Supporting excellence in their job-seeking journey

As a 13-year-old, Sarah Hogan had a 10-year plan.

“I wanted to spend four years at high school, go overseas for my final year, come home for university then head to London for two years. After that, I’d come back to New Zealand and settle down.”

Fast forward a decade and Sarah’s plan was complete. She’d spent a school year in Switzerland, graduated with a Bachelor of Social Sciences from the University of Waikato, and experienced all that London had to offer.

Upon her return to the South Hemisphere, Sarah took up a role with FMG (Farmers Mutual Group) as its Sponsorship and Events Coordinator.

“It was a great role,” recalls Sarah. “I grew up on a farm in Cambridge and Agribusiness was one of my majors at university. The events kept me busy and enabled me to use what I’d learned about people in my HR papers, plus I was working in an industry I was genuinely interested in.”

But, after two years, Sarah was getting itchy feet. “If I can’t see a clear development path or progression ahead of me, then I need a new challenge.”

What that challenge would be, Sarah wasn’t sure. “For the first time in my life I didn’t have a plan,” she laughs.

Meet and greet with Asset Recruitment

“Many of our temporary staff are offered permanent roles with the organisations we place them in, because we take time to find candidates who will work well in a client’s environment.”

When placing a temporary candidate into a role, Carmel Strange, Asset Recruitment’s Manager and Temporary Recruitment Consultant, first seeks to understand an organisation’s needs and working environment. “This is really important, because even though we’re placing a temporary candidate, we still want to match both skillset and fit.”

“When I first reviewed Sarah’s CV I could see she had lots of transferable skills which would make her an ideal temp candidate,” explains Carmel. “She was confident, a good communicator, and had a great attitude, which is really important. I could see straight away she was the type of candidate that had potential to go permanent in an organisation I placed her in.”

Sarah, meanwhile, was looking for a role that would keep her busy, challenge her, preferably within events and agribusiness, and something temporary. Within two days, Carmel had placed Sarah in a challenging and enjoyable sales and logistics role with AgriFeeds.

Carmel says when placing a temp candidate, she encourages them to look at what they can get out of the role. “In Sarah’s instance, the AgriFeeds role introduced her to some systems that would really add value to her CV. Her confidence and eagerness to learn also meant AgriFeeds got value by having her.”

Next challenge

Sure enough Sarah was offered a permanent role with AgriFeeds, but says the opportunity didn’t feel quite right. “I was a little nervous about telling Asset that the role I’d been placed in didn’t feel right long-term, but I needn’t have been. They really supported me.”

“They took the time to find out what I wanted in a job and what I would enjoy. My experience of recruitment agencies in the UK, where I was pushed into roles, and sent to interviews I wasn’t qualified for, was so different to my experience with Asset. They were very particular in what they recommended for me, and even negotiated on my behalf.”

“Asset Recruitment were really interested to know about my lifestyle and my values. What environments I work well in, what kind of leadership I need. They wanted to find a role that fit me, not just my qualifications.”

Recruitment top tip

Sarah says the communication, support and encouragement she received from Asset during her job search was excellent, but she needed to be honest with what she was looking for.

“If candidates are looking for a role, they have to be honest about what they want,” Sarah says. “There’s no point saying you’re happy to work late on a Friday if you don’t want to. Being open and honest about what I was looking for, what I did and didn’t want, meant Asset were able to place me in some great roles.”

Now at the Waikato Chamber of Commerce as Events and Marketing Manager, Sarah says she’s surrounded by a great team, is challenged in her work, receives the right amount of support she needs for her own development, and is excited for what the role can be.

“It’s totally the right fit for me and I have Asset Recruitment to thank for that.”