We recently caught up with Specialist Recruiter Keith Wilkins to find out more about his career and work as a Recruitment Consultant for SDI’s Service Desk Resourcing Team (SDR).
What attracted you to working with SDI?
“I was keen to provide a service that would complement the existing SDI products and services, and that could be delivered with the same values, which are so closely aligned to my own.”
Having spent many years recruiting, I had developed a particular way of working. It was never my way to look for a list of skills in a CV and match those exactly with a technical spec – my interest lay in looking for candidates who understood the importance of quality, customer service and positive engagement. From my early days of working with SDI, I knew that they also shared my outlook on the ITSM industry. I was also keen to provide a service that would complement the existing SDI products and services, and that could be delivered with the same values, which are so closely aligned to my own.
What are some trends you’ve seen in the industry over the past year?
“A noticeable trend has been the move away from remote working.”
The past twelve months have seen a reduction in both the number of permanent and temp vacancies, as economic uncertainty continued. However, the competition for highly skilled candidates continues to be tough, which wasn’t helped by tighter employer budgets.
A noticeable trend has been the move away from remote working – or rather employers trying to make staff return to the office, and employees being less keen. Hybrid working has been an obvious compromise, but the 3-4 days a week based at home for hybrid working has been reduced to 1-2 by most employers over the last 12 months. This is definitely making it harder to find candidates, who wish to maximise the amount of time at home.
One final trend I have noticed is one that I have been a big fan of for years, and it is driven by the lack of highly skilled candidates – it is that hiring managers are now looking for people that may not have all the skills, but definitely have the aptitude and willingness to learn to be able to step up into the role. It’s a big win/win for candidates and managers alike.
What are your career highlights?
“It’s incredibly satisfying to look back on your business relationships and see how successful they have been.”
A highlight for me has always been when I have been asked to pull a team together for a client from scratch. I was once asked to build a team of IT Support engineers for a global deployment project. I recruited 25 engineers over a three month period, and the project lasted 15 months. I have done this several times over now for different clients and it’s a challenge I love!
It’s incredibly satisfying to look back on your business relationships and see how successful they have been. I also take great pride in those moments when a senior manager comes to me for help with recruitment because I once helped him/her at the start of their career. One memorable example was the Helpdesk Analyst I placed six or seven times, each time in a more senior role. He eventually ended up as an IT Director within a large corporate, and I was very happy to help him recruit his own service desk team.
Have you always been in recruitment?
My father and siblings were all in international banking and I followed suit, but after two years I got the opportunity to move into IT Support and I loved it – more people oriented! And I spent five years in tech support before moving into recruitment. It gave me the best possible background to be an IT recruiter, as I have “been there, seen it, done it, and got the t-shirt”.
Besides specific job requirements, what qualities do you look for in talent?
Three things: excellent interpersonal skills, good empathy and a willingness to broaden their knowledge. If a candidate has these, I know I can work with them. Beyond that, I look for reliability, flexibility and strong commercial awareness.
What do you love most about working in recruiting?
“It’s the buzz that I still get when I have found the ideal candidate to meet a client’s requirements.”
This one’s easy! It’s the buzz that I still get when I have found the ideal candidate to meet a client’s requirements – AND that the role ticks all the boxes for the candidate too. It’s more than filling a space – it’s about a) enhancing a business and b) helping someone develop their career and potentially make really significant changes in their life. It is still exciting; no matter whether it’s a 1st Line Analyst or an Associate Director of Operations. I will always love that!
What do you like to do outside of work?
I play golf and am working on my handicap (I’ve been saying that for years!) and I love driving my classic BMW. I have a golden retriever who ensures I take lots of long walks, and I also enjoy DIY and pub quizzes.
If you’d like to talk to Keith about how SDR can help with your recruitment challenges, book a call today using the link (Book a call) or come along to stand 625 at SITS (Excel London) on the 17th April 2024 for a chat about all things recruitment!
