How Changing Jobs Can Change Your Career
Listening to Robert Waters’ musical Irish lilt, it’s obvious that this is a man who’s happy with where he is in life. Not only does he have a young family that he adores, but he’s at the beginning of a career that fires him up. And he’s going places fast, thanks to an expert placement from recruitment agency, Kingston Barnes.
Robert qualified from the University of the West of England in 2013, before going to work for Carillion Construction on a military base in Yeovil. It was a great first job, but with a commute that took one-and-a-half hours each way, Robert began to feel, “Like I was spending more time on the road than onsite!”
With a one-year-old at home and another on the way, Robert began the search for a position nearer to home in the summer of 2015. And he was still looking in November when James Kingston got in touch, having found Robert’s CV online.
Be Fussy With Your Next Role
There were plenty of jobs out there, but it took time to find the right combination of pay and location that were Robert’s main goals. Looking back, Robert thinks he was, “Being a bit fussy”, but why not when your job is something that you have to do all day, every day? “The most difficult thing was finding an opportunity that matched the criteria I had set myself. It was tiring holding out for the right job, but it paid off in the long run.”
Kingston Barnes knew that Bristol-based building and refurbishment specialists, John Perkins Construction, were looking for an Assistant Quantity Surveyor at the beginning of their career that they could guide through their professional development. Some recruiters throw candidates at clients like mud at a wall in the hope that something will stick. But Kingston Barnes uses their extensive experience of the construction industry to closely match candidates to vacancies. As a result, Robert had his first interview within the week and was offered the position the week after.
Robert recalls that, “Kingston Barnes gave me the lowdown on the company, where it was and where it was going. They also helped by telling me what research I should do before the interview. They were very thorough and didn’t leave me with any questions or concerns.”
Accelerate Your Career Progression
Since starting with John Perkins, Robert has gone from working on one £100 million project to working across four or five projects at the same time, ranging from £200,000 to £2 million. That kind of multi-tasking means that you have to know the ins-and-outs of every project, but it also increases your exposure to a wide variety of people, professionals and project areas. As Robert says, it’s “Full-on – in a good way! I’m learning more and more about the job every day.”
Only a year-and-a-half into his career, Robert has just finished leading his first project, renovating Northumberland Buildings, a 4-storey Georgian house in the heart of historical Bath. “I’m at the beginning of my career and I’m learning so much faster than I would have done otherwise. It’s 100% helping to accelerate my career progression.”
From Troubled Waters To Plain Sailing
Having sailed from Norway’s fjords to the coast of Spain, Robert’s used to navigating troubled waters, but the job market is one front where local knowledge is always welcome. As Robert says, “Kingston Barnes made the whole process very easy for somebody who was busy. Compared to other recruitment agencies I’ve come across, Kingston Barnes are very friendly, professional and more than helpful. They’ve been an absolute pleasure to deal with.”
To find out more about how Kingston Barnes could help your career, contact us today on 0117 325 2233 or office@kingstonbarnes.com