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I began my career in sales, where the main aim is, well, to sell a product or service to your customer.

 If your customer doesn’t like what you’re selling, they won’t buy it and if they do like it, they will. Simple! Over time, I realised that my passion and strength lies not within sales but within the people I am working with so, I decided to move into recruitment.

My recruitment experience started in the sales and marketing space. I was recruiting something familiar; sales contractors to do face to face sales on a commission only basis. Quite a simple process that I controlled from beginning to end and it was reasonably smooth. After 4 years, I was feeling unchallenged and unexcited, so I decided to make a change and leap into the exciting world of Accounting and Finance recruitment... 

I had absolutely no background in finance when I started; the extent of my knowledge was how to open a bank account. To be completely honest, it was daunting. I didn’t know what to focus on first and was completely out of my comfort zone. Last week, I saw a video titled “When you have no idea what you’re doing but you’re happy to get involved anyway.’’ It was a Great Dane watching his owner doing lunges from one end of the family home to the other. The Great Dane was trying to get involved and copy his owner. He was very enthusiastic and his effort was admirable but he failed miserably – That’s exactly how I felt... I thought it was a huge challenge but I was happy to get involved anyway!

Fast-forward 6 weeks into my journey with Morgan McKinley, I am working within the Accounting and Finance team, focusing on contract recruitment in Commerce and Industry (anything outside of Financial and Professional services). To my delight, I am not a Great Dane attempting to do lunges, I’m doing much better than that!

During the past few weeks I have attended multiple interactive development workshops based around; 

• Terminology and structure within accounting
• Making the best impression in a client visit
• Building a successful contracting desk
• How to run a successful candidate interview
• The most effective ways to source quality talent and many more.

I was even invited to attend a SEEK workshop at their North Sydney office. The main focus topic was Ad writing for specific sectors and what various candidates find attractive within a specific ad. There were recruitment consultants from businesses all over Sydney, so it was a great networking opportunity also.

The training I have received has helped me enormously but I am most thankful to my colleagues. The slogan of Morgan McKinley is: ‘Go Beyond’ and this is what I have seen within the culture of the business. The support I have received has given me the confidence to dig in and get involved.

Within my short time with Morgan McKinley, I have honed my skills with people and developed my knowledge of Accounting and Finance. As a result, I have assisted in placing 3 candidates in 6 weeks! It’s something I didn’t think I could do at the beginning but now I am hungry to further my development and help more happy candidates find their next career steps.

It’s proven that a happy workplace brings in more revenue.  An article written by Meghan M. Biro from Forbes Magazine titled ‘Happy employees = Hefty profits’ backs up this theory. She speaks about 5 key tools to create a happy, high functioning workplace. After reading the article myself, it’s clear that Morgan McKinley are advocates of the same theory.
 

1 - Get paid right! - Everyone loves a cheeky bonus cheque but getting paid right doesn’t just revolve around money; for some, it’s time. At Morgan McKinley, there is a scheme in place for quarterly top billers called ‘4 hour Fridays’. It’s all in the name - getting rewarded for putting in the hard work and as a result working 4 hours on a Friday and enjoying Friday afternoons off to do as you please. 
  

 2 - Deliver awesome benefits - I have never worked in a flexible working environment before. I always had to be at work at 8am sharp and leave at 5pm sharp. I had 45 minutes for lunch and that was it. It never occurred to me that I could have the opportunity to leave work early to go to the gym or even work from home. Morgan McKinley promotes a flexible working environment which allows so much more work-life balance. 
  

 3 - Open leadership and an open mind - Megan mentioned in her article ‘when management is approachable and responsive, employee engagement soars’. There was a workshop held two weeks ago where all employees were invited to attend. The purpose was to discuss the core values of Morgan McKinley and what we thought were the most important. Even though I have been in the business for a short time, it was great to be involved and know that my voice was being heard just like everyone else's. 
     

4 - Sharing the profits - Morgan McKinley has been growing year on year. For every single month in 2018 the Sydney location has met or exceeded the monthly target! Those results can speak for themselves but ‘it’s the people in the business that make the business’ and as a reward, there are the end of quarter celebrations held by Morgan McKinley to show appreciation for the continued efforts.
    

5 - Make your workplace fun! - Positive people, great teamwork and forward thinking directors are what make Morgan McKinley a fun place to work. Honestly, it’s made my transition to finance recruitment fun and exciting! Which is something I never thought I’d say about Accounting and Finance.
 

If you identify with my story and are also looking for a change, think about Morgan McKinley. You may feel like a Great Dane doing lunges at the beginning but you could surprise yourself! When you surround yourself with the right people, great things happen.

Georgina Gann | Associate Consultant, Accounting & Finance - Commerce & Industry (Contract), Sydney
 

Interested in joining our team? View opportunities here or speak to one of our Talent Acquisition Specialists today.