Felicity Badham-Thornhill
Q :What attracted you to a career in recruitment, Michael Page International in particular?
A: If I'm totally honest I didn't really know which direction I wanted to go after university. However, having had a little exposure to sales and marketing during my time with Redbull at University, I decided that this would be a good area to focus on. I received the details for Michael Page International on a graduate site and was immediately attracted to the prospect of being able to hit the ground running and make some decent money. My motivations at this stage were mercenary although the on-the-job training and career prospects with Michael Page International were undoubtedly a great sell.
Q: What has your career path been within Michael Page International?
A: I initially started my career recruiting part-qualified legal candidates for the Industry and Commerce sector. I was given the opportunity to grow this area from scratch and worked with the full range of candidates on a temporary, contract and permanent basis. As this business grew I was given the opportunity to assist with the growth of the non/part-qualified recruitment in Financial Services and Private Practice and was subsequently promoted to manage this area. After a year managing this business I was asked to take over the Financial Services team for Legal. This team recruited from Paralegal level right up to Head of Legal roles. It was a fantastic challenge and extremely rewarding to work with a new range of candidates, growing the profitability of an extremely interesting business.
After my first year in this business I was informed that we would be setting up Legal in New York. As a city I love, this sounded like a great chance to take on a new career challenge and take on Manhattan. Needless to say, assisting in the start up of a new division in the US has been challenging but I have not looked back. I can think of few other employers who could come close to providing the experiences I have had at Michael Page International in the 5 years I have been here.
Q :What is the best part of working in another country for Michael Page International?
A: The people, the market, the daily challenges I face, re-establishing myself in a new continent.... I couldn't grade what has made this the best decision I have made in my career to date.
Q: What would you like to achieve in the next 5 years?
A I intend to facilitate and exceed the aggressive growth targets of the New York Legal business. Being part of this process, though challenging, is hugely rewarding and in turn I would hope to achieve the next step in my own career - to direct the business I have helped to create.
Q: How important is it to turn challenges into opportunities here at Michael Page International? Can you give a couple of examples of when this happened?
A: Michael Page International is inherently entrepreneurial, turning a challenge into an opportunity is a daily event. The challenge of my first role, where I was given a totally untapped market, enabled me to build a revenue stream that ultimately secured my first management position. Handing over this business to take over a team who's profitability was slipping was another challenge which, had it not been successful, would not have facilitated my move to New York. If you care about the business and you make it your own then you will be rewarded.
