and I will take a moment to really appreciate what I had done to receive it.”