7 years’ of Top Tier Recruitment

It all started over 7 years ago.

I had been sitting in a secure, stable job, climbing the career ladder and navigating the corporate world.

Paul, as COO was helping to further build another established recruitment firm and was a very well thought of senior member of staff.

There we sat, successful, set-up but something was missing. 

We always wanted to set up our own business. We could establish the rules, didn’t have corporate infrastructure to navigate, bring our authentic selves to work. The cost was our financial security and job stability!

With healthy-ish bank balances, we decided January 2016 was the time we took a chance on ourselves. Cian McD LTD T/A Top Tier Recruitment was born. Cian was the name of our 4 and half year old nephew who sadly passed away in October 2015 so this was our way of giving him some permanency in the world and it also give us more drive to succeed.

To some, our decision to leave stable jobs seemed rash and perhaps a little naive but we took a leap of faith and here we are - we survived the uncertain start-up phase and the absolute unknown of the covid phase which wiped out so many businesses across various sectors. We found our niche, we found and nurtured a network and together with sheer determination, resilience, hard work, and most importantly an incredible team, we are here to stay.

7 things we learned along the way:

1.Under promise and overdeliver

Let’s be frank, recruiters have a bad name. Known for overpromising and underdelivering, we promised we would never go down this route. Paul saw it from the other side, having worked in-house and experienced first-hand how recruiters conformed to the options many HR and Talent Managers had. We decided we would give a realistic delivery target and is something we surpass on a regular basis. 

2.Be yourself

This was something we found difficult coming from the corporate world. Remain professional but dropping the overly corporate attire and bringing our personalities was a key for us to gaining long term business relationships. 

3.Be respectful to every candidate and client

Not getting back to people is a no, no! If someone took the time to apply or interview or indeed give you a job to work on, it is our responsibility to get back to everyone within a reasonable time-frame. Sometimes just an email to say you don’t have an update is enough.

4.Find your niche

This was something that took a couple of years to firmly establish. We both came from a Financial Services background so working in this industry was a no-brainer. We entered the Fintech industry very early on as had a genuine interest in it. This led us to Blockchain where we both attend and speak at these events on a regular basis. We were one of, if not, the first recruitment firm in Ireland to recruit in this space.

5.Use technology

Having the advantage of being a relatively new company, we immediately were paperless and incorporated various technologies in our business on an ongoing basis which makes us very flexible and agile.

6.Don’t give up on a job

I am still shocked at how often recruiters give us on jobs – perhaps, unlike some of our competitors, our recruiters are never overloaded with jobs to ensure we always have the time to fully search each and every role we work on. Seriously, what is the point in putting in so much time and energy into business development, pitching and promising on delivery if you just give up when you don’t find candidates after a search or two?

7.Learn to say no

This was the hardest thing to do, especially at the beginning, but for us but once we had our niche established, we then knew better who we are and what we are good at. There is no point in taking on work in industries our skills don’t compliment. 

Along the way, we established a very successful coaching business and have something really exciting in the pipeline – watch this space!

Here's to another 7 years and more. To everyone out there looking to follow you dreams, just do it. Life is too short to not bet on yourself.

We are a specialist FinTech, Blockchain and Financial Services recruitment consultancy. We have been helping clients attract, hire and retain staff across all areas from technology to finance. Contact info@ttrmail.com for more information.