A journey to becoming one of Bristol's leading consultants

As one of Talent UK’s most successful consultants based in our Bristol office, Ben Morgan sure knows his stuff when it comes to recruitment.

Ben shared some valuable insight into his hugely successful journey at Talent so far, and gives key gems of advice for newcomers to the industry.

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How long have you been at Talent? And what was your story before joining us?

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I joined Talent back in August 2020. Prior to that I worked for two other recruitment companies, so I’ve been in the business for a pretty long time. After my first stint back in 2008, I went travelling for a while and wasn’t particularly interested in getting back into recruitment. But, I got “sniffed out” shall we say – and that’s when I ended up back in the industry and never looked back.

Darren Wells (our brilliant CEO) got in touch with me about joining Talent, and it seemed like the perfect opportunity. And here we are over a year later!

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What made Talent stand out from the rest?

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An amazing CEO, basically. I knew Darren before I joined the business, and he had such a brilliant reputation. Multiple people had followed him over after he joined Talent too, which is always a good sign. When you’re working for a company headed by someone people have actively chosen to follow, you know you’re in a good place.

‍What do you enjoy most about being part of Talent?

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It’s always been about the team for me. It was clear right from the start that Talent just has an uncanny ability to build really close-knit teams – which is so important to be a good consultant.

If you look at the most successful people in the business, it’s not JUST about them. It’s about their surroundings and the team they’re in. That’s what really counts; being around people who are encouraging each other to do well brings a whole new dimension to the job. Good, solid teams are a literal recipe for success.

Let’s move onto YOU and your success – tell us about your market and clients

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I was brought in to cover retail, as that’s been my area of expertise for about 15 years. I work in both perm and contract – but predominantly contract. Covid has obviously impacted the retail contract market, so being able to adapt and move with the market has been crucial this past year.

Throughout my network, we’ve been able to build up a very solid base of clients. This is great for not only keeping the whole team busy, but it’s also pretty inspiring for new starters in the business to see the names we’re working with. Despite being based in Bristol, most of my bigger clients are in London. But, due to the way the working world has changed over the past couple of years, we’re not so bound by geographical location anymore.

What are the key principles that have got you to such a high level in the business? What do you think makes a GOOD consultant?

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In all honesty, there’s a LOT. There are so many factors that go into being a “good consultant”. But if I had to pinpoint a particular thing, I’d say it’s absolutely crucial to be as thorough and detailed with your candidates as possible. You need to know them inside out and, with that information, you’ll find it a lot easier to find them great roles as well.

Over the years, I’ve seen recruiters qualify a candidate for a job based on a single email. And then they wonder why they’re not staying around or coming back to work with you again.

I think it’s so important to never ignore the old-school principles. I’ve seen a lot of recruiters (although not here at Talent!) hiding behind emails. Of course emails, Linkedin and social media are a big part of the job, but we need to be picking up the phone or meeting face-to-face and having authentic conversations with our candidates and clients. Getting to know them properly via a real tone of voice is crucial.

I’d also say – just be honest. If a customer calls me up and presents me with roles I know aren’t my bag, I’m always happy to help but I’m also transparent with them. This level of honesty helps you stand out from the crowd and builds an essential level of trust. If you “fob off” your customers and commit to everything (even though deep down you know you can’t – at least not to a high standard anyway), they’ll see straight through it. If you try to please everyone, you’ll end up pleasing no one. Stick to the market you know and just be honest about it.

There are lots of young new starters coming into recruitment right now, looking up to successful consultants like you. What would your advice be for them?

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We’ve got some really brilliant people here at Talent. So, any newcomers will be automatically surrounded by very experienced people. You should NEVER be afraid to ask questions, as I feel a lot of newcomers are tempted to just keep their head down which (in my opinion) is the opposite of what you should do in this business.

It’s important to be inquisitive and not worried about getting things wrong! Always remember that we’ve all been there, making those first few calls. It’s nerve wracking, but if you ask questions and reach out for support when you need it you will succeed much quicker – I can guarantee you’ll get it here at Talent.

So what’s next for you in your career? Do you focus on particular milestones?

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I don’t tend to put too much emphasis on specific milestones. I just crack on.

If I had to think of a particular goal for right now, it’d be to continue growing the team we’ve got here in Bristol. I’d love to bring in more newcomers with no experience, as it’s always so satisfying watching them thrive and develop their skill set. And, due to our base of big clients, newcomers will be able to use that as a springboard for building their own desk and boosting their careers.