Blog » Gillian Kerr

Gillian Kerr

13th June 2017

Role: Talent Adviser

Company: Corvus Recruitment

Track Record:

What does your job entail?

Working as a talent adviser with Corvus is a really varied and rewarding job and no two days are the same.  The job entails sourcing talented professionals who are committed to their careers, interviewing, business development, account management, talent branding, creative marketing and networking but essentially my job is to work with job seekers to help them find a job that will enable them to start doing something they love. 

Is it 9-5?

Recruitment is rarely 9-5 and some of the most productive conversations happen after work when potential job seekers are free to speak more freely than when they’re at work.  A lot of this is done when I’m either sitting on a train or bus on my 4-hour daily commute from the north coast so it keeps me out off Twitter or Instagram at least.  Weekends are almost always free though which is great!

How did you get into this line of work?

After I graduated I headed off to Dubai to work as primary school teacher for two years and met a few friends out there who worked in sales.  When I returned to Dublin, where I’d studied, I went to a few recruitment agencies to look for sales work and one of them suggested that I’d make a great recruiter.  When I started to research what the job entailed, I realised that actually it made use of my skills and also suited my personality down to the ground.

Outline your career to date?

I spent 9 years with a global recruitment company, first in Dublin before being offered the chance to run its Belfast office.  I then headed up its senior finance brand for a few years before taking a sabbatical. Since then I’ve worked as an IT recruiter and more recently as marketing manager for a Belfast based agency.  Since joining Corvus, I’ve been able to use my digital marketing background and my experience in the local accountancy and finance recruitment market in a very different kind of recruitment business.  

Tell us about your qualifications/training.

My degree is in History from Trinity College Dublin which was my favourite subject at school. It may not seem like an obvious leap for a history grad to work in what’s perceived as a sales job but the ability to analyse copious amounts of information, questioning ability and strong written and verbal communication skills actually translate very well.  More recently I studied for Diploma in Digital Marketing via the Digital Marketing Institute.  Being digitally savvy is a must in today’s recruitment world so it comes in handy.

What qualities are required for your job – personal and professional?

Most recruiters are quite extrovert as it’s not a job for the timid!  It’s important to be confident, be able to actively listen and read between the lines, to have empathy and to communicate with all types of personalities.  

What are the biggest challenges and rewards of your work?

There can be a lot of slammed doors so you definitely need to be resilient.  Definitely the biggest reward is being able to tell someone that they’re being offered a job that they really want and seeing them thrive in it.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I love cooking, eating out and I also spend a lot of time at the gym or playing tennis, though I’m out with an injury at the moment!

Tell us an interesting fact about yourself.

I’m also a trained makeup artist, although I’m too busy with work and commuting to use it as anything more than a hobby.

Who has inspired you most in your life?

Apart from Victoria Beckham? Honestly, as trite as it may seem, it would have to be my mum. She’s worked really hard all her life and brought up a family as well as being a great granny.  She’s taught me the value of hard work, treating people with respect and always trying to do the right thing.

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